Advice Selling '05 Chev Cobalt...help?

[GuiltySpark]

So here's the Situation:
I recently purchased my 1st house which is MUCH closer to my job. Before I had a 160km commute and for that reason I had a 2nd car to rack up the kms/ Wear & Tear. In the winter the Cobalt was not used at all.
SO.. Being closer to work and having that added financial burden I decided to get rid of basically both cars and get one cheaper used vehicle for daily driving. The car is a 2005 Cobalt SS Supercharged version in mint shape, fully loaded with 29k kms. I see '05 and '06's with more kms selling in the $19-21k price point on autotrader.ca
I aggressively priced my car at $17,500 and figured I'd have an easy time getting that price, well I got ONE phone call about it and it went nowhere. A friend mentioned I actually priced it Too low and scared people off. Where did I go wrong, or what would you advise me to do? I'm not too keen on trading it in since they will only give me black book which is less than I owe on the car. And basically I'd be back owing the same amount on another car.
I've let the Ad on autotrader lapse and was going to wait until next week to re-do the add with an improved description, new pic and new phone# (so basically it look slike a fresh ad) Bad idea or waste of time?
Is it the time of year, poor ad, un-desirable car, bad luck :) Any advice would be appreciated.

Oh yeah I owe in the $14k range on the car

[chickenbones]

I would price it at the going rate. Obviously as it gets closer to winter it will be harder to sell your car.

The fact that the SS has been discontinued doesn't help your potential pool of buyers.

[ES_Revenge]

The fact that the SS has been discontinued doesn't help your potential pool of buyers.

Actually it does, because you can't get it anymore and it is the highest performance version of the car.

I think part of the reason you may be having a hard time selling the car is because many ppl buying a car like this (quick/performance oriented but still in the economy/small car segment) simply don't have the cash to just purchase one all-out, just like that. With financing rates from GM like 0% financing or 1.5% lease rate, along with other new car incentives, it makes more sense for some people to buy or lease a new one rather than get a bank loan with a lot higher interest rate, and buy yours from you. This may not be all of the reason, but it still is part of it I'm sure.

For example I know ppl that would be interested in a car like this but it makes more sense for them to take over someone else's lease for a few years, or to try to buy a new one instead, for the exact reasons stated above.

I seriously doubt that price is "too low" and "scaring" potential buyers away. It's only a couple thousand within the price of others. Since you owe a bit less than even that, and don't want to trade it, your last resort would probably be to price it at just around what you still owe on it--at least that way you're not going to lose money.

Did you try posting it on Cobalt forums or perhaps J-Body forums? You might find some interested people there. Out of curiousity what colour is it and does it have the matching interior or the grey/black interior?

[GuiltySpark]

But my biggest question is whats the Going rate then?
As for the car, it's red with the red/black leather interior.

[cereal83]

I would buy it in a second if I didn't have a new car. Those cars are awesome

[Alvito]

hang on to the car for a few more years, and when i finally get out of school i will buy it. its sad they discontinued that car, i really liked it. only the SS version though.

put it back on trader, it will sell eventually, price it in the middle of all the others.

[Slippery_Pete]

hang on to the car for a few more years, and when i finally get out of school i will buy it. its sad they discontinued that car, i really liked it. only the SS version though.

put it back on trader, it will sell eventually, price it in the middle of all the others.

Blame the greeniks for the death of the Cobalt SS. It doesn't meet new stringent federal emmission standards. I hate the Cobalt....I love the Cobalt SS.....RIP.

[ES_Revenge]

hang on to the car for a few more years, and when i finally get out of school i will buy it. its sad they discontinued that car, i really liked it. only the SS version though.


Blame the greeniks for the death of the Cobalt SS. It doesn't meet new stringent federal emmission standards. I hate the Cobalt....I love the Cobalt SS.....RIP.

The Cobalt SS (2.4L 170hp) is still alive and well. They just renamed it to Cobalt w/Sport Package or something. The Cobalt SS Supercharged (the one with the 2.0L 205hp engine) is the one that got discontinued. They were two different models with the former also being available in sedan version (SS S/C was only available as a coupe).

So if you you guys liked the SS, rest assured you can still get one, only without the SS nameplate (which Chevy was saying was overused anyway, which it was).

[nolimtzel]

i would wait it out until next spring. dont be rushed into selling it and losing alot of money. a car with 29k wont drop in value that much.

[Slippery_Pete]

The Cobalt SS (2.4L 170hp) is still alive and well. They just renamed it to Cobalt w/Sport Package or something. The Cobalt SS Supercharged (the one with the 2.0L 205hp engine) is the one that got discontinued. They were two different models with the former also being available in sedan version (SS S/C was only available as a coupe).

So if you you guys liked the SS, rest assured you can still get one, only without the SS nameplate (which Chevy was saying was overused anyway, which it was).

Well the supercharged version was the only one worthy of the SS nameplate...so its good that they are dropping the nameplate.

[careener]

Good car.. worth more than 17,500 for sure.
Try Craigslist if you don't want to renew the trader ad.

[GuiltySpark]

Thanks for the advice. I'll try it in the auto trader again next week at a different price, or just hold on to it for a few months and try again in the spring.
As for the model, I'm glad they dropped the SS moniker. I was actually kinda pissed that right after I got the SS S/C they came out with an SS Coupe/sedan. I felt it watered down the brand and my car lost some of its differentiating qualities. Great little car though, fastest car I've ever driven that still gets 500kms to a tank and costs less than $40 to fill it on premium.
I hate when people compare it to a Cavalier, having owned many this car is light years ahead of those ***** boxes.


Any other advice or thoughts?

[careener]

I've been thinking.. are there no Chev enthusiast forums you could post your car on? Maybe an autocross forum or somehting along those lines as well.
If I hadn't just purchased a car I'd consider yours for sure.

[FD3S]

wait...so is yours the Supercharged 205hp or just the 170hp one?

[Polaren]

It's Supercharged and stage 2..so 250HP

[bizzmanager]

If you do a search in the Auto Trader at $17500 you would the most expensive 2005 Cobalt.
You can now buy an LS model cobalt with the same Kms for $13,999.
The black book shows your vehicle at $13k wholesale with sunroof. Thats only 2k more than the LS.
I think you can ask 16k and not go below 15k. Keep in mind that domestics depreciate very fast. So the sooner you sell the better. If you wait till spring you may bee looking at 13ish or worse if the manufacturers fold to buyers cross border shopping. You can buy the same Cobalt at the Lauderdale/Miami Auction for $7900.

[FD3S]

your comparing a top of the line to a mid trim?

he has the SS supercharged model...

[SkiD]

If you do a search in the Auto Trader at $17500 you would the most expensive 2005 Cobalt.
You can now buy an LS model cobalt with the same Kms for $13,999.
The black book shows your vehicle at $13k wholesale with sunroof. Thats only 2k more than the LS.
I think you can ask 16k and not go below 15k. Keep in mind that domestics depreciate very fast. So the sooner you sell the better. If you wait till spring you may bee looking at 13ish or worse if the manufacturers fold to buyers cross border shopping. You can buy the same Cobalt at the Lauderdale/Miami Auction for $7900.

So much wrong information in this response (as related to this particular thread), I hope everyone just ignores it.

[bizzmanager]

So much wrong information in this response (as related to this particular thread), I hope everyone just ignores it.

If I were wrong, the Cobalt SS would already be sold and we wouldn't be having this conversation.
Please expand on what is "wrong" with with the statement?
Unless you have access to CBB or Manheim post sale listings, you must be referring to the asking price. If you did your research you would find three 2006 SS's from Humberview, Royal and Foster selling with similar K's for less than $17900.

[galanz]

This is the most expensive 2005 Cobalt I could find in Ontario.
http://www.trader.ca/powerpage/details.aspx?vlotid=210431&adid=6406563

Same model, same year, less K's and $500 cheaper. You're not asking too little.

[Justin]

If I were wrong, the Cobalt SS would already be sold and we wouldn't be having this conversation.
Please expand on what is "wrong" with with the statement?
Unless you have access to CBB or Manheim post sale listings, you must be referring to the asking price. If you did your research you would find three 2006 SS's from Humberview, Royal and Foster selling with similar K's for less than $17900.

His is not just a Cobalt SS. It is a Cobalt SS with a supercharger. Big difference!

[IoannI]

Kina off topic but when did they discontinue the SS model? Because in Auguest I was sitting in one in Dufferin Mall and it was a 2007 model.

[ES_Revenge]

Kina off topic but when did they discontinue the SS model? Because in Auguest I was sitting in one in Dufferin Mall and it was a 2007 model.

It's gone for 2008. Along with the SS (non-S/C) model. The latter has been changed into the Cobalt with Sport Package or something (G5 GT also continues), but the S/C is gone permanently.

[IoannI]

It's gone for 2008. Along with the SS (non-S/C) model. The latter has been changed into the Cobalt with Sport Package or something (G5 GT also continues), but the S/C is gone permanently.

Ohh wow. Cause I just checked GM's site and the SS is still on the roster. I guess it will still be on the site until 2008.

[ES_Revenge]

It's Supercharged and stage 2..so 250HP

How do you know it has the stage 2 kit on it? I don't really see OP mentioning that? Or did I just miss that, or are you friends with them personally?

That's not a bad price really especially if it has the stage 2 on it. I'd probably be interested myself if only you could get 0% on a used-car loan and if it were blue instead of red, lol...

[Polaren]

How do you know it has the stage 2 kit on it? I don't really see OP mentioning that? Or did I just miss that, or are you friends with them personally?

That's not a bad price really especially if it has the stage 2 on it. I'd probably be interested myself if only you could get 0% on a used-car loan and if it were blue instead of red, lol...

It's in his FS thread and his FS thread on TSC.
Stage 2 costs $1000, includes larger injectors, smaller S/C pulley, smaller belt and ECU reflash to my knowledge and is covered under the GM warranty.

[GuiltySpark]

Thanks guys, for the last month I've been checking the prices on 2005-6 Cobalt SS S/C's with similar kms, and all have been in the $18-19k range. I've yet to check recently but that was the point of this thread, to get an accurate estimate for a good starting selling price. If it's $15k range then so be it, but I was afraid if most were selling for like $19k, and I was priced at $17k obo, then I would be (and WAS) the cheapest, I'd rather get it in the middle of the pack and just get it sold. I'm not trying to be greedy here at all. While I would like to maximize my price, I just want to get it sold and move on to other things.

[impulsebuyer]

My price would be $16,995.00. I would sell for $16,500.00. You have a 2005, which unfortunately is not worth as much as an `06. If you want to try and toss it into a dealer auction to see what kind of price you get, let me know. My guess would be in the $15k to $15.5k range. If a dealer is buying for a customer, the price can go higher.

[scouzer]

FWIW; I recently got my 2006 Pontiac Pursuit GT appraised by the dealer. They offered me $10k flat and refused to budge. I had 31k at the time.

Black book is $10,700... so that's right in line.

I had delusions about how much I could sell the car for, they are long gone now...

[GuiltySpark]

My new price is $16500 and would basically sell for $15-15.5.
I really didn't come into this with any expectations of price that were over inflated (I think) I saw that most cars were at $Xx price so I discounted that the car was older, and added that it had lower kms and in (IMO) 9.8/10 shape. and priced it a few thousand under....Now I realize that most of those cars I based it off of are still there for sale.

PM'd impulsebuyer