Cash for My Car
If you are looking to sell your car, you may face some challenges. There are many factors which determine the price of a used car. If you are planning to sell a used car yourself, you need to consider all these factors and take action where needed.
When you plan to sell your car, take some time to review the following tips. These tips will help you make the most out of your deal. You will be able to extract more value on your car. Some of these tips require a bit of money, while others require a bit of time. However, if you use these tips while selling your car, you will be assured of a great deal. You will be able to significantly increase the car’s selling price.
Mechanical Issues
If there are any mechanical issues with your car, buyers may be scared away. You need to fix all the mechanical issues if you can. Even if you don’t want to fix mechanical issues, at least talk to a mechanic so that you can tell the buyer about an estimated cost when selling your car.
Tune Up and Inspection
Before selling your car, take it to a garage for a thorough inspection. This will let you know about the condition of lights, tires and brakes. Everything should be working and in good condition if you want a high price. Ask the mechanic to change the oil and inflate tires properly.
Vehicle History Report
Usually, buyers tend to get a report from CARFAX or other similar services If your buyer gets a report and you don’t have one, any issue listed on the report may come as a surprise to you. Even if your car is in good condition, there still may be some issues that may scare away buyers. Get a report, read it and ask the reporting company to fix any errors if there are any.
Detailing the Car
Almost every buyer loves a clean interior. In fact, one of the things that a buyer hates most in a car is smelly or dirty interior. Thus, detailing your car should top your priority list.
A full detail including cleaning cup holders, they engine bay, doing stain removal, wax, tire shine and carpet cleaning is extremely important. You should ask the car detailer to remove window and bumper stickers. Also ask him to remove any sticky residue. Seat conditioning is also very important as it makes your seats look brand new.
Don’t forget to have the carpets steam cleaned and put in a light air freshener. Smelling is a strong sense and you don’t want it smelling bad. If the car smells too strong of perfumes, that might turn people off, wondering what you’re hiding.
Cleaning
In case you park the car outside, it is important to rinse it off every week before each scheduled showing. If you are still using your car, it is important to keep the interior clean. Cleaning your car regularly gives the impression it was kept in good condition.
Mention Everything
Always mention everything about the car / be honest. While posting an ad, you should mention the make, year, model, condition, features, mileage and any kind of history that a buyer may want to know. For instance, if your car was involved in an accident, you should disclose some details about the accident and repairs that were made. You should also tell the buyer about any long-term effects. Usually, mechanical issues, accidents or cosmetic issues don’t kill a deal. However, misleading facts and dishonesty may.
Extensive Listing
List your car extensively on online forums and websites. There are even some specific websites which help buyers find used cars. Extensive listings will ensure maximum exposure and you will be able to get many options to choose from.
Prompt Response
Whenever a potential buyer calls or emails, you should respond promptly. It is important to respond within minutes or within the hour if at all possible. Buyers tend to look at numerous options at the same time. Usually, the first to return a call is able to make a sale.
Take Lots of Good Photographs
You should take multiple photographs of the car. Take shots from all angles and sides. You should photograph everything including the wheels, exterior and interior. This will help you for marketing purposes. You should also photograph all the features like the sunroof, navigation screen, satellite radio and DVD player. Take pictures of each tire as well as the engine.
Go to a place near by that looks good. If you can get the car on some nice grass or else an expensive looking place, then the car will look better. Of course, be careful and ask permission if necessary. Sometimes a local park will work or by a river, lake or ocean might be nice, too.
Make sure the lighting is good and that you don’t have a glare in the lens. Partly cloudy days work good for car photographs because if you catch the sun the right way, you can have blue skies in the background and no glare from the sun on the car.
Look through all the pictures you’ve taken and then decide on the best ones to put in your advertisements.
Pricing Your Car
Again, do your research and know what the car should sell for. See what other cars of your make, model, year and mileage have sold for. Have a price in mind of how low you will go and then stick to it. Go up about $500 or so from your bottom price so that you have some room to negotiate with buyers.
Conclusion
All the tips mentioned in this article don’t require too much money or time. However, they will significantly increase the value of your car. Always use these tips to make the most out of your car sale and get the most cash for your car.
If you have more great car selling tips, please leave them in the comments. Feel free to share this article with your friends.