The Ultimate Guide to Successfully Selling Your Car

Owning a car can be a whirlwind of emotions, from the day you first purchase it to the day you first change the tires and realize that buying that Beamer might not have been such a great idea! However, along the many great days one has with their car, there will come a point when you will ultimately want or need to sell it on to someone who will care for it just as you did. But although there are plenty of guides giving you the low down about how to buy, there is a noticeable dearth of those informing you how to sell. This post is here to fill that void and provide you with all the information you will ever need to sell your wheels for the right price, whatever that might be for you.

Sell It Directly To A Dealership

If you're in the market for a new ride, chopping in your old car to put toward something new may be the far superior option to selling it on the private market. In some cases, you needn't even have to put it toward a new car; instead, check if they are willing to purchase your vehicle for the best price possible. If you choose to sell with www.universalford.com, for instance, you should find they'll give you a very reasonable offer that is as competitive as other options but saves you a whole lot of hassle. As they say, demand for used vehicles is at an all-time high, making it the perfect time to utilize an option such as this. Going this route will save you an inordinate amount of hassle and help you avoid the usual tire kickers that seem to come out of the woodwork when you choose to sell on something like Facebook Marketplace et al.

Document Maintenance Records For Proof

Documentation is critical when it comes to selling cars. These documents will prove ownership, allowing a potential buyer to feel safe during the transaction that they won't get pulled over as soon as they leave your house. Aside from proof of ownership, one surefire way to ensure that you receive the maximum value from the sale is to have servicing and repair records. These will show prospective buyers that you have serviced the vehicle according to regular intervals and looked after it. This can go a long way in alleviating any concerns the other party may have and can really help to nudge them in the right direction.

Get It Detailed To Look Its Best

Owning a car generally only requires cleaning. However, selling a car will demand something a little extra in the form of a full detail. Car detailing goes far beyond a standard car and will help you end up with a vehicle that looks so spanking new that you might change your mind about selling it! Good car detailers will go through the car with a fine tooth comb and make sure that the nooks and crannies are free from the McDonald's crumbs that fell out of your mouth two years ago end up in the bin. In all honesty, you'll be pleasantly surprised at how far a good detail can really go in making your vehicle look like new.

Price It Reasonably To Attract Buyers

If you have a 20-year-old VW Golf and have priced it around the $20,000 mark, you're going to struggle to find anyone to buy the thing. Pricing your car to sell isn't as difficult as you might think, nor does it involve pulling a number out of where the sun doesn't shine. Most countries will have dedicated websites and resources that should provide a ballpark value of what a brand and model should be worth after a certain amount of years. In the USA, this is the Kelly Blue Book, which contains very useful information regarding prices and depreciation values. Just be aware that even if you price it at the right price, you aren't that likely to avoid your desired outcome. Negotiations will be involved, and it all depends heavily on the state of the car.

Take Clear Photos From All Angles

Pictures sell. This is as true for a $5 toy you might find in Walmart as it is for a $15,000 used vehicle. By taking lots and lots of well-lit photos, you will give prospective buyers the chance to see if it is worth them digging a little deeper and contacting you. It can also save everyone a lot of time. For example, if you have only taken a few shots but missed out on the most pertinent aspects, you might have someone range to visit but then walk away if it isn't what they were expecting. Not only will this demoralize you, but it will also simply waste your time when you could be doing something else. It doesn't take a lot of effort and can be done with a phone camera. Just make sure you have good lighting and take plenty of photos.

Advertise On Multiple Platforms

Sper4ad the word far and wide, and you will open yourself up for a flood of buyers. The more people you have who are interested, the better your negotiating position will be. In order to achieve this, you should place ads and posts on all the sorts of platforms that buyers live on. This means using social media channels alongside other more dedicated offerings to broaden your reach. 

Be Honest About Any Issues

When selling a car, the temptation is always there to be a little bit scant with the truth and attempt to cover the more minor issues that you think won't matter. However, the truth will always come out, as some very smart person once said, and if you get caught lying, you really run the risk of not only sounding out on the sale but getting bad-mouthed in all the places you have advertised your car that allows commenting. Instead, it's best to take the high ground and simply tell people what is wrong and what was wrong but is now fixed, etc. Honesty will go a long way in this game, and although you might knock some money off your asking price, you could also expedite the sale, which would be great if you were in a hurry.

Selling a car involves a fair few moving parts, and if you do things right, you stand to gain an awful lot. Conversely, if you go about it the wrong way, you may never shift your old motor. This post has given you the ammo to get started, but now it's up to you to get shooting.