Archive for June, 2009
There are some times when selling your car through your collectors car club can be a great idea. But there are also times when it is not such a good idea. Determining if it is the best situation for your particular circumstances often varies depending upon how much you need for the vehicle. For example, those who are looking for an incredible deal of a great car tend to look at car clubs. But at the same time, they are also looking for a cheap deal. If you are looking to get top dollar from your car you may want to sell your car outside of the club to increase your profit.
Most clubs offer a website to members, and often these websites offer either an area for members to make announcements about things car related that they are selling, or a forum which would allow you to make an announcement. Typically, it is free to advertise your car through the car club, which can be a huge savings over advertising the vehicle in your local newspaper.
However, it is also important to realize that unless you are a member of a very large club, you are limiting yourself in terms of potential customers by only advertising to club members. Yet this can often be a great way to get a fast sell for your car, which can be a very important deciding factor when you are trying to determine the best option for selling your car.
Those who are members of your car club may have already seen your vehicle before. Additionally, you may have had a few people approach you in the past asking if you would be interested in selling. Generally, if you have had someone approach you in the past it is always a wise idea to ensure that they know you are selling if any way possible. This will allow them the opportunity to buy your vehicle if you are interested and can really speed up the sale process a lot of times.
If you are someone who loves cars yet discovers that you are in an area where there is not currently any car clubs you may be lacking greatly in terms of options available to you. This often occurs in very small cities and is not always solvable. One of the simplest solutions is often the most complex and that is creating your own car club. However, should you really drive down this path? On the other hand, is it much better to continue seeking out a club that already exists?
If you are considering creating your own car club, you need to ensure that you have very good organizational skills. You are going to need to be the president, vice president, secretary, treasurer and general all around go to person until you build up membership enough to justify the other positions. It is very important to realize that creating a car club is not simply about putting together a website and walking away. Someone is going to be responsible for planning all of the membership requirements, maintaining the list of members and organizing all of the benefits and activities that the club offers.
If your lifestyle finds you with barely the time you need to plan out a weekly meal menu for your family, you are probably going to find yourself too busy to organize a new car club as well. In the beginning, it is going to take quite a bit of time to organize and create. If you happen to have some friends that you know who can be of help in getting the initial organization done then you have a huge advantage that many people do not have.
If you look around and discover that there are numerous other car clubs already in your area, you are going to have a few options available to you. Either join one of those clubs, or try to decide exactly what can be different about your club that will encourage people to join, rather than going to the other clubs. You need something that will help set you apart and establish the individual personality of your club and give people a reason to pay attention to you, rather than ignore everything you do and say.
Deciding how to handle elections and other similar issues for your collector’s car club can seem like a nightmare at times, but if you work on organizing these events ahead of time, it really is not so bad. It is also very important to ensure that you have all of the policies and guidelines for elections noted down in the clubs bylaws to ensure that everyone is well aware of the process.
When you are deciding to start electing officer it is very important to decide what officers you want or need. Most clubs at a minimum have a President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer. Some clubs may have additional officers as well, but this is the general list of officers. Additionally, if your club is very small then you can omit the Vice President; however, this is typically a matter of personal preference and the choice of the club itself. There are no strict and hard fast rules that must be followed.
Most clubs opt to make it public knowledge exactly when election time is, and they also tend to encourage all members to appear. This is generally when the club will offer prizes and raffles as well for those who attend the meetings that determine the officers for the next year. These is not always effective, but it is generally very helpful in encouraging additional members to attend meetings.
Another consideration that you need is to decide when club officers will take office. Many clubs have members taking office around the first of the year, but hold elections in the fall time before the holidays are a major concern. However, other clubs have decided to do elections and instatement of new officers in the summer and fall to completely avoid the holiday hassles. Look to the input of your members if you are completely unsure about when to hold the elections, but always be sure that elections are held at the same time each year for easy remembering.