The ins and outs of selling your car privately
Selling your car privately is not as easy as putting up an ad and waiting for people to call you. There is in fact a lot of prep work involved before you can list your vehicle as ‘for sale’.
The process starts with getting your car certified as being roadworthy and booking it in for an inspection. It won’t be possible to close the deal without the roadworthy certificate, while both mechanical and structural faults will be identified during an inspection.
It would be worth your while to get any small dents, scratches and the like, fixed while the car is still in your possession. You’d need to decide whether to also finance bigger fixes or to subtract the cost from the asking price. Any faults with the car will give the prospective buyer more negotiating power.
Once the car is back from the garage, it’s time to clean it thoroughly. Automotive website, Edmunds, recommend that you do all of the following:
- Wash and vacuum the car and consider having it detailed.
- Shovel out all the junk from the inside of the car. That way, when a prospective buyer goes for a test drive, they can visualise the car as theirs.
- Wipe the brake dust off the wheel covers and treat the tyres with a tyre gloss product.
- Thoroughly clean the windows (inside and out) and all the mirrored surfaces.
- Wipe down the dashboard and empty the ashtrays.
Now you’re ready to get down to the business of selling your car.
Determine a fair price
The price you put on your vehicle should be fair to the buyer, but also to yourself. Do a bit of research to see what other pre owned cars similar to yours in model, age and mileage are fetching at dealerships and online classifieds.
It’s to be expected that buyers will negotiate, so add a small margin to allow room for this. Buying a car is a big purchase, so add in thousands, as a prospective buyer would not try to cut just a couple of hundred off the price.
Get the word out
Your ad should be as detailed as possible. Include important facts such the make, model, year, colour and price, but also any extras or upgrades that come with the car. It goes without saying that good quality photos should be part of the ad too. Take photos of both the interior and exterior, and from more than just one angle.
Advertising on websites works well, but don’t forget to share your ad on Facebook and Twitter too. Also post it on car forums and tell friends, family and colleagues that you are selling your car. They can then also spread the word.
Now you can sit back and wait for people to call you. Your homework is done.