Selling Your Car Through a Car Club

There are some times when selling your car through your collectors car club can be a great idea. But there are also times when it is not such a good idea. Determining if it is the best situation for your particular circumstances often varies depending upon how much you need for the vehicle. For example, those who are looking for an incredible deal of a great car tend to look at car clubs. But at the same time, they are also looking for a cheap deal. If you are looking to get top dollar from your car you may want to sell your car outside of the club to increase your profit. Most clubs offer a website to members, and often these websites offer either an area for members to make announcements about things car related that they are selling, or a forum which would allow you to make an announcement. Typically, it is free to advertise your car through the car club, which can be a huge savings over advertising the vehicle in your local newspaper. However, it is also important to realize that unless you are a member of a very large club, you are limiting yourself in terms of potential customers by only advertising to club members. Yet this can often be a great way to get a fast sell for your car, which can be a very important deciding factor when you are trying to determine the best option for selling your car. Those who are members of your car club may have already seen your vehicle before. Additionally, you may have had a few people approach you in the past asking if you would be interested in selling. Generally, if you have had someone approach you in the past it is always a wise idea to ensure that they know you are selling if any way possible. This will allow them the opportunity to buy your vehicle if you are interested and can really speed up the sale process a lot of times. If you car is in exceptional shape it is a very wise decision to always ensure that the car looks its best when you are driving it around. In addition, taking the car with you to club meetings with a For Sale sign in one of the windows can be another way of letting members know that you are selling. This is especially important if the vehicle is a specialty car that is not something that the general population would be interested in. You must be very careful how you choose to market though, even inside of your car club. If you seem desperate for any reason, people are going to try to get you to cut your price. Make sure you avoid this impression by picking a price and try to avoid haggling over price as much as possible. Just be aware that if you do sell it to someone in your car club you have the benefit of probably being able to see it again. This can be an important consideration if you have come to think of the car as a family member, rather than just as a car. While the car may not still belong to you, it is usually possible to still see it and have a form of visitation per say rather than never seeing it again. Regardless of whether you choose to sell through your club or not, it can make a great place to start the advertising process since you are surrounded by others who are also interested in cars as well.

How Much Do Car Clubs Cost?

The amount of most memberships can vary widely, but you should take several factors into account when you are trying to determine how affordable a membership really is and whether it is actually worth the money. The ultimate decision you make is going to be based upon the club itself, the membership benefits that you are able to use, and the overall pricing. Never sign up for a club that you cannot afford, and always ensure that the club is a good match for your needs before purchasing a membership. There are several extremes when you are looking at memberships. Some charge very little with yearly membership fees as cheap as $10 per person and others are very expensive with memberships costing as much as $500 per person. Obviously, if you are comparing the memberships you want to see a great deal more benefits offered from the club with the $500 a year membership. In fact, the list of benefits should be much larger than the other club. Many clubs are organized to have car shows or even races. If the clubs you are considering is one of these types of clubs you want to find a club that at least offers a discount to members off the admission fee to participate in the event. If the membership fee is very high, you would preferably want free admission and enrollment. Many clubs do allow the member and at least one guest to have free admission. Another important consideration when you are determining a fair price for the membership is are you getting a newsletter? Most car clubs offer a newsletter of some sort to members. Included in your membership should be the newsletter and for an expensive membership you should expect a copy at least once a month. For those who have much cheaper membership fees the club may not be able to afford frequent issues, or they may opt to offer the newsletter electronically by either e-mail or only on their website. Many clubs are also known for giving free merchandise with the membership. Most common gifts are t-shirts, sweatshirts or even hats and bags. The exact gift that your club offers may vary from year to year but anyone who is paying a large membership fee should expect something. Once again, those who have very low yearly rates can typically expect the club to skip over this benefit, as the fee simply is not enough to cover the expenses. However, even those clubs that do not give away the merchandise will typically offer a store where you can purchase the merchandise that you choose. Comparing all of the costs and benefits of a membership can be a delicate task. Most memberships that offer just a single gift, discounts of $5-$10 off events and even a newsletter for a typical club should generally cost in the range of $50-$100 a year. Much more than this the fee should cover at least your entire family, or provide some other benefit that you will use extensively to justify the expense. Many clubs that have expensive membership fees tend to offer free admission for all club events, and also allow you free admission for guests of your choice. This type of benefit can be a substantial savings if you plan on attending many events. However, if you do not plan to attend many events if could be a waste of money. Most clubs also offer various levels of membership that will allow you to select the level that you can afford that will meet your needs. Carefully look over the options that are available and feel free to ask the club officers questions if you are confused about why the rates are set at their current levels. Asking questions and seeking clarifications is never a bad thing and instead will serve to ensure you are well aware of what is and is not included with your chosen membership.