7 Things to Keep in Mind Before Selling a Car

Things to Keep in Mind Before Selling a Car

If you’re here, you probably want to sell your car.

Since you’ve taken the decision, let us guide you through what can be done now:

First of all, you need to know your car’s worth. Are you planning to sell it to a customer, because if you are, it needs to be in working condition. If it’s not, chances are your buyer will find out and you will be busted.

If it’s not in working condition, you can still sell it, but to a scrap car removal service near you. They will pick it up for you and pay you for your unwanted car. Why? Because they need something to recycle, and used unwanted cars are a pretty good option.

Selling to a Customer:

Well, if you decide on selling to a customer or a dealer or anyone who would be re-suing your car as a vehicle, you need to follow these steps:

1. Venue

Do you want to sell it to a dealer who can further sell it to someone else? It mostly depends on the condition, make and model of your car. If you know you can easily sell it to someone through Gumtree or any such platforms, you should go ahead. It will result in a higher price for your vehicle since it won’t have the dealership involved, nor their cut in the price.

But if you want the convenience of getting the car out of your hands asap, you can bargain with dealers. Although it could be a hassle to go to different sellers for a bargain, but it’s a no pain, no gain situation.

1. Clean it up

Before you take it to a customer or dealership, make sure you’ve got a nice looking car. Not just outside, inside as well. A common myth around car selling is that nobody cares about the interiors. Think about it, if you’re buying anything worth thousands of dollars, which is majorly a utility product, would you just buy it because of how shiny it looks? You wouldn’t.

With respect to the same ideology, you also need to get minor issues in the car fixed. Basically, do everything that could minutely increase the chances of your car being sold.

1. Say Cheeeese

Take great pictures from every angle. Take a close-up and a full picture. Take a lot of relevant pictures, and make sure the aesthetics of your picture, the background is good as well. You might think it doesn’t matter, but it would definitely be an addition to the entire image of your car. Even though car buyers don’t care only about your car’s god looks, they still want a good looking car. Good pictures will definitely get a few customers to your door and you will have more options for selling your car.

1. Online or Offline?

Online is a lot easier than offline. Just go to one of the listing sites like Gumtree, where you can easily get a lot of potential buyers. These websites act like an online marketplace where you can easily sell or buy things that you need with the click of a button. Remember those pictures you clicked? Upload them here!

1. Knock Knock

You might get a lot of buyers knocking at your door. Make sure to ‘Who’s there?’ them. What I mean to say is, make sure you know who they are. Not their family history and their favourite color, but try to get a picture of their driver’s license. If you feel unsafe meeting them, take a friend along or meet them in a slightly crowded place with other people around. If you’re uncomfortable letting them go for a test drive, make sure you tell them (Or ask a friend to tag along).

1. To sell or not to sell?

Know the price of your car, after the depreciation and all of that. Keep a figure in mind, this should a price that’s the average you would want for your car. Keep another floor price, below which you won’t agree to sell your car.

Sell your car if you get a price that is above your average price. You might also get a better offer, so it is suggested to wait for a couple of days, unless what you get offered is way higher than you expected.

1. Wave goodbye!

Now you can finally say bye to your old mate. Handover your keys and vehicle papers to the new owner. Make sure you have all terms and conditions decided upon before you handover the paperwork.

Tip: Transactions should not be done in cash. It is always a better idea to operate through banks, so you know you have proof of the transaction.

If your car is extremely old, or you don’t want to go through the pain and process of selling a car, you can alternatively call a car removal service that will also offer to buy your car for a good price.

Ilias loves writing about cars, car dealership and scrap yard companies to create awareness for car owners what to do with a car.