The only site I'll ever need...

[Saul Goodman]

Jalopnik has some good advice posts on this.

http://thegarage.jalopnik.com/how-to-limit-your-risk-when-selling-a-used-car-1675983610

http://thegarage.jalopnik.com/ten-common-sense-tips-for-successfully-selling-your-car-1604175716

http://jalopnik.com/5945857/ten-things-to-do-when-youre-selling-your-car

http://thegarage.jalopnik.com/this-online-service-made-selling-my-car-easier-than-ord-1768677335

There's more, with an appropriately tailored Google search as your guide.

[Saul Goodman]

DPD. I recently sold my car to CarMax. It was fast, easy, and fair. I got less than I would have gotten from a private sale, but I did not have to spend time advertising, arranging a sale, dealing with annoying looky-loos, vetting buyers, completing all the required DMV paperwork and get the car smogged, and all that. YMMV.

EDIT: Oh, and I got more for it than the trade-in value would have been at the dealership. Overall not a bad deal. If I wasn't working all the time maybe I would have sold it myself, but if you don't want to deal with that shit CarMax is the way to go. (Even if you don't sell to CarMax, their appraisal is free and takes about an hour total. It's a useful data point to have and if your private-party offers are disappointing, the CarMax offer is good for seven days unless you bring the car back on fire. There's really no reason not to at least get a quote.)

EDIT 2: An important factor to CarMax is whether your car is "retailable." They don't really care whether it's clean or detailed -- they can do that. Typically that means under 100,000 miles, at least, and the lower the better. My 2009 Volvo S40 was in excellent condition, all considered, but with 150,000 miles they can't put it on the lot so I was offered wholesale so they can auction it. If your car can go on their lot, the offer will likely be more competitive with private party offers without the hassle. Otherwise, you're looking at wholesale.

[Eli]

DPD. I recently sold my car to CarMax. It was fast, easy, and fair. I got less than I would have gotten from a private sale, but I did not have to spend time advertising, arranging a sale, dealing with annoying looky-loos, vetting buyers, completing all the required DMV paperwork and get the car smogged, and all that. YMMV.

EDIT: Oh, and I got more for it than the trade-in value would have been at the dealership. Overall not a bad deal. If I wasn't working all the time maybe I would have sold it myself, but if you don't want to deal with that shit CarMax is the way to go. (Even if you don't sell to CarMax, their appraisal is free and takes about an hour total. It's a useful data point to have and if your private-party offers are disappointing, the CarMax offer is good for seven days unless you bring the car back on fire. There's really no reason not to at least get a quote.)

EDIT 2: An important factor to CarMax is whether your car is "retailable." They don't really care whether it's clean or detailed -- they can do that. Typically that means under 100,000 miles, at least, and the lower the better. My 2009 Volvo S40 was in excellent condition, all considered, but with 150,000 miles they can't put it on the lot so I was offered wholesale so they can auction it. If your car can go on their lot, the offer will likely be more competitive with private party offers without the hassle. Otherwise, you're looking at wholesale.

What kind of car did you end up getting? I remember you were asking a few months back for advice. Obviously late to the party, but you weren't looking into a Tesla, right? I had thought in your price range with the extra CA tax breaks and no-gas thing, the cost of ownership wouldn't have been that different from some other higher-end cars. But I only thought about it for like two seconds and then probably got distracted by Twitter or something.

[Saul Goodman]

DPD. I recently sold my car to CarMax. It was fast, easy, and fair. I got less than I would have gotten from a private sale, but I did not have to spend time advertising, arranging a sale, dealing with annoying looky-loos, vetting buyers, completing all the required DMV paperwork and get the car smogged, and all that. YMMV.

EDIT: Oh, and I got more for it than the trade-in value would have been at the dealership. Overall not a bad deal. If I wasn't working all the time maybe I would have sold it myself, but if you don't want to deal with that shit CarMax is the way to go. (Even if you don't sell to CarMax, their appraisal is free and takes about an hour total. It's a useful data point to have and if your private-party offers are disappointing, the CarMax offer is good for seven days unless you bring the car back on fire. There's really no reason not to at least get a quote.)

EDIT 2: An important factor to CarMax is whether your car is "retailable." They don't really care whether it's clean or detailed -- they can do that. Typically that means under 100,000 miles, at least, and the lower the better. My 2009 Volvo S40 was in excellent condition, all considered, but with 150,000 miles they can't put it on the lot so I was offered wholesale so they can auction it. If your car can go on their lot, the offer will likely be more competitive with private party offers without the hassle. Otherwise, you're looking at wholesale.

What kind of car did you end up getting? I remember you were asking a few months back for advice. Obviously late to the party, but you weren't looking into a Tesla, right? I had thought in your price range with the extra CA tax breaks and no-gas thing, the cost of ownership wouldn't have been that different from some other higher-end cars. But I only thought about it for like two seconds and then probably got distracted by Twitter or something.

Ended up getting an M235i convertible (an unsold 2015 model with a nice discount they wanted to get off the lot) on a lease. I like it. The gas tank is pretty small though and it triggers the fuel pump shutoff every couple gallons every time I fuel it, which means I have to babysit it instead of setting and forgetting. That's the only negative thing so far. It's fast and handles like a go-kart.

Adding: Realized I didn't address the Tesla part. I was looking for a sportier car (which I've never owned) and a convertible (also a first). Tesla's sedan is fast but I wouldn't call it sporty. If their Roadster was still around I would have strongly considered it. Runners-up were Audi A3, A5, and TT, BMW 4-Series and Z4, Mercedes SLK and E-class, and to a lesser extent the Mazda Miata, in case anyone else finds himself in the same market segment.

[Saul Goodman]

DPD. Actual numbers on CarMax, just to help you out: best-case scenario private party was about $4,500 in good condition per Kelley Blue Book. A friend who liked my car was going to pay that but her financing fell through. I probably would not have been able to get that much on the open market. Dealer offered about $1500-2000. CarMax gave me $3,000 and handled all of the paperwork, transport, California-specific DMV and environmental things, etc.

[InternetApex]

Jalopnik has some good advice posts on this.

http://thegarage.jalopnik.com/how-to-limit-your-risk-when-selling-a-used-car-1675983610

http://thegarage.jalopnik.com/ten-common-sense-tips-for-successfully-selling-your-car-1604175716

http://jalopnik.com/5945857/ten-things-to-do-when-youre-selling-your-car

http://thegarage.jalopnik.com/this-online-service-made-selling-my-car-easier-than-ord-1768677335

There's more, with an appropriately tailored Google search as your guide.

Thank you!

[Saul Goodman]

Jalopnik has some good advice posts on this.

http://thegarage.jalopnik.com/how-to-limit-your-risk-when-selling-a-used-car-1675983610

http://thegarage.jalopnik.com/ten-common-sense-tips-for-successfully-selling-your-car-1604175716

http://jalopnik.com/5945857/ten-things-to-do-when-youre-selling-your-car

http://thegarage.jalopnik.com/this-online-service-made-selling-my-car-easier-than-ord-1768677335

There's more, with an appropriately tailored Google search as your guide.

Thank you!

Glad to be 97% useless for a change!

[Oleg]

Jalopnik has some good advice posts on this.

http://thegarage.jalopnik.com/how-to-limit-your-risk-when-selling-a-used-car-1675983610

http://thegarage.jalopnik.com/ten-common-sense-tips-for-successfully-selling-your-car-1604175716

http://jalopnik.com/5945857/ten-things-to-do-when-youre-selling-your-car

http://thegarage.jalopnik.com/this-online-service-made-selling-my-car-easier-than-ord-1768677335

There's more, with an appropriately tailored Google search as your guide.

Thank you!

Glad to be 97% useless for a change!

Give yourself some credit...you were 100% useless to me.

[Wheezer]

Hey, Pex, I haven't seen Ryan around the 'hood in a while. Any word?

[Saul Goodman]

I'm visiting Austin for the first time this month. Any suggestions?

[Tonker]

I'm visiting Austin for the first time this month. Any suggestions?

Not really, I've never met the bloke.

[Saul Goodman]

I'm visiting Austin for the first time this month. Any suggestions?

Not really, I've never met the bloke.

What's his favorite beer, at least?

[Canadouche]

I'm visiting Austin for the first time this month. Any suggestions?

I might be misremembering, but I think Austin is the one with a ridiculous number of awesome food trucks.

[flannj]

I'm visiting Austin for the first time this month. Any suggestions?

You got mail

[Quality Start Machine]

I'm visiting Austin for the first time this month. Any suggestions?

I've heard tell that Franklin's in the best BBQ - it's certainly the best known.

Only open at lunchtime though.