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If you've got a used car to sell, here are my top six recommendations on how to find a buyer without paying for classified listings.

1. Talk to a dealer. If your car is late model, good condition, then take it to a couple of new car dealerships that sell that brand. Ask them how much they would pay you to buy it off of the curb. The number they offer will be lower than what you can sell it for, of course, but people are occasionally surprised by the value that a dealer sees in the vehicle.

If it is an older vehicle, you can still shop your car to dealers, but you'll probably need to focus on discount used car lots.

Either way, taking a little bit of time on this recommendation helps you in several ways. First, you may find out that the value the dealer offers you is sufficient to you to decide to accept it and get on with your life. Second, it gives you a frame of reference as to how desirable your car is, which will influence the price. Third is the reason that this step could help you find a buyer. By having this conversation with the dealer, you can easily open the door to a conversation about whether or not the dealership would be interested in earning a commission for selling it for you. This is something a dealership will do usually for one of their good customers, but if your car is unique or desirable enough, a dealer may decide to do it for you even if you don't have a prior relationship there.

2. Don't just clean it. Have it detailed. For $100, you could drive the selling price up by thousands. Make sure the wheels are well cleaned, and the tires shine.

3. Park it in a well-lit area on the side of a busy street, and don't forget the huge orange "FOR SALE" signs, filled in with your phone number. If you don't know anyone who will let you park it on the side of a busy street, then consider continuing to drive it, and park it strategically for a similar effect.

4. Use craigslist. www.craigslist.org. It's free, and it only takes a few minutes to put your car out there for thousands of people to see. Be sure to give them clear instructions for contacting you, and when they can expect to see the car if they call. Be honest about your car. Internet buyers have a wealth of options, and are used to being sucked into face-to-face meetings for items that don't quite match the listing. They have learned how to tell credible ads from shady ones. If you give them the VIN, mileage, and service history on your listing, you will attract interest.

5. Work your contacts. Sending an email out to your family, friends and coworkers is just as useful as the "send this on to ten friends" email they keep sending you. Caveat: Don't send this email to anyone that you wouldn't be comfortable selling the car to. Some relationships don't survive business transactions.

6. Find out if there is an enthusiast group for the make or model of your particular car. There are a lot more of these than you might think. Everyone knows about the Corvette Club and the Mustang Club, but your car doesn't necessarily need to be high-performance to have a club devoted to it. There are VW clubs, Honda clubs, Mazda clubs, and more. They usually have websites or MySpace pages. Run a search for "[Your City] [Car Make] Club" and you should find what you're looking for.

If you go through this list and you still haven't found a buyer for your car in a reasonable amount of time, then you know that you didn't go to the expense of a paid classified service needlessly. Good luck!

Learn more about this author, Jerry Dorsey.
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