CT Asks: Selling Your First Ride?

What was the first car you’ve ever sold? Or what approach do you think you’ll take when it’s time to sell your current ride?

Rusty. Rank. Wretched. These and many other words, nay profanities, could have been used to describe my very first sale. All the soap and Febreze in the world couldn't get the stench of cigarette smoke out of the seats, whilst water and salty sea air were doing their best to turn the body panels into a soft, crumbling powder.

It didn’t matter though. A young man had been test driving the 1997 Jeep TJ for over an hour, accompanied by a colleague. The 4.0-litre inline 6 is a design older than time itself, so at least it ran well. It had no options, except for a busted aftermarket tape deck. Upon reflection, a lot of customers showed up in pairs, presumably for moral support, as a foil to their ‘new car exuberance’, or simply as an effort to intimidate the salesman. Top tip: it doesn't work; most have seen that act a million times and some may privately laugh behind your back when you're gone.

True to form, the young man’s accomplice was treating me and the Jeep much in the manner that Simon Cowell treats woefully unprepared contestants. In this case though, it didn't matter. Through a series of tells – excited and repeated questions, blurting out what he was willing to pay and hilariously ignoring his friend – I had the customer in the business office signing the paperwork almost immediately upon his return.

All this reminiscing was brought about by our man, Ollie Kew, who did a damn fine job of finding a new home for his Ford Ka. Of course, I feel my retweet was instrumental in the sale and expect he will be sending my 30% commission along shortly.

But what about you, readers? What was the first car you’ve ever sold? Or what approach do you think you’ll take when it’s time to sell your current ride? Tell us your stories in the comments section below.