For Sale 1994 Town Car, Low mileage - Sale Advice

[JH1]

We are considering selling our Lincoln Town car. I hate to do it, but my wife wants a "smaller" car. Details:

1994 Lincoln Town car, 53k ORIGINAL miles, Cartier model with gray leather interior (great shape - no rips, tears, etc.), paint is special order pearlescent white. This car has never had body work, never been in even a fender bender let alone an actual accident, and the paint is virtually perfect (one small stone scratch repair). Engine runs perfectly. Synthetic (mostly Amsoil) lubricants are used in the engine, trans, rear axle, wheel bearings. Rear air suspension works perfectly. Radio is original Ford JBL high end multi-speaker system with trunk mounted amplifier and woofer. Fully digital dash is perfect, no sun damage on dash top (same goes for package tray in rear). The few improvements I've made are: Bilstein shocks, Michelin HydroEdge tires, and other general maintenance items.

I have not sold a car in a long while, so I have questions. What's the most convenient way to make this sale and at what price? The ultra low mileage and condition of the car makes it hard to use conventional price books like NADA, Kelly, etc., so I have no clue about a price which would be fair to both buyer and seller. And should I restrict the sale to only local buyers here in Maryland? Last, what's now considered the safest form of payment to accept? Sorry about these basic questions, but any advice would be appreciated....

John in Maryland

 

[JoshMcMadMac]

You will probably not get much help here, John. You do have an impressively low mileage car, but at <3k miles per year (on average) it is almost too low for anyone to trust it not to have parts that are worn out from lack of use. I would check KBB, Edmunds, and NADA to get a starting point on value, than tack on whatever you think the low mileage and excellent condition might be worth extra to you. If you are wanting to sell in Maryland, get it inspected and advertise that fact; that will really help draw in buyers. Technically it will be eligible for Historic registration as of the first of the year. You could start buy posting it for sale on Craigslist, as it is easy and free. From there it is up to you if you put up the money to post in on sites like AutoTrader or eBay.

 

[JH1]

You will probably not get much help here, John. You do have an impressively low mileage car, but at <3k miles per year (on average) it is almost too low for anyone to trust it not to have parts that are worn out from lack of use. I would check KBB, Edmunds, and NADA to get a starting point on value, than tack on whatever you think the low mileage and excellent condition might be worth extra to you. If you are wanting to sell in Maryland, get it inspected and advertise that fact; that will really help draw in buyers. Technically it will be eligible for Historic registration as of the first of the year. You could start buy posting it for sale on Craigslist, as it is easy and free. From there it is up to you if you put up the money to post in on sites like AutoTrader or eBay.

I had already looked in those car price guides when I created this thread. Sadly, the figures they gave varied a lot, and I don't mean wholesale vs. retail vs. trade-in, etc. And as implied earlier, I have zero idea about what's reasonable to tack on for condition. As to where I wish to sell it, this sort of depends on the best way to accept payment with confidence. Oh well, I had hoped that a group of Linc TC enthusiasts might include some collectors, but it sounds like I have to wing it and hope for the best. As you say, maybe the local Craig's List.

BTW, given the care that this car has had, I look on 2.5 k miles per year as a benefit, not a problem (but I do understand that such things can be a matter of opinion).

Thanks for your thoughts.......

 

[JoshMcMadMac]

Oh well, I had hoped that a group of Linc TC enthusiasts might include some collectors...

A group of Town Car enthusiasts probably will include some collectors...unfortunately this is not a group of Town Car enthusiasts. It is primarily Mark VIII guys here, with a dwindling amount of LS guys. You might have better luck finding a Town Car specific forum.

 

[JH1]

A group of Town Car enthusiasts probably will include some collectors...unfortunately this is not a group of Town Car enthusiasts. It is primarily Mark VIII guys here, with a dwindling amount of LS guys. You might have better luck finding a Town Car specific forum.

Thanks for the correction. As you say, I will look for other forums. I know of the Lincolns Online forum, but I suppose there may be others.....

 

[JoshMcMadMac]

Thanks for the correction. As you say, I will look for other forums. I know of the Lincolns Online forum, but I suppose there may be others.....

LoL is a great start. I know they at least had a decent Town Car following there years ago. Let me know what you end up deciding; at the right price I would definitely be interested in it.

 

[JH1]

LoL is a great start. I know they at least had a decent Town Car following there years ago. Let me know what you end up deciding; at the right price I would definitely be interested in it.

So far no luck on the Lincolns Online forum. No one there so much as dropped a message with sales advice, let alone an offer. As for what I decide, at this point my first task is finding what would be a fair price. I feel the car is unique so don't want to give it away, but so far all the car books have told me is that the range is probably someplace from $2.5k to $5k (one book was higher, but I discounted that as an anomaly). I will continue looking for prices as well as relevant forums. Let me know if you have any more thoughts on all this -- thanks!

 

[JoshMcMadMac]

So far no luck on the Lincolns Online forum. No one there so much as dropped a message with sales advice, let alone an offer. As for what I decide, at this point my first task is finding what would be a fair price. I feel the car is unique so don't want to give it away, but so far all the car books have told me is that the range is probably someplace from $2.5k to $5k (one book was higher, but I discounted that as an anomaly). I will continue looking for prices as well as relevant forums. Let me know if you have any more thoughts on all this -- thanks!

If it were me, I would wait until the end of February and list it at $5k on Craigslist. If you are on Facebook, there are a lot of "for sale" groups on there too. That time of year is the start of the big buying season for cars, as tax returns start coming in and warm weather is around the corner here. Get it inspected at that point, and advertise it as historic registration eligible. Take lots of good pictures of it, to include the multiple angles of the exterior, the interior, the trunk, and under the hood. If you do not get any bites, try AutoTrader and possibly start coming down on price until it moves.

 

[JH1]

If it were me, I would wait until the end of February and list it at $5k on Craigslist. If you are on Facebook, there are a lot of "for sale" groups on there too. That time of year is the start of the big buying season for cars, as tax returns start coming in and warm weather is around the corner here. Get it inspected at that point, and advertise it as historic registration eligible. Take lots of good pictures of it, to include the multiple angles of the exterior, the interior, the trunk, and under the hood. If you do not get any bites, try AutoTrader and possibly start coming down on price until it moves.

All this sounds like great advice -- thanks for laying out the process so clearly!

Sorry about belaboring things, but one last question -- what form(s) of payment would you accept? I have no idea about now, but years ago the advice was to accompany the buyer to HIS bank and walk away with cash from a teller at that bank. Again, long ago, I tried suggesting that and it didn't go over well with the buyer (makes you wonder why). Anyway, any ideas about safe payment in today's world?

 

[JoshMcMadMac]

All this sounds like great advice -- thanks for laying out the process so clearly!

Sorry about belaboring things, but one last question -- what form(s) of payment would you accept? I have no idea about now, but years ago the advice was to accompany the buyer to HIS bank and walk away with cash from a teller at that bank. Again, long ago, I tried suggesting that and it didn't go over well with the buyer (makes you wonder why). Anyway, any ideas about safe payment in today's world?

Something like this I would only deal in cash. The buyer is not going to be pursuing a loan on a vehicle like this, and if they can do a check or money order they should have no issue producing cash.

 

[JH1]

Something like this I would only deal in cash. The buyer is not going to be pursuing a loan on a vehicle like this, and if they can do a check or money order they should have no issue producing cash.

Again, good advice. And cash from a bank teller is even more safe nowadays (if only slightly).

Thanks for the help & Happy Holidays to you and all here!

 

[k9t8m]

I think a low mileage car like that would do really well on ebay. That being said, the listing fees and final value fees have been crazy high. I would just look at low mileage town cars that have actually sold on ebay in the last 90 days and base your asking price off of those SOLD cars.

 

[opalescent 96]

Check out Grandmarq.net

Craigslist is free so I always start there.

A car is worth whatever someone is willing to pay. A 50K mile Town Car has a lot of value to many people

 

[JH1]

I think a low mileage car like that would do really well on ebay. That being said, the listing fees and final value fees have been crazy high. I would just look at low mileage town cars that have actually sold on ebay in the last 90 days and base your asking price off of those SOLD cars.

Good tip -- thanks!

 

[JH1]

Check out Grandmarq.net

Craigslist is free so I always start there.

A car is worth whatever someone is willing to pay. A 50K mile Town Car has a lot of value to many people

I had not heard of Grandmarq.net before this. I will definitely check it out -- thanks!