Selling a car is not that difficult. Maybe you need the money or you just don’t like your old car any more and want to get a new one. We will give you some advice on how to sell a car!
First Things To Consider When You Sell Your Car
The time it takes to sell your car depends greatly on the popularity of the car and the price you want to get. If you want to sell it quickly, you want get as much money as you would get if you waited.
What type of car do you want to sell? Most models are suitable for the general market. However, you could offer an older car but well known car to a collector’s club. Students would like a compact economy car and military men would have an affinity to muscle cars.
Your burning question must be, how can I sell my car? Well,…
- Sell it yourself. There are many people who buy used cars.
- Trade it in for a new car. You won’t get as much money this way, but it’s one of the easiest if you are looking for a new car anyway. The car trade in value is usually fixed, so you don’t need to put in much effort.
- Sell it to a car dealer like We Buy Any Car or We Buy Cars. You still have to research the price, but they will buy a car within a day.
Determining The Value Of Your Car
Try to be honest with yourself about the value of the car. You might want to sell your a high price, but ask yourself if you yourself would be willing to pay such a high price for the car if you were a potential buyer.
You can have a professional evaluate your car, but with a little research, you can also determine a price yourself. Spend some time looking at classified ads in your local newspaper or on the web. You will find cars similar to yours and that should give you an idea.
Remember there are certain factors that can increase or decrease your car’s value. The most important ones are mileage and the condition of the car. But maybe your car also has some special features.
Look up and print the Kelley Blue Book value. Showing potential buyers their estimate can help a lot in negotiations. I would not try to sell my car without having a clear price in mind.
Add 20% to your most pessimistic estimate. That way, you leave yourself a little breathing room and that will help you in negotiations. Make it a good round number, but don’t overprice too much. Because then you won’t get too many prospective buyers.
Where Should I Sell My Car?
Here are the best ways to advertise:
- Put a sign on your car.
- Use your local classified services.
- Check out popular car websites.
- Use social media to put the word out.
- Tell your friends and co-workers.
If you car is worth less than $2000, you can even sell it on Craigslist. You can also get cash for junk cars at some places if your car is worth that little.
What To Put In The Ad
Your ad should be very descriptive. Include as many pictures as possible. Disclose every single defect or problem with the car.
That is important because of three reasons:
- People who contact you are actually interested. Otherwise you will have many people who show up, but leave as soon as they find a problem.
- People won’t nitpick and try to lower the price with every problem they find.
- Once you sold the car, you don’t have to be afraid of an upset buyer. Never sell a car that has an undisclosed problem! There may even be legal ramifications for these shady car sales.
Then be prepared to always answer the phone and to reply quickly. You don’t want a lot of people who could have bought your car to move on to the next offer just because they couldn’t reach you.
Here is a video that has some advice:
Negotiation Tips
The most important thing to keep in mind is to not loose control. YOU are selling the car, therefore you have the control over who you sell it to and for what price.
Don’t include “or best offer” in your ad. Always ask yourself, “Do I really want to sell my car for this price or not?”
Before you show your car to anyone, make it “shiny”. You want to add some appeal to your car so it will make a nice first impression. Therefore it is essential to wash and vacuum the car. It’s also best to make any repairs before selling.
In order to build trust with a potential buyer, here is what you can do. Show him the maintenance records so he knows it was well taken care of. You can also show him a mechanic’s report of the current condition. Go to Autocheck.com and order a vehicle history.
Sometimes a prospective buyer will say that he needs some time to think about it. That is totally OK, you don’t want to rush anyone. However, if you have more people looking at the car, tell them. It’s the truth and it creates a sense of urgency.
If you don’t have that many people looking at the car, then maybe you were not realistic with the price. It’s time to reevaluate it.
Other Things To Consider
What do I do when I sell my car? Well, to answer that question, you have to take care of all the paperwork and legal stuff.
The paperwork that is required depends on which state you live in. You want to be knowledgeable about all the legal stuff in order to be trustworthy. Also don’t forget to transfer or cancel any insurance on the car.
