When you are ready to buy a new car it could be tempting to take your current vehicle to the dealership and just trade it in, but you know that you are not going to get the full retail value for your car.
But you really want that new model so you try to justify taking the lazy way out and just trading in the old car.
But you can’t get past giving away the extra money and you decide that with a few how to sell a car tips, you can sell your current car and have even more for your new car down payment. And with these seven easy tips you will be driving out of the dealership very quickly.
#1 Be Prepared
It might sound like your parents or teachers talking to you when you were a kid but the advice is really very good. Being prepared to sell your car will make the process go much faster and get you in your new ride faster. Get the documents for the vehicle ready for any potential buyer to see. You will want the title, documents from any service or work that you have had done on the car and maybe even a report from a local mechanic certifying that the car is in good condition. Also, research the process that you will need to follow to legally transfer ownership of the car. Showing the records to a buyer will help to convince them of what a great deal they are about to get.
#2 Know Your Price
If you get greedy and set an asking price that is too high, then you will never get any offers. If you set an asking price that is too low you will lose money. Do a little research and figure out what a fair price is for your car, in your area, and in its present condition. If you have added aftermarket parts that would increase the value then add a portion of that cost to the average retail for a similar car, but be sure to list the added features in the ad to justify the higher price. Also, know that buyers will want to negotiate, especially on a “for sale by owner” deal. So add on a few hundred bucks so that you can make that great counter offer and let the buyer feel as if he or she got a deep discount.
#3 First Impressions are Everything
The first word that you want every buyer to say is WOW when they see the car in person. Spend some time or a few bucks and get the car cleaned and detailed. Not only will this make the pictures in your ad pop but it will impress the buyers when they come to look at the car. Check to be sure that all of the lights are working, the wiper blades are new and that the oil has been changed. Then you can market your car as no work needed just drive it away. If the carpet is not looking great then you might even want to consider buying a new set of floor mats to give it a fresh, clean look. And be sure to list all of the features and items that you have recently replaced in your ad.
#4 Go Viral
The Internet is a great tool for many things and one of them is selling an item. You can list your car for sale on multiple sites but that is only half of the job. Then you need to begin to draw attention to your ad on every other social media platform. You can Tweet pictures and links to the for sale ad put pictures up on Facebook and even post a YouTube video of a walk around look at this great car that is on the market. And don’t forget to hit up your friends to help you find a buyer. Nothing will get you more hits on your pages than offering a “reward” to anyone who can bring you a buyer. Facebook is full of offers and items that are sold via referrals. Put your network to work for you.
#5 Show It Off
When you are creating your posts and ads be sure to include all the photos that you have room for. Some sites will limit the number of photos or ask you to pay a little bit more to include extra photos, but the extra money is worth it. People love to look at pictures and even more, they like videos. Just think of the time that is spent each day watching YouTube. Make that work for you by adding picture and video anywhere that you can. If you don’t have a great video to put up then create one with all of your old still photos of the car but give buyers something to look at and to grab their attention.
#6 Don’t Be Offended- Make the Deal
Any time that you put an ad up to sell something, you have to know that there are going to be people who are going to try to steal it from you. Maybe they have no friends to talk to or maybe they just have low self-esteem and need to feel smarter than someone else but it will happen. So be prepared for that as well and just laugh off a crazy cheap offer and then counter offer. No buyer is a bad buyer until they say that they absolutely won’t pay what you are asking. So make a fair counteroffer, which is easy since you built that into your asking price. Then wait for their response. But no matter what they say be polite and respectful. You never know who could be listening or who might know a truly qualified buyer.
#7 Make it Official
Once you have reached an agreement with a buyer then you are almost done. All you need to do is follow the process that you researched to transfer ownership of the car to the buyer. You will also want to notify your local BMV to show that you have sold the car and get back any credit that you might be owed on the license plates. And thanks to these how to sell a car tips you are ready to take that money to the dealership and make the down payment on your new car.