Cars Selling - Tips & Hints

Clean the vehicle both inside and out or alternatively have the vehicle professionally detailed. Good first impressions go along way to getting the best price.

Find the realistic value of your vehicle. Buyers have done their homework and know how much your vehicle is worth. You can find the market prices (range value) for your vehicle FREE on Value my Car. If you want an official document that you can show to prospective buyers this can be obtained from MyCarPrice

Consider your advertisement wording carefully. Describe the car as accurately as possible. Take care how you word your advert. Don’t make claims that can’t be backed up and keep the wording down to 20 or 30 words maximum.

Keep all registration documents, repair and servicing invoices to hand. If your vehicle has been serviced regularly also include the service log book to show buyers you have looked after your car.

Always expect the buyer to haggle on the price. Build in a margin for haggling in your asking price. This way both parties will be happy with the final deal.

Get a full history check of your vehicle from Car History. This will give the buyer the full history of the car and piece of mind that the vehicle hasn’t been written off,stolen, has finance owning and much more

Prepare for a test drive. The potential buyer will almost always request a test drive. Before you let anyone test drive your car:

• Check your insurance cover details with your insurer.
• Always ask the buyer to see their licence and jot down the licence number
• Accompany the buyer on the test drive. If this is not possible ask the buyer for something valuable in exchange ie. their car keys
• Don’t feel pressurised into giving a test drive. If you feel something is wrong don’t rush into letting the potential buyer test drive your car

When you have reached an agreement with the buyer make sure you get paid. Don’t let anyone drive away with your vehicle until you have been paid. Of course “cash is king” but if you are given a bank cheque or for that fact any other cheque wait until it has been cleared before you hand over the vehicle to the new owner.

A basic seller’s contract that both parties sign is always good practice. To assist you can download a generic contract from Seller Agreement Form . Print out 2 copies, complete the details, get both parties to sign both copies and both retain a copy for your records.