Tips that will help you sell your car
Selling your car can be a big deal and you’ll want to make sure you get your asking price for it.
Whoever buys it is probably less likely to agree to the price you’re asking if your car doesn’t look clean and well looked after.
Also read: Six important things to consider when buying a pre-owned car
Jeff Osborne, Head of Automative for GumtreeSA, suggests the following key focus areas in preparing your car for sale:
- Wheels and glass: Having a car with clean, scuff-free wheels and gleaming windows is half the battle won. To repair a damaged alloy wheel is roughly R750. Invest in having them done – you will get more than your money back. Another quick fix is to get the windows buffed.
- Bodywork: Attend to little nicks, scratches and those irritating parking lot dings where inconsiderate drivers open their doors against yours. There are plenty of repair shops that could attend to these without involving your insurance company. These suppliers could also buff the car completely at minimum cost.
- Interior and the engine: Invest in a proper valet – steam clean the inside and under the bonnet and everything will look fresh and new again.
- Don’t forget the boot: Have this properly vacuumed as well. Don’t forget to lift the carpet to clean the wheel well, all the tools and the spare tyre. If the tyre is beyond economical duty, replace it, or your buyer will want a discount on the price.
- Service history: This is the most important asset when selling your car. Providing documentation to attest to your car having a full service history (FSH) from new brings peace of mind to the buyer. While it does not represent a guarantee, a good FSH is some measure of safeguarding that the vehicle has been well maintained and is in good order.
- Sell before the warranty expires: The moment a car’s warranty expires its value falls through the floor. Selling a car with a balance of warranty offers recourse to the new buyer or dealership should a mechanical defect crop up in the near future.
- Sell before the service plan expires: Having a plan with some balance remaining ensures a new buyer has maintenance costs covered for the short term at least.
- Sell before 100 000km: There are certain thresholds of perceived value and age for a car and 100 000 km is the main one. Beneath that number and the car is still deemed to be fresh enough to have many years of economic motoring ahead, above it and the car is deemed ‘old’.
Source: GumtreeSA