The second part of the “Dan & Jess Story” was their 2015 Honda Fit. During my visit to CarMax with it, we were offered their wholesale value that was significantly below what it could fetch on the private market. After speaking with them about their options, they were prepared to take that low offer.

I understood their options were limited as they needed to unload a valuable asset, while raising some money for their sudden relocation. My proposal was to allow me to not only match that offer, but also include a $500 donation to Almost Home in Schaumburg (their charity of choice) upon completion of a sale within 30-days of writing them a check.

I knew that cars well under $10,000 sell quickly, but this was not one of those cars. I explained that if no offers came in more than $1,000 over the dealer offer within this time frame, I could always just register the car as my own. The problem is I already own two cars and my garage is at capacity. So I will either need to sell this one or one of our other well-maintained vehicles. For now, I just wanted to focus on finding this one a new home ASAP.

Dan and Jess took it to the dealer for scheduled maintenance, that along with the fact that is was a newer Honda made me comfortable writing a check of this size. There is clearly a market for a car like this, a college kid for example (or someone else looking for affordable/reliable transportation), this could be a real find.

As days turned into weeks, I began to face the prospect of making the car my own. This came with a trip to the DMV and more licensing fees that I was hoping not to have to incur. It also meant I would have to part with one of our other vehicles, both of which we were very satisfied with. I still like my 2007 Mazda3. It has much nicer features: from those cool HID headlamps to the Bose sound system along with the heated leather, it gives me a “luxury” feel… and it still has a little “zoom-zoom” left in her. Also a hatchback, I can easily cart my bike to my trail of choice on a whim. I have had the pleasure of driving this beauty since before my son was born in 2010, so there is almost some sentimental value that will not translate well on a Craigslist posting.

I was so motivated to sell the Fit at this point that it was the only time I offered a car to my social media following and I even offered a $500 discount and reminded them about our $100 referral bonus should they know someone looking for such a vehicle. It also gave me a chance to research and share what a similar 2015 Honda Fit with the same equipment and approximate mileage was currently selling for on CarMax’s website. Their “no-haggle” price was $6000 higher after taxes and dealer fees. It also allowed me to explain that a car like this (under $15,000) was exempt for sales tax, saving our buyer nearly $1000 more for virtually the same car!

Eventually, I was contacted via Facebook Marketplace by a gentleman from Aurora who came out a couple of days later with a desire to take this vehicle home. Although it took a few showings (one of which drove all the way from St. Louis) and more time than anticipated, we got it done and we were able to make our second donation to Almost Home from the work we do!