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How Long Does It Take To Sell My Used Car

Author: Garima Chawla
by Garima Chawla
Posted: Oct 25, 2018

The used car industry has no fixed timeline for selling a car. But the average time for selling a car can take up to 60 days. It is important to have a figure in mind as these numbers come from professionals, who have been in the used vehicle selling industry for years in a row. It might as well be reasonable to assume that you will take significantly a long time to sell your car privately if you choose to do it on your own.

While the average selling time for a typical used car is about 2 months, as discussed above, the industry numbers can vary. Besides, this is an autotrader industry average number. Most franchise dealers might sell the same on your behalf in under 30 days as well. But this will be possible only if they stick to the various velocity principles.

In case you get lucky, you might sell your vehicle in under 30 days privately. The actual time needed to sell a vehicle privately could be up to a few hours as well! Certain factors are always at play if you would like to sell your car privately.

The following factors might slow you down while selling a vehicle privately:

  • You have several unrealistic expectations
  • You are selling a car that nobody wants
  • Your car is in very poor condition
  • Your car lacks proper appeal
  • You are quoting a wrong price
  • You are still in the process of paying for your car
  • Car pictures are not good enough
  • You are not screening inquiries properly

When it comes to craigslist consumers, they sell the car or give up the process of selling a car in under 4 weeks. Once you are all set to sell a car, obviously because the car is not serving your needs, the time that you will take to sell it will majorly depend on the above factors. Some lucky folks might sell their vehicles privately in just a few hours or days. But these cases are very rare. You will have to set several realistic expectations about the process, be clear about what are your takeaways and know well about what is involved. Accordingly, you will get to know yourself how long it will take to sell your used car privately.

Some of the best times to sell your car are as follows:

Check the season - Some of the experts say that the best time to sell a used car is during the spring and summer. Try to avoid winter holidays, as most families prefer gift-giving than upgrading a vehicle.

Before the bottom drops - The next few years are going to be a bonanza for buyers but not the sellers.

According to predictions from investment bank Morgan Stanley, used car prices are expected to plunge by 20 percent over the next four years. (cars.usnews.com)

Your car does not meet your needs - Over time, what you want from your vehicle might change. Wedding, babies, and departures of kids to college, are major milestones in people's lives and accordingly their car needs also change. If you are about to get married, you will need to sell off that fancy 2 seaters to get a 4 seater sedan or an SUV.

Before your vehicle reaches the mileage milestone - Your car's mileage can cause a dip in its value. A 100,000-mile mark is crucial and is one of the most symbolic milestones. It can alter the cost of ownership to increase dramatically increase.

Once all the requisite information is set and you are clear about when exactly to see your vehicle, you might rethink and consider selling that automobile quickly. Try for an easy route i.e. approaching a cash for car company. These companies not only offer competitive prices for your vehicle but also make the entire process of selling it smooth and faster than ever.

About the Author

Garima is a technical writer @ web aspiration and writing articles from last 6 years. She writes articles on technology, automotive, beauty, social media, education, digital marketing, music and many more topics.

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Author: Garima Chawla

Garima Chawla

Member since: Jun 20, 2018
Published articles: 19

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