When you are ready to sell your old car, you naturally want to get top dollar for it. To maximize the money you get from your old car you’ll want to start doing the right thing from the day you buy it. But even if you haven’t, you can pull it together now as long as you’ve taken good care of your car.
1. Sell Your Car Privately – You’ll generally make more money selling it to a private individual than you will if you trade your car in. Sometimes you can sell it to a dealer and get enough to make it worth it due to the ease of doing it. But most of the time in terms of actual dollars, selling it yourself to a private individual will garner more money.
2. Get Your Car Detailed Inside and Out – When people buy used cars, they often get discouraged because many of them are not clean. To stand out, clean it and detail it just like the dealer would do. You can pay someone to do it or you can do it yourself, but make sure every bit of that vehicle is cleaned and made “as new” as possible.
3. Get Any Maintenance Done – If your car needs maintenance or will soon, go ahead and get it done so that you can show the buyers how well you’ve cared for the car. Plus, it will elevate the new owner from having to do anything to the car right away.
4. Collect All Maintenance Records – If you have saved the receipts from all maintenance, put them in a nice folder and keep in the car. Offer them to see that information when they’re looking at the car; don’t wait for them to ask.
5. Take Great Photos – When you list the vehicle online, take awesome pictures from many angles in good lighting for your car. You’ll want to show them all parts of the car that are important for making a choice. If someone asks for a different picture, go ahead and take it and add it. It’ll only help.
6. Show Them the Carfax – Get an updated Carfax for your vehicle and put it with the rest of the receipts for your car. Letting them see this will make them trust you more.
7. Show Comparable Options – It can also help to be able to talk about other cars that are like yours or close to yours that are for sale in your area right now. Usually, a dealer will also do this, but you can do it too by looking up other sales in your area.
8. Let the Buyers Inspect the Car – Don’t shy away from making the car available for a pre-purchase inspection by the mechanic of their choice. This is a great way to get the car sold for the best price.
9. Find Out What a Dealer Will Pay – If you’re not sure how to price the vehicle, take the car around and find out how much dealers in your area will pay for your car. You can almost always sell it for at least five hundred to a grand more than that, depending on the dealer markups and other information.
10. Answer Questions Freely – If you really want to sell the vehicle, don’t shy away from answering the questions that come in when you list the vehicle online. Even if people are fishing, add your answers to your listing to help others who are looking.
Getting top dollar for your car will take patience and perseverance because most people who are buying used cars are looking for a deal. You can offer a deal while also getting top dollar by being a gracious and open individual during the showing and buying process. Let them inspect it, don’t rush people, and don’t lie about anything.
