Should I advertise car as towable?

[derh20]

I will be selling my 2012 Ford Focus. I have flat towed it over 40K miles. It will come with a Roadmaster setup, missing the Invisibrake breaking system. It is an asset or liability to have the towing equipment?

[zcookiemonstar]

The car is what it is. Put as much info in the ad as you can. Someone is either going to buy it because it is set up to tow or will not care that it is set up to tow as long as it drives like a normal car. When I sell something I try to give the buyer as much info about it as I can.

[westernrvparkow]

If you were buying a car, settled on the price, and then seller told you that in addition to the 40,000 miles on the odometer the car was also towed across the country for an additional 40,000 miles would you think you got a steal of a deal or would you want to either walk away or negotiate a much lower price?
I am not a lawyer, but if I bought a used car, had suspension trouble shortly thereafter and found out that the car had be towed for 40,000 undisclosed miles, I would think a legal action might be warranted. The fact the car is a tow car is a big negative to most people. I personally would disclose that fact and have it signed by the buyer and expect to have to discount the car to make it go away. But I err on the side of caution.

[ScottG]

Great marketing.

[oldmattb]

Advertise it both ways, and see who responds.

BTW, In my opinion, not disclosing the additional towed miles would be dishonest. Even though they are not on the odometer, it is slight additional wear on the car.

Matt B

[DutchmenSport]

More than likely, a non-RVer will buy the car. The add-on's will mean nothing to them. Sorry, but if you REALLY want to sell it, sell it at "Blue Book" value and eat the loss on the add-on's (if you REALLY want to sell it.) I for one, would pass if the price was not in line with Blue Book or less, because I'd never have any intention of towing it. I'm just responding like non-tower folks would think. Your audience is limited. Sell at Blue Book or less and eat the loss.

[dodge_guy]

You can advertise it as such. It will open it up to more than a 2012 focus buyer. Add in the tags, tow bar, base plate, tow, towing to the add and anyone searching for such will come across your ad.

[ro_sie]

I used a Saturn as a trade in and the dealer could not wait to get the tow package off of the car. In fact, it was offered back to us and we accepted it , gratefully.

[valhalla360]

I wouldn't count on raising the price due to the system (unless you think you have an RV specific audience you can tap...but even then I wouldn't count on much).

I don't think it would hurt if you put it in the fine print but assuming those miles show up on the odometer, I'm going to assume they count as real miles as you can't prove otherwise.

[Janss]

I don't know the answer but I can tell you my experience. The tow car I previously owned was advertised on Craigslist as a tow car. When I went to see it at the seller's house, there were people standing in line right behind me waiting to see it, and more coming. So I had to make an instant decision if I really wanted it. When I decided to sell it, I also advertised it on Craigslist as a tow car. I got several calls from RVers, but eventually sold it to a non-RVer since he was one of the first to call...and didn't care that it had a base plate on it.

But I did all this in the Phoenix Craigslist, an area where there are lots of snowbirds. So maybe it was a relatively easy sell.

[toedtoes]

I agree with Drew. If you are putting up flyers where RVers are the expected audience, the include the tow stuff.

Otherwise, you might just confuse folks. Many potential buyers might not even know what you're talking about and think the car is overpriced.

[DrewE]

I'm pretty sure for most non-RVers it would be a liability that the car has rolled along for 40,000 more miles than the odometer indicates. It would only really be an asset if you're selling to another RVer who is interested in a car to tow; so if you're hanging flyers in a campground, definitely mention it, but I would not advertise the tow stuff otherwise.

[Ski_Pro_3]

I'd offer it at an additional cost, then play it by ear on who answers the ad. Of bigger note is the mileage that shows on the odometer from towing. I would think an odo that registers higher than the actual engine run time would be an advantage to any buyer as the over all wear on the vehicle would be less than the odometer states.
But maybe the odo doesn't record towed miles. In that case, never mind.

[bukhrn]

I think it would be an asset if you are trying to sell it to RV'ers, but if trying to sell it to the general public, I don't think towing equipment would be of any interest at all.

[IAMICHABOD]

I think it would be an asset,a larger pool of prospective buyers.