Just as the World Wide Web has revolutionized the way people conduct their businesses, so too it has produced new ways to sell one’s own car or house. It remains as complicated a process as ever, however, and you need to know how to do it correctly. This article will outline the correct way to sell your car online.

Remember: You are Selling a Product

When you sell your car, online or otherwise, what you are doing is marketing a product, and you want to present that product in the best possible light. Describe what you liked best about your vehicle and give a thorough description of all of its amenities, including radio, CD player, TV, Internet connection, air bags and the like.

When people are looking to buy a car, they’re trying to picture themselves in the vehicle. They might see small things that they like. In order for people to notice those things, you need good pictures and you need to be thorough with your description. Maybe these potential buyers are looking at similar cars and if the seller of another car like yours does a better job describing it and taking good pictures, then they will most likely get the sale instead of you.

Your car is a product. Like any other product you get interested in buying, you have to present people with the benefits. What do you really like about the car? Explain it to them. Write about the features they will really like and why. Get creative.

Prepare Your Car to Sell

Before you even put your vehicle up for sale, it is of utmost consequence that you make sure it is in top condition. Whenever people buy a car, if they are smart, they will examine it thoroughly for any defects it may contain, and may even have it inspected by a professional. No one wants to buy a new car, only to be saddled with the burden of cleaning it and taking care of any dents, scratches or other unsightly marks. That’s a turn off for sure. Try to minimize that as much as possible.

The first step in the cleaning process is to remove any unnecessary clutter so that potential buyers can easily see what the car has. Then, vacuum it to remove the dust. If there are any spills, try to get them out with stain remover; if they will not come out, then conceal them beneath the mats. Wipe the plastic surfaces clean with spray and wipes designed expressly for that material.

Use products like Wipe New to get your car looking really good / in showroom condition. Check over our tips on detailing your vehicle to easily add hundreds of dollars of value with just a little bit of elbow grease.

Having done the interior of the car, proceed to clean the exterior. First, hose down the car. Then wipe the metal parts to remove any dirt or bird droppings, and clean the windows and mirrors so that there are no spots on them (you can buy liquids used to treat windshields so that rainwater does not leave any residue on them; it can save you a great deal of work). Finally, have a professional repair any dents or scratches in the vehicle.

Do Your Research

Once you have gotten the task of preparation out of the way, you now have some research to do. Using the Internet, local car dealers and newspaper auto classifieds, find out how much a vehicle of your model is worth. This is an important step for sure. You want to price the car right to attract buyers.

Take Photos

Take photographs of your freshly-cleaned car and post them online. They should be taken from different angles so as to form as complete a picture of the vehicle as possible. They should also be clear and of high quality so make sure the lighting is adequate. If necessary, enhance the pictures on your computer but not to the point where you’re essentially lying – just fix things like lighting and shadows.

Take a lot of photos of the interior and exterior of the car in a nice location. If the background, behind the car is too cluttered or distracting, that won’t help. Make sure you show all four tires as well as under the hood and in the trunk.

Another, good idea is to create a video of the car. You can do it with a good camera phone even. Just show the interior and go around the entire exterior. It doesn’t have to be Hollywood quality but just an honest and thorough view of the car so that people can see more of it. You should even have it running so that they can hear how the engine runs.

The Online Selling Process

Once again, you must do your homework so you will encounter few surprises. Specifically, you want to know on which site to do your selling. Pick several sites and find out how reputable each one is by reading customer ratings and also seeing what the Better Business Bureau has to say. Posting fees must be considered too. Ask others who have successfully sold their vehicles online what sites they used and why. Avoid those that ask for your personal information; they are certainly not legitimate businesses.

We have a good article here you might enjoy that goes over the process of creating a good ad for your car:

Six Steps to Create and Effective Used Car Ad

Once you find sites on which to sell (you should use more than one to get the maximum number of buyers), follow all their instructions for posting ads. Fill in all the pertinent information about your car (its make and model, the year it was made, its mileage, technical specifications, options, the price for which you are aiming and your contact information). You may be asked for other things as well. If a fee is charged for posting ads, give your credit card details.

What I like to do is have a separate phone number and email account just for selling a particular car. That way, I can turn both of them off and I don’t have to worry about accepting calls or emails about the vehicle ever again. You can use Google Voice for a free phone number and then just up a separate email account with a free service like GMail.

Handle all Communication Promptly

When you do start getting interest in your vehicle in the form of phone calls and emails, make sure you get back to those potential buyers promptly. You’re a salesman/saleswoman now, so get in that mode. Be cheerful when talking with them and sound excited.

In the past, I’ve called people about cars I’ve seen in the paper and I’ve been really surprised at how they talk to me. Some sound like I’m bothering them or they maybe don’t give good answers and I have to keep asking them the same question over and over. Maybe they’ve never had customer service jobs but that’s not an excuse – we’ve all been on the other end of the sales game and have been sold to, so we know how we want a salesperson to act.

Conclusion

This isn’t the end. I want to give you some more, great articles that are here on this website. The more you know, the better – so check out these great articles on how to sell a car:

• What to Do When a Buyer Shows Up
• How to Protect Yourself When Selling a Car
• Bill of Sale Document for Selling a Car

Again, selling your car online is key. That is where your audience is. People can view your car listing while sitting in their living room or on their smart phone when they are riding a bus. They no longer have to come out and first look at it. This is great for you because the calls and interest you get will be genuine interest. Don’t forget to treat those people well and answer all their questions. Be honest and be glad they’ve contacted you… you do want their money after all, right?

If you have any comments or questions, please post them below. And don’t forget to like this website and share it with your friends!

Can I Sell a Financed Car?

First of all, yes – you can privately sell a car that is still financed. You can sell it yourself or trade it in at a dealer but you’ll get more for the vehicle when you sell it yourself (that’s sort of the point of this whole website – helping you sell your car quickly and get the most for it by doing it yourself).

The main thing you need to know is that you have to call your bank (or wherever it’s financed) and ask for the payoff amount. This is the amount you would have to pay in order to get rid of the loan and have the car just in your name.

Along with that, you’ll need to notify anyone coming to see the vehicle that the title is not clear and that there’s still a loan on the car. Be sure to tell them that you know the payoff amount. They’ll ask what that is and it’s fine to tell them. It just can’t be for more than you’re asking – you’d essentially be “underwater” with your vehicle loan-wise if this is the case.

Underwater With a Car Loan

Being underwater with your car loan means you owe more on the car than it’s worth. This is a problem if you want to sell the car. Your best option here is to wait or find the money to pay down the loan more so that you’re not underwater with it. You should ask yourself if you really need to get a different car or if you can wait.

I was in this situation once – I traded in a car that I owed money on and got a new car. The dealer and bank then rolled what I owed on the old car into the new loan. I look back and don’t know why they did that. It seems that today, banks would be less likely to do that.

One option is to try to sell the car, get the most you can for it and then take out a personal loan or home equity loan to cover the difference. You might even be able to take a loan out on your 401k or retirement plan but that’s not a good idea and it should be avoided if possible.

One more option might be to get a different loan on the vehicle if you have good credit. Maybe you can get a lower interest rate or extend the payments over another year or so and then you’d have a lower monthly payment. Often, these loans don’t take effect for 45 days, so you’d also be able to skip a payment, which might also help you.

Selling Your Car That You Own On

Let’s go through the complete process on how to sell a car that is not paid off so that you do it right and don’t run into problems. Know that you’ll have to do a little bit of extra work but if you really want to sell the car, you probably can. One important thing is to make sure potential buyers that come by to look at the car feel comfortable. If they ask you what you owe or what the payoff is and you don’t even know, they’ll probably leave.

1. Call your lender and find out what the payoff is. They’ll tell you how long that amount is good for. It might be a week or 15 days or 30 days.
2. Find out how much your car is worth and then price it properly.
3. Clean your vehicle and get it ready to sell. Take good pictures, write up good ads and get the word out (online and offline).
4. Make sure you have all the necessary paperwork ready for when people show up. You’ll need the title (with the lien note on it), a bill of sale document and any other paperwork that the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) in your state requires (smog test, etc.).

What to do When the Sale Happens

When you have agreed on a price with a buyer, you’ll need to get the title in their name. To do that, you will first have to go to your lender (bank) with your check or cash from the buyer and then have the loan paid off. The complicated thing here is that if you have a personal check, the bank might want to wait for the check to clear and this will delay things. If possible, get cash or a bank check. The bank check can be made out to you or your bank.

Your lender might be able to give you a lien release right then or it might take a few days. When you get it, you’ll need to go to your state’s Department of Motor Vehicles and get a clean title that does not show a lien on the vehicle. Once you have that, you can sign the vehicle’s title over to the new owner, like normal.

The buyer might want to go to the bank with you. If this is the case, then that’s fine. Plan a time where you can both do it together. Maybe call your bank ahead of time and ask what the best time is to do that and who you should talk to – just to ensure that everything goes smoothly. If you get in there during their busiest time, you’ll have to wait and let’s face it, that’s just awkward being there with someone you don’t know.

What Not to Do

Probably the worst thing you can do is not tell the buyer that the vehicle isn’t paid off. If you take their money and then tell them that you have to first go to your bank, they might not be happy. Be honest and tell them.

More Tips

If you want more tips and advice, I have another article here on this website that you should read:

How to Sell a Car Privately When it is Financed

Conclusion

Know that it is possible to sell a vehicle that is not paid off. It’s more work but it can be done. Your best bet is to find a way to first pay it off so that you don’t have to deal with all this extra work. You’ll also attract more buyers when the car title is clear as they know they won’t have to also work a little more to get the vehicle – it’s just a lot cleaner and easier this way.

Do everything you can to make the sale hassle free. Think of what questions someone might ask about the loan and have answers ready. Get the payoff and talk to your bank and see if they’ll work with you on your loan – just let them know what situation you’re in and they might even have some ideas that you haven’t thought of.

Thanks for stopping by the website and reading this article. If you have comments that might help someone, please leave them below. Please do share this article with others you know if you think this article is valuable and would help them.

In this article, we’ll go through the best ways to price your vehicle so that you get enough buyers interested and yet still make as much money as you can selling your vehicle.

What is the Car Worth?

There are a number of ways to find out what your car is really worth. We’ll walk you through some online tools to help you determine the right price for selling your car and then ways to test your price.

How Quickly Do You Need to Sell it?
Before you go through this process, it’s good to take a minute and think about how quickly you need to sell your car. The more time you have, the better. If you need to sell it quickly, then you’ll have to, of course, have a lower asking price to attract more buyers.

Find Your Used Car Value

Here are some websites where you can enter the year, make, model and mileage of your car to find out how much it is worth:

• KBB.com (Kelly Blue Book)
• Edmunds.com
• NADAGuides.com

Check the value for your car on all of these websites. Write down (or print out) the values that you get. You’ll be selling it privately (not trading in), so look at that price. Sometimes that’s the retail price.

Don’t forget to list all the features of your vehicle. If you have to go out the car and write them all down, then do it. I’ve done that as there were features I forgot about.

Average that out by adding up the values from all 3 websites and then divide by 3.

We’re not done yet. The next thing to do is see if this value is good or not. Next, go to websites like AutoTrader.com and eBay Motors and look at what people are asking and what cars like yours have sold for recently. This is a great way to tell if you need to go up or down on your price.

What’s great about checking your car on eBay Motors is the “See Completed Listings” link after you do a search:

Click that link for some really valuable information – the green listings are the ones that have sold:

Now, you might not find your exact year and model but this should help. Also look at the red listings and see which cars didn’t sell and which ones didn’t get very many bids – these cars were probably priced too high.

Check Your Local Area

At this point, you’ve done a bit of good research. One more thing to do is check your local area for similar cars being sold. Check local used car websites and classified ads in the local paper. This is going to tell you what your local competition will be like.

What Your Car is Really Worth

Ok, so everyone probably thinks their car is the best one out there or special – or maybe you really do have a piece of junk… but there’s one thing to remember – your car is worth what someone is willing to pay for it. Don’t forget this! It’s a basic rule of business.

Used car dealers are smart. The do a number of things well and you should take note:

• They put cars on their lot that they know they have a good chance of selling. You don’t have this option since you’re just selling one car.
• They make sure the cars look their best.
• They attractively price the car.
• They know how to sell a car.

The more you can hype up your car and point out its great features, the more you’ll get for the car. More about that in a minute.

To come up with the right price for selling a car, take the research you’ve done and arrive at what seems to be a fair price. Then, add $500 and then remove/subtract $5.

For example, if you think the car is worth $9000 after your research, your asking price should be $9495. This way, you have some wiggle room and taking the $5 off makes the price look more attractive (lower).

Steps to Selling a Car

First, prepare your car to be sold. This means wash it and detail clean it the best that you can. Even do things like remove the dealer sticker from it.

Second, know all the features of your car so that you can figure out the right price and create ads. You might even create a little website for your car.

Third, take photos of your car for use on your website and online ads.

Fourth, place your online ads and get the word out about your car.

Fifth, be available and wait for people to call or email you. Respond to those calls and email promptly so that these buyers don’t move on to the next car.

Sixth, when people show up, put on your salesman hat and sell it!

Be a Salesman

Yes, the image of used car salesmen (or women) isn’t the most pleasant. You think of high pressure and them being annoying and everything. This doesn’t have to be you but you do have to do some of the things that they do:

• Greet people with a smile and a handshake.
• Ask people where they’re from and what they do – try to make a connection of some sort. Maybe you both have young children or kids in high school and both like the same sports team.
• Give them a sheet about the vehicle – it should like the basic information (year, make, model, mileage) as well as all the features. I like to do a short write up about why I like the car and why I’m selling it. Be honest.
• Point out the great features of the vehicle.
• Mention what you just got fixed and what might need to get fixed soon.
• Try to think of a feature that suits the buyer. If they have kids, mention that there are 4 doors and how there’s space for kids or that the back seats have little wear on them, etc.
• Answer all their questions.
• When the time is right, ask for the sale… you don’t get it if you don’t ask.

Conclusion

You may have never sold a car before in your life, but coming up with the right price is important. It might be the most important thing. Don’t just pick a number out of thin air but do your research. What we’ve mentioned here will really help you come up with the best price for selling your car.

After you have the price nailed down, make sure the car looks its best and then advertise it properly. When people show up to look at it, be a hospitable and honest salesperson and then ask for the sale.

We have other great articles here on this website (CarTips.com), so look through them and get even more detailed help. Our aim is to help you get the best price for your car and sell it quickly.

If you have questions or comments, please leave them here and then please like and share this article with your friends.

You’ve decided to sell your car and now it’s time to put it up for sale and advertise it. It may seem like selling a car is easy (and sometimes it is) but if you want to get the most for your vehicle and sell it quickly, your ad should be effective and do its job of selling the car for you. Here’s a guide on how to construct a great ad to sell your car or truck.

1. Gather Information About Your Vehicle

First, make sure you’ve gathered up all the information about your car that will help you sell it. We have a great article here about how to gather information and how to price your car that you should read. When you do this, you’ll have all the information that you need to sell it. People might ask you questions about the car and you’ll have all that information ready, like a good salesperson.

Pricing the car is important, too – so be sure to read that article!

2. Get Information Together for Your Ad

After you’ve washed and detailed your car, you’ll need good pictures and maybe a quick video. Buying a car is a bit emotional. You want people to be able to picture themselves in your vehicle, so make it as appealing as possible.

Even things like a little air freshener in the car is a good idea. Small details can go a long way when selling a car. Spend a few hours cleaning it and you could get hundreds more.

Do a short writeup for your ad explaining the vehicle. Ask someone to proof read it and give you suggestions. It shouldn’t take long to do this. More about this in a minute.

3. Choose a Place to Advertise Your Car

Here, you have two methods: online and offline. You should be using both to try to find a buyer. There’s only a certain percentage of people out there looking for a new car and only a certain percentage of them looking for a car like yours. The more places you advertise your car, the better chance you have of connecting with a buyer.

Offline Advertising

You can put a sign on your car. Make sure your phone number and price are visible and big if you’re still driving the car around. If you’re parking the car somewhere, then here are a few suggestions:

1. Park the car in a place that gets a lot of traffic passing by it.
2. Park it in a good neighborhood. You might just want to park it there during the day and pick it up at night and drive it home.
3. Make sure it’s legal for you to park the car where you plan to park it. If in a parking lot, then get permission from the property owner so that you car does not get towed away.
4. Don’t park it in the same place too long. When you see a car for sale in the same place all the time, you start to wonder why it’s not selling and what’s wrong with it. People who were maybe interested in it won’t be interested in it if they see it there a long time.

Either way, keep the car in good shape / clean. Have a sign on it that gives people information. If you have a website for your car, then list how to get to it. Make sure your phone number is on it along with the price, year of the car and mileage.

Online Advertising

You’ll get the most exposure for your vehicle when placing an ad online – for sure. That’s where people look today… they can look at new cars sitting on their couch watching TV or something.

The most obvious place to post your car ad is on Craig’s List. Beware of the downfalls of posting on Craig’s List. The ad is free though. Post your ad on a Friday since most people will be looking Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Another good place is AutoTrader.com and websites like that. You’ll pay money for the ad but they do a bit of advertising on TV and radio, so they have quite a bit of traffic on their website. Make your ad good and price your car competitively and you’ll get a lot of ad views.

They have different ad packages you can choose from. Most people will choose the kind of ad that keeps running until the car sells. That’s a good package. If you’re confident that your car is going to sell very quickly, then you can save a few bucks by choosing a less expensive ad package (ads that run for a shorter time).

Put the right details in your online ad in order to make your car more appealing and get the best price. Here’s the information you should include – first, the basic info, which can serve as the start of a used car classified ad template:

• Make
• Model
• Year
• Mileage
• Price
• Body Style

That’s the absolute least amount to list but to make an effective ad, you’ll want to list more information to help buyers.

If you know the trim package of your car, then definitely include that. For example, a Honda Accord will have a DX or EX package (leather, alloy wheels, etc.). People who are looking for that car will know which package they want and will be doing searches for that package. If you have the package they want, then your vehicle will have a better chance of showing up for that search if you list the trim package.

More things to list in your ad:

• Air Conditioning
• Leather
• Power Windows, Mirrors, etc.
• Remote Entry
• Heated Seats
• Any upgrades you’ve done

Do what you can to make people want to contact you to see the vehicle. Write what you like most about the car.

4. Have a Good Writeup

Here’s where you can be a little creative if you want. Again, create desire for the car by explaining why you like it (emotion). More to include:

• Explain why you’re selling it because people will want to know.
• List what maintenance you’ve had done to the car and what the mileage was when the work was done.
• List what might need to be done soon. Honesty goes a long way.
• If the car gets good gas mileage, then be sure to list that as a selling point. Gas ain’t cheap.
• If there’s low mileage, then make a big deal about it and explain why. Was it a weekend driver or just out in the summer?
• If there’s high mileage, then explain where the car was driven if that is an advantage. Did you take big trips? Is your commute to work on highways?
• Is there any warranty left? If so, be sure to point that out.
• List how you’ll take payment.

Again, have someone else proof your ad. Do spell check on your ad. An ad that has spelling and grammar mistakes won’t look good – you’ll either have less people interested in your car or the perceived value of the car might be less. You don’t see a lot of professional ads with spelling mistakes.

Post Great Pictures

Hopefully, you took a lot of pictures. The main picture for the ad should be your best photo – the one with the best lighting and the one that makes your car look its best. This picture is going to be the first impression, so make it good.

Make sure you post pictures of all four tires. People will want to see how they look so be sure to show how much tread is left on them. Buying a safe car is important and tires are a part of that equation.

5. The Headline is What it’s All About!

The headline for your ad is very important – maybe more important than you think. It’s the difference between people clicking into your ad or not. It’s HUGE! Make sure you write it correctly.

There’s a formula out there for doing good writing. It’s called “AIDA” and it stands for:

• Attention
• Interest
• Desire
• Action

What this means is that you first make your writing (ad) get attention, from there, create interest then desire. After that, ask the reader to take action. You should use this formula when writing your car’s ad. The headline, then, is where you need to make sure your ad gets attention and stands out.

How do you make your ad headline get attention? Well, first of all – don’t be boring! Brag a little and have fun. Here are some ideas for used car ad headlines that might get some attention:

• You’ll Kick Yourself if You Don’t Look at this Car!
• The Best Thing on Four Wheels – Take a Look
• Don’t Miss This One – LOOK At It Now!
• I Can’t Believe I’m Selling It – It Won’t Last Long!
• My Loss Is Your Gain – Hurry Though
• This Car Will Not Last Long – Look NOW

You also want to create some urgency. Try to suggest that the car won’t last long – that it’s something people don’t want to miss.

I like to capitalize the first letter of every word. Don’t be annoying and use all caps on all words – maybe 1-2 words at the most. If you use all capital letters, then you’re essentially yelling and that’s a bit rude.

Also, sometimes you see people write “LQQK” as if the “QQ” there are like eyes. That’s cute and all but “lqqk” isn’t a word. I never do this.

6. Should You Buy Online Ad Upgrades?

People wonder if they should buy the highlighted or bold ad or the one with more pictures. It depends.

An easy way to determine this is to check how many other ads come up in a search when you do a search for your kind of car. If a lot (15 or more maybe) show up, then you might want to consider buying an ad package where your listing shows up first.

I like to at least buy a bold ad. This gives your ad at least a little more attention.

Conclusion

Let’s review… first, you gathered information about your vehicle, you got the car ready and then took pictures so that you had everything you needed for your ads. Next, you decided on whether to sell the car online, offline or both. Next, you created your online ad listing all the features, created a good writeup and then topped it all off with an attention getting headline.

There you go – that’s what you need to have an effective used car ad to sell your vehicle. My general rule of thumb is that you get out of something what you put into it. If you do all this work just half-way, then you won’t make as much on your car or it’ll take a long time to sell. Do all of this the best you can and you have it made in the shade!

Thanks for reading – please browse more articles here on this website. You can leave comments below, too. Don’t forget to share this article with others.

Knowing these facts and knowing the best ways to sell your car online in a fast and efficient manner can help you to get the most for your car in the shortest amount of time. In this short but informative article, we show you how to quickly sell your used car online.

Detailed Research Information

Perhaps the most well known online resource for selling a used car is AutoTrader.com. This popular website has evolved from the old hard copy edition that we all grew up with years ago into a huge central online marketplace for buying and selling vehicles. Other comprehensive websites that offer similar services include Edmunds.com and Kelly Blue Book located online at KBB.com. These sites are steeped in detailed research information that helps buyers and sellers determine the fair value of a used as well as a new car. In addition, these sites provide well-written reviews and even videos that show a vehicle in action.

Online Video of Your Car

Video tours of a used vehicle offer an outstanding way to provide potential buyers with an up-close and personal look at your vehicle. To quickly sell your used vehicle online always consider including an online video of your car. People can view the video at home on their computer or even on their smart phone and get a really good idea of what your car is like.

If you don’t provide a video, then potential buyers may move on to the next ad that does have a video – passing you right by.

Vehicle History Reports

Another useful strategy that can bolster your chances of having a successful sale is to provide buyers with a CARFAX data sheet available through CARFAX.com. This is a great way to show your potential buyers that your car has not been in an accident and that the title and other vital vehicle information is in order.

If your car has been in an accident then still get the report. Knowing this and letting the buyer know about it shows that you’re not trying to hide anything.

While getting this report may cost the seller of a used car a few dollars, it greatly increases the trust factor that is conveyed to potential buyers.

Free Used Price Calculators

Always try to set a fair and competitive price for your used vehicle to increase the likelihood that your car will sell quickly. The best way to zero in on the most accurate and competitive price for your used car is to simply use Edmunds or Kelly Blue Book.

Both of these excellent online resources offer free used price calculators that take into account many variables regarding your car. These variables include accessories, overall condition, mileage and the year of the automobile.

A Successful Sale in Little to No Time at All

Another excellent resource that is completely free is Craig’s List. This highly traveled website can be used to supplement your paid postings on AutoTrader.com and Edmunds for example. Taking this approach to selling your used car can have you heading to the bank with cash or a check in hand as a result of a successful sale in little to no time at all.

Selling online is a powerful and highly effective way to sell almost anything today. Taking advantage of this online medium means having a huge exposure that was previously not possible in the days prior to the Internet. The Internet is an obvious game changer in so many aspects of our life and when it comes to selling a used car this is equally true.

Take Good Photos of Your Vehicle

Knowing how to quickly sell your used car online simply means following these easy tips. It is also important to take good photos of your vehicle as a way to provide potential buyers with several outside and inside angles.

Take photos in good lighting and at the proper distance to ensure that your ad gets noticed online. Take pictures of everything – the exterior, front seats, back seats, under the hood, the tires and the trunk.

Other Ideas for You

Other less known ways to sell a used vehicle online include working with a local car consignment business. These companies normally have an online presence that is extensive and typically viewed by a large number of people searching for a used car.

Conclusion

With an accurate price in hand and a CARFAX report, selling a car quickly online should be fairly easy. To increase your chances of selling your car, consider posting to more than one website.

Selling a used car is easier today than in the past and because the used car market is so incredibly hot, right now is the best time to sell your used car online.

Selling a car might seem easy but if you want to get the most money for it, make sure the car is at its best. Think about what used car dealers do to sell their cars. You’re competing with them and since you’re playing the same game, you need to be in their league.

Putting in just a bit of time and a little money, you’ll get that amount back and more. It’s really smart to prepare your car well. People are trying to imagine themselves in the car when they come to see it, so do your best to make that car look like something they want to buy.

When it comes to selling, you want to provide good service. Be available and look presentable when people come. Respect their time and thank them for coming out to look at your vehicle.

Ok, on with the list…

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Selling Your Car Checklist

Not in any particular order:

1. Wash and detail clean your car – inside and out.
2. Get all of your personal belonging out of the car.
3. Do an oil change.
4. Replace the air filter.
5. Check the fluid levels.
6. Inflate the tires properly.
7. Fix minor problems to the interior.
8. Buy new floor mats.
9. Steam clean the upholstery and carpets.
10. Buy an air freshener.
11. Touch up paint.
12. Clean your headlights so they’re not foggy anymore.
13. Clean the trunk.
14. Wipe down parts under the hood.
15. Clean the windows – inside and out.
16. Remove all bumper stickers and window stickers.
17. Wax and shine your car.
18. Have a complete inspection done by a mechanic.
19. Make sure the car is safe – tires and brakes should be good.
20. Make sure the title is clean and in your name.
21. Advertise it in as many places as possible – online and offline.
22. Consider donating the car to charity.
23. Shine the tires and wheels.
24. Don’t let people test drive the car alone – go with them.
25. Get a copy (or take a picture with your phone) of the driver’s license of anyone who comes and wants a test drive.
26. Order a vehicle history report (CARFAX, etc.)
27. Print up a sell sheet for your car to hand out.
28. Make a one-page website for your car to help with online advertising.
29. Promote your car on Facebook and Twitter.
30. If you were the only owner, mention that when people come to see it.
31. When people come, casually mention that you’ve been getting lots of calls (if you have been).
32. Set an attractive sell price.
33. Get any annoying things fixed.
34. Post a “For Sale” sign on the car with a phone number and price.
35. Screen people by phone first before they come over.
36. Look presentable when people come to see the vehicle.
37. Don’t give an answer to the question, “What is the lowest amount you will take?”
38. Remember to cancel your insurance after you sell the car.
39. Get all your car’s maintenance records together and show that folder to people.
40. Post nice ads with great pictures of the vehicle.
41. Do research and know the value of your car. See what similar cars in your area are going for.
42. Don’t rush people who come to see it.
43. Don’t back out of a deal on just $50 if you have no other interested buyers.
44. Under promise and over deliver.
45. Get to know your buyers a little – ask where they are from, what they do, etc. Try to connect with them a little if you can.
46. Don’t show the car at night when it’s dark or in the rain or snow.
47. Mention all the features of the car in your ads.
48. Mention recent repairs in your ad.
49. Smile!
50. List your car on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays. Be available those times.
51. Only take cash for payment.
52. Make sure a deposit holds the car for 24-48 hours or less – no more than that.
53. Make sure the stereo if off so that it doesn’t turn on when people get in to test drive it.
54. Watch out for Craig’s List scams.
55. Respond to all calls you get – return phone calls promptly.

Print this list and then cross off items as you complete them. Doing this will help ensure you have a car sale that goes smoothly and one that gets you the most money for your vehicle.

Some Video Help and Advice

Here’s a good video on how to sell your car privately yourself:

If we missed anything, please mention it below… and again, please share this article.

Find Out What’s Wrong First

In order to know what needs to be fixed, you have to find out what’s wrong. You might think you know of a few things but have you had the car checked by a mechanic? You need to be aware of all the issues of the car you’re selling.

Stop in at a Local Mechanic

Take the car to a local mechanic and tell them that you’re going to be selling the car and want it checked over. Ask for a complete diagnostic of the vehicle. Some places do this for free because your car is already there and you can have them do the work. They will do an inspection and give you a list of things that either need to be fixed or should be fixed. You might decide right then to get a few things fixed or you may pass on some things.

When you do this, you’re doing what a buyer might do. They might request to have the car inspected by someone. When you do it yourself, you’re one step ahead of them.

You can either opt to take care of some items so that the list isn’t so long or you can simply tell them that you’ve had it done and show them the list. Doing this, you’re showing your hand and not giving them a chance to even be dealt any cards. You’re showing that you’re basing the price you’re asking for knowing about these issues. They then can’t ask for much money off the price to get some things fixed.

This is a really valuable thing you can do. Even if you don’t decide to get anything fixed by a mechanic, you at least know what needs to be fixed. You might have someone come by to look at it that knows more about cars than you do and if they spot 3-4 things right away that you didn’t know about, you don’t look too knowledgeable about what you’re selling and it’ll be a tougher sale.

Go ahead and make some copies of the report that you get and hand it to the people coming to see the car. This is also a great tip because by doing this, they probably won’t want to have it checked out again by someone else. Your sale will go much quicker as you won’t have to wait for them to have it inspected or coordinate that with you and their schedules (huge headache avoided). Make sure the date on the report is recent to show that you just had it checked.

Phone a Friend!

Besides going to a mechanic, it’s good to put yourself in the buyer’s shoes. Ask a friend to come over and look over the car. Ask them what they think of it and what they might find as being wrong with it. You know most of the quirks of your car but you might also be blind to some things. They should look for things like dings, scratches and things not working. Ask them to pretend they’re buying the car.

When you do this, it’s kind of like a dress rehearsal for when you actually put it up for sale. By doing this practice session, you’re better able to come up with reactions to what people say because you’ve done it once before.

Go for Some Cheap Fixes

Personally, I’d rather get things fixed right than put on bandages that might hold until the car drives off with a new buyer in it. Even so, this doesn’t mean that you have to put on the best tires if the car needs tires. Go for the cheaper version of the fix if you can.

Using “Bandages”

Again, this isn’t my style but, for example, if you have a leaky radiator, you might try some fluid to help stop the leak or something like that. There is basically a whole aisle at your local auto parts store devoted to fluids and things to fix things cheaply. A trained mechanic will most likely see right through what you’ve done. They might see that something was leaking and now it’s not and know what you did.

OEM Parts

The acronym OEM stands for “Original Equipment Manufacturer.” This means get replacement parts made by the original manufacturer of the car. You’d be amazed at how cheap some of these parts are when you buy them online instead of at a dealer.

I had a broken hook on the privacy shade of my RSX and found that part online for like $2. I then went through the car and found 3-4 other small parts like that which were broken or missing from use over the years. I think the whole bill with shipping was less than $20. By doing this, the car looked more “put together” and cared for. I believe I got more than $20 worth by investing that money.

Car Parts at Amazon

You can also find some good car parts over at Amazon.com. They have a huge selection of whatever you would need for your car. You can either buy replacement parts or car maintenance parts as well.

Get Some Things Fixed

Depending on the price, probably the best things to get fixes are the obvious ones. If something creaks or makes a noise or makes the car ride bumpy, you are probably best off fixing those things. They’re distracting. You could have a nice car except for kind of loud muffler or squeaky bearings and it’ll ruin the whole experience when someone takes a test drive in it.

Get the safety things fixed for sure. This means the brakes and tires. People won’t want to buy a car that doesn’t seem safe.

You should have no dashboard warning lights on. There should be no “Check Engine” light, maintenance light or any other kind of warning. That’s a huge turnoff and it’ll make it really hard to sell your car.

Alignments are super cheap but they help. I hate driving a car that’s out of line – where you basically have to hold the steering wheel in order to make it drive straight. That’s pretty annoying. Why make a test drive annoying for someone? Pay the $80 and get it fixed so that they’re not bothered by that. They might see that and ask for $200 off the selling price where you could have fixed it for $80 and made an extra $120.

Body Work

Where I live, there’s a local car detailing and body work company that advertises how they take care of small dings and scratches on cars for a pretty decent price. I think this is a good idea because people are holding on to their cars longer now and getting some small dents and scratches fixed can help the car seem more like new.

Try to find a place like this in your area. Go in and they should be able to give you a free estimate on what it would take to fix those things. Maybe you don’t get them all done to save a few bucks but why not get them all done? If it’s $200, then add $400 onto the price of the car so that you profit from it.

Do Regular Maintenance Now

Go ahead and do regular auto maintenance things like getting the oil changed and fluids checked. You’ll be able to show the buyer that this work was recently done. It’ll show you care for the car and it’s something they won’t have to do.

Show The Car’s Maintenance Records

Hopefully you’ve kept a file folder or shoe box full of receipts that has anything to do with the car you’re selling. Most people do this. This is something good to show to buyers. They’ll feel going know that they have some records of history with the vehicle and can see when certain work was done. I do this and even keep oil change receipts in it… why not?

More Tips to Get Your Vehicle Ready

1. Of course, clean the car and get it detailed.
2. Take everything out of it – all your junk.
3. Remove window and bumper stickers.
4. Remove any accessories you’ve added.

It’s best to get your vehicle as close to stock condition as possible. Clean it good. Put in new car mats and add a nice air freshener – stuff like that. Make sure it doesn’t stink and make sure it’s nice and clean.

Conclusion

Again, putting some money into the car takes care of a few things. First, it’s something people can’t bring up when they’re looking the car over – I like to say “less things in the equation” meaning less obstacles and things in the way to get to your goal. Second, think of it as increasing the value of the car. Pay $200 in repairs and raise your asking price by $400 so that you’re making more money. Look at it that way instead of losing money by spending it on repairs because that’s not how it is.

Make sure you sell people a safe car and one they can see themselves driving and your sales job will be much easier.

How did I do? Did I cover everything? Do you have more ideas? If so, please leave those comments below. Also be sure to share this article!

Prepare the Car for Sale

Wash the Car

You obviously want to get it washed and cleaned. Take it to a car wash where they have people wiping it off and cleaning the inside. This will cost you $20 for their top of the line wash. Consider getting some extra detailing done, too. They can usually do it quickly or else you can leave the car there and go do some shopping near by.

I even found a guy that detailed my car for $100 and he power washed the engine compartment, too. Wow, did that make the car look new! To do that, they disconnected the battery and then ran a power washer over everything. They let it completely dry and then reconnected the battery. Finish it off with some Armour All on the main parts and hoses and wow does that make a difference. Anyone looking over a car is going to pop the hood. If they do that and see things looking really good, that will make them feel better about buying the car. They’ll know the car was well taken care of. Car dealers do it – so should you.

Make sure the wheels look amazing. Get some wheel cleaner and apply tire wax. This is a must!

The interior should also have some Armour All applied to it so that it looks sharp. Clean all the windows, both sides, with window cleaner. Do it twice if you have to so that there are no streaks.

Clean the Carpets

If you have light colored carpets, get all the stains out. There’s some really good foaming carpet cleaning spray that I use (and love – it works great) and it’s called Tuff Stuff (about $5 a bottle at Amazon). You spray it on, then wait a minute and then I use a scrub brush on the area and carpet stains come right out. I use it on my home carpets and it works great in the car. Stains you think would never come out just come right out.

Also consider getting the carpets and upholstery steam cleaned. This will deep clean everything which will also help with our next point…

Is There a Smell?

Sometimes, if you’re used to your own car, you might not notice a smell. Ask someone else to smell your car. If there is an odor, then you can do a few things. First, think about getting it steam cleaned, like we mentioned. Second, try carpet cleaner that you vacuum up (baking soda based). Third, use some air freshener like Febreeze in the car. Don’t use too much or it’ll be too obvious that you’re trying to cover something up.

Worst case, you have some mold or mildew. If your car is a convertible and if the top leaks or if it has been wet, then you might need to pull up the carpet and have it totally cleaned out.

Remember, all the little tricks and tips that we mention here are small investments that will help you get more for your used car. Sometimes taking a hour to do something will net your a few hundred dollars, which is like getting paid a few hundred bucks an hour!

Body Work

How does the car’s exterior look? Are there any rust spots? I had one on a car that I was trying to sell and I found a guy with a body shop near by that fixed it really cheap. It was like $300 and now I can post that the car has no rust showing. That’s just one less thing someone can use to bring down the price when they’re looking at the car. You can also keep emphasizing that there is no rust on the painted part of the car and that it’s clean – doing this will prevent people from going too far down in price when it does come time to talk money.

Get an Oil Change / Do Fixes

The picky buyer is going to poke around under the hood or even ask if they can take the car to a local shop and have it checked out (at their expense). You don’t want old, dirty oil in it. All fluids should be topped off and looking good. Take care of any leaks.

Maybe there’s something that needs to be fixed – like the brakes for example. Spending $75 or $100 might net you much more than that plus it’s something you can say just got done, which the buyer will like.

Get New Tires Put On

Speaking of fixes, one popular thing to do is get new tires. Putting on a set of budget tires can really add value to the car. If someone is buying the car for their teenage driver, then new tires on the car will be a huge selling point. Again, it’s just one more thing that the buyer can’t use against you.

Price Your Used Car

Now that your automobile is clean and looking its best, it’s time to figure out what price to sell it for.

Free and Clear Title

What works best is if the car is clear – which means you don’t owe anything on it. You want a title that’s free and clear so that you don’t have to first take the buyer’s money to the bank and pay it off. That’s too much of a hassle for people and you’ll get very few people interested in the car and, because of that, you’ll get less for the car.

Search Online

Go to places like Kelly Blue Book (kbb.com) and see what the car is worth. Also, check out used car websites and try to find cars like yours (in the same condition, etc.) and see what they are selling for.

You should know all the features of your car. It doesn’t hurt to take a pen and pad of paper and go out to your car and write them all down.

Add Some Wiggle Room

When it comes time to haggle, you’ll lose a little right away. Add a few hundred in so that you are able to slide down on the price a little and let the buyer feel like they’re winning a little.

Also, here’s a good tip… take whatever price you want to sell your car for and subtract $5 from it. For example, if you are selling it for $5800, then set the price at $5795. It looks more attractive that way.

Take Pictures of Your Car

You’re going to want to sell your car online and maybe in a newspaper or print ads, so you will need some good pictures of it.

Find a Good Location

What’s around your car in the picture will help make the car look better, too. Find either a park where you can park your car on the grass for a brief period of time or else what I like to do is head over to a nice business park and find a nice building and parking lot there – like on a Sunday when nobody is around.

Weather and Lighting

A sunny day is good. Your pictures will look nice. With a somewhat cloudy day, you’ll get even lighting, which can also be a good thing. Do not take pictures going into the sun. Have the sun behind you always. You shouldn’t need a flash on your camera if you’re outside and there’s good lighting. The flash can reflect off of windows and ruin your shot sometimes – which is why you have to be careful about taking pictures inside the car. When doing that (and if you need a flash), do not aim the camera at windows but aim it downward or away from windows.

What to Take Pictures of

Here are some important things to make sure you take pictures of:

• The front, back and sides of the car.
• The interior – including the seats, dashboard, instrument console and radio.
• All four wheels. Try to show how much tread is left on each tire, too.
• The trunk.
• Under the hood.

I usually try to include a shot of the car from the front but from a low angle. You might have to be on the ground for it (which is why a park with a grassy area works well). Doing this makes the car look more “grand” and more special. Don’t just stand there and take a picture, move your body.

To get a good shot, move the car. Get in, move a little, take more pictures. When you get back home, you’ll pick out the best ones, so take a lot of pictures.

I also like to take one kind of funny picture and then decide later if I want to use it. For example, one with everything open – all the doors, the sunroof, the hood, trunk… everything.

Write Up The Specifications and a Good Description

Get out your list of features and write them down. Open a Word document and list them with bullet points. Don’t forget these items:

• Mileage
• VIN Number (it’s ok to post this online)
• State if the title is clear.
• Kind of transmission (automatic or manual)
• Any recent work you’ve had done – this will tell the new buyer that they won’t have to take care of these things for a while.

Then, what I like to do is be creative and write a good description. Include why you are getting rid of it. Maybe you just got another car or want to get a new car. Maybe you just need the money. Maybe you can’t store the car anywhere. List a good reason so that this doubt is removed from people’s minds.

Tell people what they will enjoy the most about the car. Maybe it’s the sunroof or the all wheel drive in the winter. Come up with at least 3 things and list the benefits of each one. Be emotional about it – meaning, say that the sunroof is great on sunny afternoons when you’re leaving work for the weekend and you feel nice and free with it open. Attach an emotion to each feature. This helps to create desire for the vehicle, which will help you get more for it because emotion very often over powers reason and logic.

Go Sell It!

Now that you have the car clean, the description and everything together, go sell the car. There are a number of places where you can get free car ads online. Here is that list:

• Craig’s List
• AOL Autos
• Cars for Sale.com

Craig’s List Scam

Craig’s List is great but watch out for scammers. I’ve seen these emails come in. Someone claims that they will pay your price plus $100 but they can’t see the car because they’re on a ship or something. Don’t fall for that. They won’t ever come see the car or send someone to pick it up. They want you to pay via PayPal and they’ll generate a fake email to send you and maybe pay you too much and have you refund them – something like that. Again, be smart and be careful!

Sell the Car Locally!

Put an ad in your local paper. Go to the supermarket and see what free car magazines are near the door. See about putting ads in those publications (I find some of those to be too expensive).

Put up Flyers!

You already have information about the car in a Word document. Add one of your pictures and print up flyers. Do them in color because they’re only about $0.50 a copy. Check it over for grammar and spelling errors (have someone else do it if you can’t). Put them up at grocery stores if they have a place for ads.

Also, some auto parts stores will have a place in their store for cars ads. I think this is so smart of them. They know that people selling their cars are going to need car parts and car cleaning items, which brings people into the store. Also, people will return there to buy parts and things once they have a car. Auto parts stores aren’t selling cars either, so you’re not competing with them. I don’t know why every one of these stores doesn’t have a board like this. If they don’t, then suggest it to the manager.

Park it Somewhere There’s a Lot of Traffic

No, don’t park it on the side of the highway. Find a busy street and park it on a corner (street parking) with a for sale sign on it. Don’t leave it there overnight or else you’ll invite thieves to break into it. Also, if you do want to park it at a store or business, get the permission of the store first. They probably don’t want their lot turned into a used car lot… or maybe they do!

You should have a for sale sign on the car at all times, too. If you’re driving it around, people will see it. Have the amount you’re selling it for along with your phone number in large letters so that it can easily be read.

Include Your Contact Info

Make sure you’ve included a way for people to contact you. List your email or phone number. I don’t like my cell number being out there, so what I did was get a free phone number at Google Voice that forwards any calls to my cell. That way, when the car is sold, you can shut down that number or not have it forward to you any more.

Build a Small Website for Your Car

This works well if you have a car that’s a little different like a sports car, an exotic, a classic or just something different. You might actually have a national audience for your car if it’s rare enough.

When I was selling my Toyota MR2, I realized it fell into this category and I bought a domain name and set up a simple website called MR2ForSale.com. It was a name that people could easily remember and it’s something that could get searched on if someone out of my area was looking for that kind of car.

You might also consider selling your car on eBay if you want to get rid of it quickly.

When Buyers Call or Arrive

When you start getting calls, here are a few tips.

First, it’s good to keep a list of people. When someone calls, make sure to get their name at least. Write down when they called, too. Just keep a small log for your reference. If you can get their phone number, then write that down, too.

Second, make sure they’re serious and just don’t want to waste your time looking or test driving a car – especially if it’s a nice or rare car. Be polite about it.

Third, pick a time and place that’s convenient. Maybe you don’t want people coming to your house – or maybe you do. I don’t really mind but I can understand how, in today’s world, someone might not want that.

As they’re looking over the car, make sure you’re pointing things out and telling them the benefits. Answer all their questions. If you have a folder full of receipts of things you’ve had fixed, then have that in the car. Buyer will like to see that it was taken care of.

Haggling Over the Price

Your ad already stated the price, so there’s no need for you to start lower than that. Stick to your price. They will most likely start lower. If it’s too low, then don’t even counter it. I like watching the shows like “Pawn Stars” or “American Pickers” and you can watch how they (the pros) do it. You can learn quite a bit. You should already have some wiggle room in your price, so you can come down a little.

The Final Sale

Before you have people come to see it, you should have everything ready. Here’s what you should have:

• The title along with any lien releases. Put this in an envelope (not sealed, of course) with the VIN number of the car printed on the outside of it. Make it look like you know what you’re doing.
• A “Bill of Sale” document. Have two of these printed out. These state that you have sold the car to the buyer without any warranty, etc. These are the terms of the sale. One is for your records and one is for them. Both of your should sign each one.
• Only accept cash or a bank check. Do not take personal checks. If you do take personal checks, then do not release the car to them until it has cleared. If they don’t like that, then they can go to their bank, get cash and come back.
• Give them all the keys, the manual and anything else that goes with the car.
• Shake their hand, look them in the eyes and smile.

Used Car Bill of Sale

Sample Used Car Bill of Sale Document / Form

If you’re looking for a “Bill of Sale” document / template, then we have a whole article here about a used car Bill of Sale document that you should read. Make sure you do. There, I have one you can download. You are welcome to it but know that I’m not an attorney and make no guarantee that this document is legally sound.

There are websites that can help you create and print a bill of sale document. I’d suggest using one of those.

Conclusion

We hope you enjoyed this long article. We tried to be thorough and give you lots of tips. We will keep updating this page with new tips as we get them, so please bookmark this page. Also, tell your friends on Facebook or other places that you like this article.

Got More Tips?

If you have more tips that we didn’t include, then please leave them in the comments below. Please share this article.

Good luck selling your car!

A second hand car is known to be considerably cheaper than a new one – even so, you can still get a nice price provided that you take into account the following 10 great tips for selling your used car yourself:

1. Have All the Papers Ready

The first thing you need to do before you move on to advertising your car is to have it inspected and get all the warranties and maintenance records. Buyers will probably ask for the car’s papers and service records, so make sure you have all of them prepared. If the buyer sees they are up-to-date and you have them organized properly, he will surely trust you more.

2. Pay Extra Attention to the Ad

One of the parts of selling your car all by yourself is that you will have to take care of every detail, including advertising – even so, the benefit is that you will get all the money and you do not have to split it with a car dealer. Having said that, it is essential to design a great, attractive ad that will make your vehicle stand out from the rest of the ads.

If you want to advertise your car in the local newspaper, then take several professional photos (including the interior, exterior, engine and all the important parts) and write a specific, customer-oriented ad. On the other hand, if you plan to advertise it online then make a video ad as well – videos are far more appealing than plain text, so make sure you point out your car’s qualities!

3. Advertise on a Budget

Now that you have designed the ad and you have taken the pictures, the key is to never stick to just one advertising place. Sell your car online and make good use of specialized online marketplaces (Facebook, Twitter or Craig’s List are also extremely useful), but don’t limit yourself just to that. Post signs and posters wherever you can, and you can even put a “For Sale” poster on your car’s windshield, so that others will see it when you drive your car around town.

Be inventive, customers love original ideas!

4. Offer a Test Drive and Be Flexible

Most, if not all the prospects will ask for a test drive of your car, and that is perfectly normal – in the end, they must know what they will buy. Only discuss the price after the test drive and always be flexible, especially if you are on a really tight schedule and you can’t afford asking for a small fortune on your vehicle. If you want to sell it quickly and effortlessly, then being flexible in terms of price is certainly the key.

5. Know Your Car’s Pros and Cons

If you plan to sell your car, then the chances are that there are some minor flaws that can impact its price. This is why it is vital to be aware of both the advantages and disadvantages of your car, before your potential customer points them out for you! Is the windshield slightly cracked, or is there a problem with the trunk? Find the problems and address them – if you can’t, at least hide them effectively.

6. Put Yourself in the Shoes of Your Buyer

This is the easiest and most objective way to see if you’re selling your car the right way. Put yourself in the shoes of the buyer and pretend you are interested in buying the vehicle for yourself. Be very careful and pay attention to the tires, the switches, controls, scratches, the wipers, the sound system, the lights and everything.

To take this a step further, ask a friend or neighbor to take a look at the car as if they were a buyer. They can give you some valuable feedback and they might ask some questions that a buyer might ask. This will help you prepare for when you actually have a buyer in front of you.

7. Find the Right Time to Sell Your Car

Believe it or not, there is such thing as the wrong time to sell your car. Buying a vehicle is a serious, long-term investment – don’t sell it during winter or bad weather, as the unfavorable weather conditions don’t allow your car to shine and show its full potential.

Also, another great tip is to avoid selling your car if you are short on money, since you may be tempted to sell it for a very low price.

8. Don’t Be Too Harsh on the Buyer

This is actually one of the most common mistakes people do when they try to sell their car – don’t be too judgmental and don’t laugh at your buyer if he can’t drive properly or if they try to negotiate badly. In the end, it’s their right to see if they can get a better price for the vehicle.

If a buyer is interested in your car and has the money, that’s all that matters!

9. Know the Market, Know Your Car

Knowing the market is vital if you want to get the best price for your car’s value. If the price is too high, it will scare off buyers right before they even get a chance to look at it. Is your car a hot commodity at the moment, or is it just an inexpensive transportation option? If you own a convertible or a sports car, then you should know that these cars are seasonal and they should be sold in spring/summer.

Trucks and vans are the most sought-after and they have competitive prices, while collector cars usually take longer to sell but they are a great deal and have an unexpected value for a genuine collector.

See what other cars like yours have sold for recently. You can look on eBay Motors and look for cars that were just recently sold.

10. Give Your Car the Ultimate Makeover

Wash the car, vacuum it, remove dings and scrapes, get rid of all the clutter in your car, clean the brakes and clean the windows, both on the inside and on the outside. Also, don’t forget to empty the ashtray and you can even opt for a low-cost repair that will address all these issues for a low price.

Even going to a local place that does car detailing might be worth it. If you pay $50 for a good wash and detail, you might get hundreds more for the car because of how good it looks. Car dealers know this and it’s something you should take advantage of.

Conclusion

You might not have sold a car before in your life but it’s not too difficult. Don’t be scared by it but be smart about selling your used car yourself. Find out all your can. We have other great articles on our website that might help you, so browse through some more of them.

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