1. Clean Your Car Thoroughly

First impressions count more than any other. Remember if your car is an absolute mess it gives an indication to the potential buyers that you didn’t pay much attention to maintaining your car in other more important ways in the past. The outside is more vital than the inside so do your best to pay attention to details. Consider having the car cleaned up professionally if you must.

2. Research the Right Price

Knowing how much money you should be aiming for is much easier when you research the Blue Book value of your car and sensibly judge its condition. Otherwise you are flying blind and someone who did their homework could fast talk money out of your pocket!

3. Make Minor Repairs

Do you have a window that leaks or other minor repair that is both quick and inexpensive to take care of? Handle it and you greatly boost your chances to get more for your used car. The benefit of your doing this is mainly a psychological one, but it works well. Trust me. Not being lazy about minor repairs is a tip not to ignore. You could earn extra hundreds by paying attention to these types of details.

4. The Smell Counts, Too

You might be surprised at how your call smelling a bit “off” compared to having a new car smell can affect your final selling price. People will be in the car, checking it out and feel that something is not quite right. They might notice a smell or maybe not but smell is one of our senses and it’s connected with emotion, so you want to make sure you have this one covered.

Even if a two dollar air freshener resulted in a extra twenty in your hand it’s nothing, but a great investment isn’t it? An air freshener is the least you can do. To go the extra step, have the car’s upholstery and carpets steam cleaned – either by yourself or at a local car wash.

All these things add up in the end!

5. Use the Web to Your Advantage

Craig’s List is a obvious great choice to put the good word out about your used car being for sale. It’s free after all. Another free resource is social media. Facebook and twitter can let your friends and family know you have a car for sale. A few shares later and your ca may be sold minus any hardcore negotiations at all. Don’t forget to include lots of quality photos!

6. Write Good Ad Copy (or Have Someone Write it for You)

Yes, selling your used car makes you, at least for the moment, a sales person. Sales go much easier when following up good marketing, which is exactly what your ads are – marketing your used car. The better wrote your ad ultimately the more you will get for your car. And quicker too.

7. Gather Your Maintenance Records

If you have well documented maintenance records they could earn you a good deal more on your car’s final sale price. These papers offer hard credible evidence you have taken good care of your car over the years. Some experts estimate this could mean even as much as an extra ten percent tacked on to your selling price! Keep good records, they pay off in more ways than one.

8. Negotiate Like a Boss

Negotiating prices can be both an art and science. Now it may not pay for you to read one of the many books on the subject or listen to an audio course, but why not hit Google and get some tips on how to best haggle about your final sale price? I bet even reading a good page or two will pay off in the end.

Conclusion

All in all if you pay attention to these little (and not so little) details you are nearly guaranteed to walk away better off from your used car sale than if you rushed in blind and unprepared. After all you’d like every extra dollar you can get to go towards your new car wouldn’t you? I certainly value every penny in that situation.

Best of luck selling your used car. Did I miss one of your favorite tips? Let me know I would love to hear them! Leave them in the comments area below. Please also share this article.

Below are helpful tips on how to sell your car yourself for the most cash.

Selling Your Vehicle

You shouldn’t make your car look like something you’ve gotten tired of, something you are just too eager to let go. Even if that is the case, the impression you should give when selling your car is that of someone who is so much attached to it, and who values it very much. This kind of attitude will make potential buyers think that you’ve always taken great care of your car, even if it has suffered some few accidents, poor maintenance and numerous dents.

1. Make Your Car Look Great

Think about your car like a bride being led away to her bridal home. She must be well coiffed, embroidered with pearls, and made to reveal the best of her beauty. You should not bring your car to the market in bad shape, looking dirty and with noticeable scratches and dents. This should not surprise you; people will want to buy clean and attractive cars. You’ll not get much for your car if it looks like something picked from the junkyard.

Always remember how you felt the very moment you made up your mind to buy the car you are about to sell and work hard to create that feeling in your prospective buyers by cleaning your car, replacing old parts, and improving the paint. In short, make it shiny.

2. Think like a Car Dealer: Detail and Service Your Car

Car dealers can make the most of old cars that look useless and completely worn out. The secret to their success is common knowledge today: they have cars detailed. Spending $100 bucks to service your car will bring great rewards when you finally sell it.

Car detailers improve the paint, remove scratches, shampoo carpets, remove grease from the engine and replace floor mats. With the proper detailing, you can make your car look brand new and attractive.

Some repairs you’ll need to do to improve the overall rating of your car will include changing tires, fixing the locks that do not work well and fixing dents.

3. Prepare the Necessary Paperwork for Your Car

This may not seem very necessary, but it can be one of the major elements to think about when selling a car. By presenting maintenance papers, you’ll put the buyer’s mind at ease.

After polishing up your car, and getting it ready for the market, you should, like a valiant soldier showing off his brass buttons on an army uniform, prepare to present good papers.

Buyers will also trust you more when they see your CARFAX Vehicle History Report and service records.

4. Be Smart About the Entire Transaction

Where you sell your car can determine how much you get for it. Before deciding where to sell the car, it is important to work out its real value.

You may have done a lot of research on car sales and have greatly improved the condition of your car, but buyers will have done their research,too. Buyers have an idea of the market price of cars like yours. By being realistic, you’ll come off more convincing, whether you’re selling to a dealer or to an individual. Make sure you give a reasonable price for your car.

Consider the advantages and disadvantages of selling your car in a dealer trade-in and decide accordingly; the price will certainly be lower than what you can get if you sell the car to an individual.

5. Advertise Your Car

After improving the condition and general appearance of your car, you should get the best advertising for it. The Internet offers free avenues for advertising and you can reach out to a good number of interested buyers. Get the best photos of your car and create free ads on sites like Craig’s List. Post photos on your Facebook profile and announce on social media platforms that you’re selling your car. This way, you’ll reach out to many potential buyers.

If you use a good advertising strategy, you’ll definitely receive many calls, which gives you the opportunity to take the highest bid for the car.

Conclusion

Some people may feel rushed to sell their car and lose out on hundreds of dollars that they could have received if they would have taken some time to get the car ready to sell. Spending a couple weeknights improving your car will fetch you more for it when you post it on Craig’s List Saturday morning.

We hope this article provided you with some good tips to get you the most cash for your car. If we missed something, please leave a comment for us. Please also share this article and pass it on to others.

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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