Selling your car – Step by step guide

Selling your car can be surprisingly tricky, especially if you want to receive the best possible price. Buyers have a myriad of choices, so making sure your car stands out from the crowd is vital. A few simple tactics, like making sure you price it fairly, making sure your car looks good, and using smart negotiating tactics, can be the difference between making a quick sale or being left with an unwanted car on your hands for months.

set the price

Making sure you have correctly valued your car is the most important aspect of selling a car. Set a price too high and you could end up with a car stuck on your hands for months, while setting a price too low will result in a quick sale but knowing you could have done better. Parkers.co.uk has an excellent used car guide section, where you can quickly receive a reliable price estimate.

Also, take a look at the local classifieds to get an idea of ​​the prices. Take into account the number of miles your car has traveled and whether any additional features have been installed over the years, such as air conditioning or a stereo system.

Preparing the Car

On average, clean and polished cars sell for 10% more than the same cars when dirty because buyers like to know that the car they are buying has been cared for. Dealers will also pay more for clean cars because it saves them time and money cleaning the car themselves.

For the exterior of the car, use a good quality car shampoo before polishing the car to create that ‘new car’ shine. Then spray the tires and clean the alloy wheels. This clean and bright car exterior will create a great first impression.

Use a vacuum cleaner to remove dust and dirt from the interior of the car. Tabletops should be cleaned with a “low gloss” tabletop cleaner. When cleaning the windows, remember to be careful around the heating elements in the rear window. Finally, make sure the car smells good. In particular, remove any cigarette odor.

where to advertise

As a generalization, when you sell a car, there are two options available: sell it yourself or sell it directly to a dealer. Selling direct to a dealer is a quick and easy way to take the car off your hands, since you don’t have to advertise, deal with buyers, or risk not being able to sell your car for months, during which time your car will continue to sell. devaluing. Companies like wewillbuyyourcar.com will provide an instant online quote for most used cars.

The downside of selling to a dealer is that you are unlikely to receive the best possible price. Advertising and selling the car yourself takes more time, but it can also be more profitable. eBay Motors has become one of the most popular ways to buy and sell a used car, so much so that a car is now sold every 2 minutes through the site. When selling on eBay, be sure to include plenty of information about the car along with a couple of photos.

negotiate the price

When potential buyers take a look at your car and decide that they are seriously interested in buying it, they will most likely try to negotiate the price. This is to be expected because buyers like to think they are getting a good deal too. Therefore, keep in mind a target price and the lowest acceptable price before you start negotiations. If the two offers are different, a moment of silence is usually the best tactic. People find silence awkward and awkward, often causing them to make an offer in compromise halfway between the two valuations. It is at this point that you can propose a meeting halfway between your offer and the new offer, earning you a better deal.

completing the deal

Once a price has been agreed upon, the deal still needs to be completed. Ask the buyer for his ID, address, and landline number because sometimes things go wrong, in which case it’s good to have a way to contact him. If paying by check, only let the buyer take the car after it’s settled. Finally, write a receipt stating that you are selling the car and include the details of the car, you, and the buyer. Write ‘accepted as proven and seen’ on the receipt to cover yourself against future damages claims. Then have both you and the buyer sign the receipt, after which a successful sale has been made.