In an attempt to find people that may benefit from my services, I often browse listings of cars for sale in the area. Several weeks ago, I came across a Mazda3 that was very similar to the car that I have personally owned for more than 10 years now. It has been one of the best cars I have ever owned, hands down, which is why I have refrained from parting with it despite many opportunities. (I saw plenty of vehicles that were newer, with many features unavailable on my 2007 Mazda3, during the years I was working at the big box dealership).

The Mazda I found for sale was a lower trim level than my Mazda – no heated leather or Bose audio system – but it did have 30,000 less miles and less visible rust. Best of all, the asking price was not far above the wholesale value that I was seeing using online tools. (This is another good reason to contact Carma when putting a car up for sale as we can help you determine a fair asking price). The seller of this Mazda was either very motivated to sell, did not know the value of his asset, or there was something wrong with this car to justify the price. In any case, I wanted to know more, and decided to call the seller.

In our phone conversation, the seller, Octavio, explained that he had just put the Mazda up for sale the day before. I learned that it was his car, but his daughter had been using it until the shutdowns had changed her work/school routine and she no longer used it enough to justify keeping it insured and maintained. He assured me that it was mechanically sound and cosmetically clean, although there was some rust near the rear wheels (which is a common condition in any Mazda that is several years old).   

Based on what I knew at this point, I wanted to get a chance to take a look at the car and hopefully get a “professional” opinion before making an offer. Octavio said he was available later that afternoon and we settled on meeting at the Target store just down the road from me. This was exciting, as he sounded like a nice guy and if the car checked out, I was confident we could use the sale to benefit more local causes and have some fun along the way. 

A few hours later, I met with Octavio in the Target parking lot to look at his Mazda3 and see if he was serious about selling. He was waiting with the hood up. As we got acquainted, I took a quick look around both the exterior and interior of the car, and noted that the car was in fantastic shape for its age. I even peeked at the engine compartment, since he had taken the time to open it for me (even though I have no idea what to look for under the hood, and usually leave that to those who are trained in that area).

As we went for a quick test drive, Octavio talked about his daughter and how she had used the car for school and a part-time job in the past, but due to COVID, she no longer used it and he did not know when that might change. He told me that he had bought it just a couple of years earlier from a co-worker, and he had taken good care of it since. He also said he did his own maintenance and told me about a handful of areas in which he had invested to keep the car in the condition I found it.

As we neared the end of the test drive, I asked about having the car inspected before making an offer and he agreed that this was a reasonable request. He asked if I had a place in mind to inspect it. I explained that CarMax was my go-to for inspections because they offer a free appraisal process that could not only tell us the condition of his car, but also provide him with a free vehicle history report and even an offer to buy his car on the spot that would be good for seven days. Well, this was all news to him and he asked how long it would take. I told him that an inspection and appraisal at CarMax usually took about a half-hour if there was no wait. Since I did not want to waste his time, I offered to call them when we got back to Target and we could take it from there.

After being on hold for a bit longer than I expected, we spoke with an associate that let us know that we could expect the usual 30-minute wait, and mentioned that there was currently no wait to get the process started. Octavio agreed that we should go right away, so we got back in his car and started the journey. On the way, I explained more about what to expect once we got there, and let him know that I had worked there for years previously.

When we pulled into the dealership, he stayed in the car while I ran in to request an appraisal. I was greeted and began answering the sales associate’s questions about this vehicle as best I could. We walked out as he filled in my responses in his notebook. He explained to us the process, as I already had shared with Octavio on our trip, and we nodded our heads.

When it came time for the sales associate to excuse himself before sending out our appraiser to evaluate the car, I asked if he could include a printed copy of the vehicle history report. He agreed, and we began our process to find out not only the conditions of this automobile, but its wholesale value in the case that we wanted to liquidate it using CarMax.

Within minutes, we met our appraiser. She greeted us cheerfully and began her evaluation. She asked us to roll down the windows, open the doors and step out of the vehicle while she inspected the conditions. We watched as she bounced from area to area on the car and wrote on her clipboard. I was more interested in the appraiser’s determination of the structure of the vehicle and the engine’s condition than I was about her assessment of the interior and exterior conditions. The process was quick, and before I knew it, she was heading back inside. Before she did, she let us know that she had everything she needed and it would take her about 10-15 minutes to complete some additional research before our associate could present us with her findings.

Octavio and I sat in the car and waited for our results. He made a phone call and I listened as he had a conversation is Spanish. His call was interrupted as our sales associate reappeared outside the window, holding a variety of documents. He told us that our appraisal was in the books and he began presenting the findings.

He told us about the minor cosmetic issues that we had already noted, and shared with us the fact that the car had been in an accident almost 10 years ago. As I looked at the history report I saw not only the accident but also emissions test results and registration records over the years. Fortunately, the report showed that the accident was minor and did not result in the airbags being deployed, which was confirmed by the appraisal as it noted the impact had been to the rear of the vehicle (rear-ended). This was a relief because there are many more components in the front of the car that could be jeopardized in an accident than in the rear.

After all was said and done, we were presented with an offer for Octavio’s car that was only $500 less than his asking price of $3,000. He was ecstatic and I could see that had my offer to get him more not been on the table, he likely would be calling for a ride right now before heading inside to sign some paperwork.

I reeled him back in by stating we should head to my place so my wife could check it out as I was very interested in doing a deal. At this point, I had not disclosed to Octavio my desire to partner and sell it for considerably more with Carma, but I knew that point was rapidly approaching.

When we got in my driveway, I got out and went inside to speak with my wife. I told her what I had found and asked if she had any concerns about offering to buy this car. She did not have any major objections, only the fact that our driveway was already holding Matt’s Civic that we had picked up the day before. While she had a good point, I simply could not let this opportunity pass us by.

I approached Octavio as he waited patiently in my driveway with a simple question. I asked him how flexible he was on his price. He said that he did have some ability to negotiate, and I told him that I thought we could make a deal today. I explained to him that I really wanted to get him more than his asking price, and let him know that with Carma Services he could let me do all the work with Carma’s “full service” offer, while pocketing close to $1,000 more than the offer we had just gotten from the dealer. For whatever reason, Octavio was reluctant to and was not interested in waiting to sell his car.

Luckily for him, this is why Carma also offers a “cash now” offer!

Because we had taken the step of getting a baseline dealer value and a history report, I could now offer him hundreds more than the dealer offer, and still be confident that I could move his car with enough margin to make a generous donation to a local charity with ease.

I also explained that although CarMax will provide a seller with a same-day payment for a car, the payment is not made in cash (or even as a cashier’s check), but rather issued as a bank draft. The biggest downside of accepting payment as a bank draft is that it can be cancelled by the issuer after it has been deposited by the recipient, resulting in a situation where the funds are not available right away. In fact, it can take up to 10 days until the seller can access the money they were paid for their car at the dealership. To prove my point, I showed Octavio the disclosure on his offer stating that he would be paid through a bank draft, not cash or traditional business check.

After learning this, Octavio was rather receptive to accepting my offer, and he called his wife to let her know he would be selling the Mazda to me on the spot and would need a ride home. It was really too bad that he did not accept my first offer, as it turned out he lived just a few blocks from my house and it would have been a breeze to show his car to potential buyers without having to drive a long distance to access it. I also would have loved to have been able to give him more for this great car.

As soon as Octavio left, I pulled my own Mazda3 out of my garage and put his car in to keep it safe and secure until sold. He had done an excellent job detailing it prior to putting it up for sale, so all I had to do was take some pictures, put up my usual ads, and wait for some nibbles.

It did not take long before some people began contacting me with random questions and the occasional low-ball offer. A few days later, we had our first showing to a young guy looking for a car for his sister. We drove it and he was impressed with the performance. After we got back he opened the hood and noticed that the air intake had been upgraded and was concerned that it had been modified. I hadn’t noticed this, but as I opened the hood of my own Mazda3, I discovered that Octavio’s car did have a slightly different layout than a stock 2007 Mazda3. My potential buyer called his dad, who told him that it didn’t matter how much he liked the car, he was not to purchase it for his sister.

He left and I was back at square one, looking for my next prospect to come fall in love with the great ride.

Nearly a week went by and I was not finding someone serious enough to come take a look. This was concerning to me, as I wanted to sell this car, make a donation, and move on to the next. 

Then I was contacted through Facebook by a woman who was looking for a car for her daughter (of all things!). She came out the next day with her son and we did the standard walk-around, look-under-the-hood, and test drive. During our ride, they told me that they already owned this same car and loved its efficiency and reliability. After we returned to my driveway, they asked for some privacy to discuss their thoughts, and I went inside my house to wait for the verdict. After about 10 minutes, they signalled that they’d come to a conclusion and I made my way back outside. She offered $3,800, a bit below where I had hoped. I countered with $4,000 and since they were holding the appraisal offer from CarMax, showing a wholesale value of $2,500, in their hands, they agreed.

Once again, my lovely wife put together a bill of sale and helped us count a stack of cash before the new owners drove off with their “new” ride. 

Days later, while considering which charity should receive the donation from the sale of this car, I followed up with the buyer  to ask if they were liking the car so far, and if they had any charities in mind that they’d like me to consider. They told me that they hadn’t really driven it much yet as they were waiting on the license plates from the state, but suggested that I should look into Sneaker Heartz as a good local cause. I was glad that they were happy with the car and was ecstatic to have another local charity to reach out to and hopefully work with to add value to our community through our efforts.