Best Way to Sell an MGB?

I haven't decided completely, but I'm thinking about selling my 74 MGB. I love the car and it's in great shape with many upgrades.

This has been a long year with a lot of distractions, including a little heart trouble for myself (I'm fine, probably better than before). It's just that I don't seem to have the same energy and enthusiasm for the normal MGB maintenance and upkeep that I used to. I sure don't want to neglect it...that would hurt it's feelings and it probably wouldn't survive.

I haven't checked in with this forum very often over the past few months so I'm a little behind on the status of the MGB World. I've read a couple of posts where it doesn't seem like there is much of a market for them these days, but I still see them listed in places like E-Bay for pretty good prices.

Having never actually SOLD a vehicle before (always traded), I could use a couple of opinions on this...

As always, thanks.

Why not put it in the Trader section with a price and pictures and see what interest you get? Do you have a selling price in mind? My next choice would be craigslist, and then ebay.

Is having an ocassional looksie by a reputible mechanic so you can continue to enjoy the car an option?

The above posts are good info. Waiting till Spring at the earliest is a good idea. And, use good crisp pictures. Study some high dollar ebay sales for what that means.
Having had a bypass two years ago almost to the day, I understand the energy thing, but that comes back. Don't be hasty.

put it on Ebay first, then without fail, everyone on this forum will nit pick it to death. Then you can decide if anything is worth fixing before you get serious about selling.

Wish you well, but don't sell!

Wait till spring, Larry. See how you fel about it then. This is not a good time of year to sell anyway and by spring you may feel differently.
John

Larry I can remember a lot of the upgrades you have done to your car and the care you have shown her. Sometimes tho it is time for a change.
But lots of guys have to put their cars up for the winter. If it is not a financial burden perhaps you could too and like others have said wait til spring to try and sell-and who knows -maybe that first bright sunny day you will walk into the garage and say oh yea........
Good Luck
Paul

I had a triple bypass 11 years ago and was weak as a kitten for months but a couple of years ago i replaced the rear axle by myself DON'TSELL IT!!!!! :o

Larry, have you really sat down and thought about what it would be like to live in Crossville (with all the great driving roads nearby), and not have your MG? :) I know that ya gotta do what ya gotta do, but I think when spring time rolls around, you'll wish you had your car.

Sell your snow plow now. Sell your convertible in
the spring.

Just went through my own bout with heart problems. Must be an epidemic. I hope that you feel better and regain your strength back. Pace the maintance out over a greater period of time so that you are not rushed. After all of the money, labor and love that you have put into the car it would be a shame to see it as a casualty of your illness. Best regards. RAY

I know how you feel Larry. Not that I've had the heart problems yet, but my other string of surgeries have sapped my strength (which is starting to come back after a year away from the hospital) but I'm due for some more surgery next year that I hope will be successful this time. I haven't had the strength and or desire to work on the B. Maybe I'll feel better about it after it goes through it's long Winter's nap in the garage. Wait until Spring and see how you feel.

Larry,
Glad you are on the mend. If you don't have to sell it now......don't. You will feel better in the spring and if not the price you could get should be better.

I agree with the others. Not a good time for selling a summer toy. Cold weather, Christmas coming and the economy sucks. I've been trying to sell my 05 Neon. I got plenty of people looking for a car but they only want to spend a couple thousand. Even the local Harley dealer just folded up. Things are not good. Try & sit on it till spring & decide then. In the meantime you can research what you may be able to get for it.

Hope everthing works out with the health issue. When you don't feel up to par, everything looks worse. Things will get better.

The best way to sell a seasonal vehicle is to put it up for sale as soon as the weather breaks in your area of the nation. For me, this means mid to late March, or early April at the very latest. If you advertise it, they will come.

I've had incredible luck selling vehicles using Craigslist. I wasn't a believer in this low-tech, free classified service until I actually used it. At the risk of bragging, I know that my ad copy was well written, and my four pictures (that's the limit) gave as good a representation of the interior and exterior as was possible in the confines of the online ad.

Here are several hints to remember when using e-ads to post a vehicle for sale:

1. Unless you are willing to consider trading, you'll want to include the statement "Straight sale, no trades" in the ad. Otherwise, it is likely that you will receive more than a few inquiries from folks with trade offers that oftentimes plumb the depths of insult.

2. Set up a free Hotmail or Yahoo e-mail account for exclusive use with your Craigslist (or other e-media) ads. Using an established, personal e-mail account for contact purposes will effectively give away your permanent e-mail account to anyone trolling about in the electronic ether. I wouldn't post a phone number in an e-ad, either, but I acknowlege that some sellers like to do this based on their personal availability, etc. I'd still suggest using e-mail so that your anonimity is maintained until such time that you choose to make real contact with a buyer that passes the sniff test.

3. I don't use "OBO" (Or Best Offer). I either type the price that I must have, or the price followed by the word "Firm". I've found that this methodology tends to reduce buyer inquiries to just the serious folks. Having a valuation page print from http://www.kbb.com tends to reinforce my pricing position, should the buyer balk a bit. You'll want to put across the impression that you'd like to sell the vehicle, but you don't have to. More about this in #6, below.

4. Including a few words in the ad about maintenance history, receipts, and the like is something that always gets me compliments from potential or actual buyers.

5. If you use e-bay, Chris Roop is correct when he suggests that hi-res pictures can accomplish 90% of the selling effort. Here's an established e-bay seller that always overprices his Bs, but by God, they have some great ads:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1975-MGB-ROADSTER-ONLY-75-000-ORIGINAL-MILES-STUNNING_W0QQitemZ400087335906QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Cars_Trucks?hash=item5d271043e2
-and-
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1980-MGB-ROADSTER-LIMITED-EDITION-LAST-YEAR-PRODUCED_W0QQitemZ400088193400QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Cars_Trucks?hash=item5d271d5978

6. Finally, and with respect, if the buyer asks you why you are selling the car, I wouldn't disclose that your ill health is related to the sale of the car...unless the car is so attractively priced that even the most boorish individual wouldn't pester you to lower the price a bit more (because he now believes that you must sell the car due to the fact that your ol' ticker is acting up...)

-Jim

First off you'll just buy another.
Have you thought about driving it to a Vol's football game with a for sale sign and a phone number? That cars the state color.
Send me a PM with a photo, discription and price. My daughter is looking for one, she got her masters from UT and may be intrested. I'll pass it along.

Come now Larry, I think after some of my heart problems the MG is therapy for me, takes my mind off from things when tinkering.
You will get the fever next spring for sure after owing a sharp looking car like that, and it won't be the same driving to Townsend in 2010, the dragon, or to Oak Ridge without it.

Larry,

Three years ago last month, I had a four way by-pass surgery and I used my recovery period reading and planning what I wanted to do to our MGs. My wife and I had four at the time of my surgery and now we have seven. That means a lot of maintenance but what a great way to spent your time. Oh, we also moved from Sacramento to Northern Alabama in there too. The MGs really have given me something to hang onto and make it exciting to drag my o' butt outa bed every day. Oh yea, I had to have a ICD (implantable cardiac device) installed a year ago. That was fun.

Hope the best for ya and my vote is to hang in there and hang onto the MG.

Cheers - Dennis

I saw a 68 MGB in your profile....

A second chance car since you saved it from the crusher.

Health issues (got them myself), not everyone gets a second chance in life.

Since the health has stabilized or improved, I see the 68 as a life saver. I would get it into a state simular to the 74, then decide between the two and still get to keep one. You have only one life to live, and every man or woman who is on their second chance in life deserves a British classic to drive. The ones out there who are not driving them, more than likely have never been introduced to experience of driving one and therefore are missing out on an enjoyable hobby. MG people are from all sorts and sizes, some you like some you dislike. But when you own a MG, your in the brotherhood. Not everybody can say that.

If you really can't decide I would be happy to come down and make it go away for a few months. see if the hole in your garage hurts as much as bending over the fender did. If you miss her I'll bring her back with exactly double the miles to get from there to here on the odometer.

I really appreciate all the comments and encouragement.

I went out to the shed this afternoon (where my B lives). She smiled at me.

I'm going to reconsider my considering.

like the color