I drove my Jeep home from a 1,700 mile ‘Circle Tour’ of Lake Superior yesterday. I took the little Jeep from Minnesota’s North Shore into Ontario, Canada, across the great locks in Sault St. Marie, west along Michigan’s ‘Yooperland’, and through a small corner of Northern Wisconsin that leads back to Minnesota.

It was a charity road rally with 30+ vehicles cruising as a colorful caravan over 4 days. The cartoonish vinyl decals on the car promote the charity & sponsors. They were easily peeled off at the end of the road trip and returned to it’s stock look.

The trip was a fitting end to the 2+ years I owned this little Jeep.

Later this week I’m going to put it up for sale. My hope is to sell it in the next few weeks and get a new(er) Jeep. I’ll be looking for a 4-door Wrangler that’s better outfitted for all the things that Jeeps can do – rip through the snow, mud, and climb things.

Perhaps surprisingly for a 57-year old guy, I’ve never marketed a car for sale before. I’ve sent a few to the junk yard (in college), traded a few in when buying newer cars, sold a few to family members, and had my brother sell a few on my behalf.

I’m not completely sure what I’m doing, but I’ve been reading articles and watching videos on the best way to do it. Tomorrow I’m taking it to a place that will completely detail the Jeep and then I will take some photos to post online. I’m hoping that having 8 months / 15K of bumper-to-bumper warranty life left makes it an easy purchase for someone.

My goal is to clear a few thousand bucks more than I would get in trade. Kelley Blue Book says that difference is about $3K. They have it valued as $34K for private party sale compared with $31K for trading it in. Hopefully, the extra profit will materialize without too much hassle.

How many cars have you marketed and sold in your lifetime? Any unique tips / trade secrets that have worked for you?