When it comes time to sell your vehicle, you will find there is a lot of competition. Being able to sell a car, truck, van, or anything else privately means that buyers can find great deals, but it also means that sellers can have a hard task in front of them.
There are lots of sellers out there, and to be able to sell your vehicle for the price you want, you need to ensure that your vehicle is ready to sell. If it is not, the buyer will simply buy one from someone else. So here are some great tips to ensure your vehicle is ready to sell and that it sells quickly for the best possible price.
Give Enough Information
When you start looking around online or in a local newspaper, or a car-specific magazine, you’ll start to get an idea of the kinds of prices your kind of car will sell for. You’ll also get a feel for the kind of information you need to include to let buyers know everything they are going to need to in order for them to make a decision about buying the car or not.
If someone has to get in touch with a seller to ask a question, they may decide to look elsewhere, especially if a similar vehicle is listed with the right amount of information and they don’t have to spend time contacting anyone.
Information that you will need to put in your advertisement includes:
- Mileage
- Age
- Condition of the interior and exterior
- Price
- Information about repairs
You can also write about how it drives, what kind of shift it is, and if you have done any work to it such as install tires for any season, you should mention this as well, especially if it means you are charging more than others. The more information the better, as people will be able to see exactly what you are selling and be more inclined to buy from you.
Clean the Car
It may not seem like a big thing, but the difference between a clean car and a dirty one could be the difference between selling and not. You can do it yourself, or if you don’t have the time or the equipment (depending on how dirty the car is), you can hire someone else to do it, or drive to an industrial carwash. Cleaning the outside is important, but don’t forget the inside too since the potential buyer is sure to want to sit inside and take the car for a test drive.
A dirty car not only looks unattractive, but it can be a warning sign to a buyer. If you haven’t taken care of the car, what else might need to be fixed? Have you had the car serviced? Have you looked after it in general? A clean car shows you care for the vehicle and gives the buyer a different impression.
Make Repairs
When you advertise your vehicle, you need to be honest about its condition and any issues it may have. Even if you are completely honest, however, this could mean that the car takes longer to sell or that you must sell it at a lower price. If you want to sell quickly and easily then it is best to make the fixes that need to be done.
This is a simple task if the problems are just cosmetic. You can paint over scratches or polish them depending on how deep they are. Small dents can be fixed relatively easily too. If there are bigger problems, then you will need to weigh up how much it is going to cost you to get them fixed compared to how much value the repairs would cost. If it is not financially viable, then you could sell the car for spares, for example.
