It was time to sell my Chrysler - but where to start?

I hadn't planned to sell my Chrysler. To me, Chryslers have always epitomised the American dream. Big, bold vehicles with tons of personality and plenty under the bonnet. They aren't to everyone's taste, but having spent my formative years in the States, buying my Chrysler five years ago was like going back to my childhood. I picked the PT Cruiser because of its retro-style look - and the fact that it had plenty of space in the back for those trips into the country to hike. More than once I've ended up on the back seat when my plans to sleep under the stars were met with torrential rain.

I first considered selling my Chrysler when I was made redundant two years ago. I needed the money but, on the other hand, I didn't plan on being jobless for long and I knew I would need it to get to interviews. Public transport isn't reliable enough so, although it was probably more expensive than some other cars, I kept it on for as long as I could. Ironically, the decision to sell my Chrysler only came after I had secured a new job - and one in which I was paid a considerably higher salary than in my previous position. I was offered a new company car; because the company had a spotless environmental record to keep, I felt I could hardly turn down the offer of a hybrid vehicle.

Finding a Chrysler buyer was simplicity itself. Although I was moving cities for my new job, my previous home was within 20 miles of an American airbase. I figured the same qualities that had endeared it to me would also appeal there and I would find someone to buy my Chrysler amongst the homesick Americans who had been stationed in a land of curious accents, expensive fuel, small meals and arcane traffic conventions like driving on the left. To sell my Chrysler to one of them would virtually be an act of patriotism as far as they were concerned.

My strategy to sell my Chrysler initially met with silence, to my dismay. I was so sure it was going to be a winner. Then I joined a couple of online groups and started posting adverts and photos, and I soon had people emailing me with interest. I arranged to meet four of them one afternoon and drove over to the airbase - having spent the morning cleaning the car and shifting all the camping equipment out of the boot. Three of them turned up, and one of them made me an offer to buy my Chrysler on the spot. I used the time-honoured trick of telling her I had another interested person to meet later that afternoon, and that I'd get back to her. In the event, it didn't prompt a higher offer - either she saw right through me or the low dollar was biting and she was reluctant to spend any more. Either way, selling my Chrysler was a smooth and easy process and I got a decent price when I drove back the next day - all the more so for the fact that I wasn't having to pay for my new car!