Buying & selling cars from Facebook Marketplace: First-hand experiences

Enthusiasts share their reviews, advice and pros/cons.

GTO recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

We have lots of threads on the usual classifieds websites & the famous startups for buying & selling cars/bikes. What about Facebook Marketplace? Any experiences?

If you've tried Facebook Marketplace. please share your reviews, advice & pros/cons. Thanks! We have many lovers of pre-worshipped cars on the forum, so first-hand experiences will be super helpful.

Here's what BHPian akshay4587 had to say on the matter:

Not in India. I recently sold my Alfa Romeo 159 in Australia via FB Marketplace within a few hours of listing at the listed price.

And like Fiat in India, Alfa Romeos are not easy to sell cars.

Here's what BHPian Motorhead23 had to say on the matter:

I sold my 7-year-old S-Cross in Dec'22 to OLX Autos, however, before making a deal through them I had my listing on all classifieds CarTrade, Cars24, CarDekho, OLX and even FB Marketplace. One thing I can say from my experience is that I received maximum enquiries through FB Marketplace and most of them were direct buyers whereas on other portals mostly were dealers who were offering insanely low prices.

Also, since mine was a diesel and with the 10-year rule in Delhi, I ensured publishing my Ad in various Upcycling/ Re-Sale groups of Haryana & Punjab which helped me get some genuine enquiries.

In the end, I did get a marginally better deal through FB marketplace I chose OLX Autos' offer to avoid all the hassles of transporting [Punjab] & transferring the car by myself.

Here's what BHPian Iyencar had to say on the matter:

I've been scouring FB Marketplace every day in my hunt for an automatic BR-V. The dealers are present in large numbers here as well. However, I found it much easier to see owner-listed vehicles here. The advantage is you can see their main profile (if it isn't locked) and check for mutual friends as well. Gives an additional layer of comfort I guess. The second best was Olx. But weirdly, I only see owner-listed vehicles there if I do a general search and do not go into OLX autos where there are only bumped dealer ads. T-BHP classifieds are the easiest to search for owner listings but then the reach seems to be limited.

Here's what BHPian Mr.Boss had to say on the matter:

Found more negatives than positives

Buying:

1. Most of the ads were from dealers, with a mismatch in information (no. of owners, odo reading, price)
2. Few vehicles were sold long back and still the ad exists
3. No contact number and no response to FB messenger chats for several months

Selling:

1. Posted few ICE equipment and numerous chats and calls from lowballers
2. How best we describe the product, be prepared to answer basic questions like 'Is it working?', and 'is it still available?'
3. Chat-to-call ratio is less than 5%

Here's what BHPian pannags had to say on the matter:

Posted by car for sale on Facebook Marketplace based on a recommendation from a friend. Here is the summary of my experience so far:

• Expect constant updates on clicks/views and the ability to refresh your listing
• 4x times the enquiries when compared with OLX in the 2 weeks of listing my car
• Overnight response and request for details, mostly from used car platform dealers (Cars24, OlxAutos)
• No follow-ups for converting your listing to the "sponsored" category (unlike OlxAutos, who will coax you to)
• Completely free of cost, which comes with the flipside of casual enquiries and duplicate listings

All in all, this platform seems to offer good visibility for used car sales as well as for purchases. One tip would be to add multiple pictures of the exteriors and interiors since this is something most buyers expect to see.

Remember to keep the registration number masked until the car is physically being inspected, at which stage the interest to buy your vehicle is reasonably well established.

Here's what BHPian sanjayrozario had to say on the matter:

I'd put up an ad with clear pics on Olx & FB marketplace - got lots of calls & finally a dealer picked it up for his family member, but gave me a price close to my expectation. FB marketplace is quite effective too.

Here's a snapshot of my experience on FB Marketplace.

• No one will inundate you with incessant calls to convert your ad into a "paid" option
• Enquiries just skyrocketed within a week of listing my car
• Most calls were from local used car dealers but got a lot of enquiries from direct buyers too
• Direct buyers came up with ridiculously low prices. That's when I realised the pitfalls of free ads/listings. Because these were not serious buyers but someone who were waiting for a distressed sale

Please put up as many clear pics of the interior & exterior of the car. Just helps close the deal faster.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.