Facebook marketplace is an incredibly popular peer-to-peer platform for buying and selling almost any kind of household goods. You can find just about anything from trinkets and used clothing to furniture and even apartments for rent. One of the things that make Facebook Marketplace so popular is the convenience it provides — everything listed is location so finding items for sale near you is pretty simple.
Selling a used vehicle on Facebook Marketplace is a very different experience than selling a household good, mainly due to the complexity of a vehicle transaction and the value of vehicles in general. This marketplace was never designed to sell vehicles, so your selling experience on this platform may not go exactly as you hoped.
In this article, we’ll tackle the pros and cons of selling your car on Facebook Marketplace and offer you a much better alternative.
Selling Cars on Facebook Marketplace
Facebook Marketplace has been around since 2017, and it’s actually pretty simple to use. All you have to do is create your listing by writing a detailed description, naming your price, and uploading photos.
You can even share your used car listing with your own network of family and friends, as well as other public and private group pages. From there, anyone searching specifically for a vehicle within a specified radius of your ZIP code will get the chance to see your listing.
Of course, simplicity should not be confused with success, especially when it comes to a platform that’s open to everyone with very few regulations. Essentially, if you’re asking a question like “Should I sell my car on Facebook Marketplace?” you’ll need to weigh the pros and cons against your other options for the best possible outcome.
The Pros of Car Selling on Facebook Marketplace
No Hidden Fees
Arguably one of the best things about selling your car on Facebook Marketplace is that they’re not going to squeeze extra fees out of you to make more money. This is because the platform monetizes itself by selling digital ad space.
Of course, this includes the option for sellers to buy ad space to boost their listing’s potential — but that’s about it.
You Get to Keep All Your Money
Again, Facebook Marketplace doesn’t want your money. It just wants you to spend time on the platform engaging with ads. Therefore, they don’t collect a sale success fee or document fee.
Outside of negotiations, you get to keep 100% of the money you get from your sale.
Many Potential Buyers
Facebook has a large following and many people search for local items for sale there everyday, so if you’ve got a low priced vehicle that many people can afford your listing will get some attention.
The Cons of Car Selling on Facebook Marketplace
No Protections for Sellers or Buyers
Facebook uses several methods to keep the marketplace safe and reliable, but when it comes to selling and buying a used car, you’re on your own. Vehicle purchases and sales are not covered under Facebook’s protection policy, which means you’ll be selling at your own risk. And there is a pretty big risk because there’s no identity verification or payment protection.
Scams Happen Frequently
Again, while Facebook has certain protections in place to keep the Marketplace safe, it’s still riddled with scams. A new one seems to pop up every other day, and one of the recently trending scams involves people pretending to be buyers using fake accounts to make fake payments.
In all honesty, it isn’t that difficult to sniff out a scammer when you’re trying to sell your used car on Facebook. However, it’s still a risk you’ll be taking. Not to mention, the extra work you’ll have to do to ensure the buyer is real.
You’ll Have to Deal with Paperwork
Buying and selling a car always involves some amount of car selling paperwork. The only difference with private car deals is that there’s no middleman involved in completing the paperwork for you.
Therefore, you’ll need to take care of the transfer of title, bill of sale and so on before you can legally put the keys in the new owner’s hands.
You’ll Have to Deal with Time Wasters
The greatest downside to selling on Facebook Marketplace is that because this platform was not designed to assist with automobile sales, you’re basically on your own to deal with pre-purchase inspections and questions concerning the condition, vehicle history report info and questions, determining the value of the vehicle, paperwork, transportation, financing needs, etc.
If you don’t know exactly what you’re doing and the right information to gather from a potential buyer, you can find yourself wasting a bunch of time with someone who has no ability to buy anything.
Sell on Motobyo Instead!
You don’t have to sell your used car on Facebook Marketplace, or any other private listing platforms for that matter.
When you list your car on Motobyo, we make sure all of the important stuff is handled — including certified vehicle inspections by trusted mechanics. You also won’t have to deal with the nonsense questions or lowball offers because we provide you with an upfront cash offer for the real value of your car, we can handle the paperwork, financing, automobile insurance for your buyer, and much more.
Don’t waste your time on Facebook Marketplace. Sell your car with Motobyo instead!
