5 Tips for Selling a Used Car

There are several steps you can take to make sure you will sell a car quickly and for the most money possible. Simply putting a “For Sale” sign on one of the windows is not going to guarantee success when you try selling a used car.

Tip 1
Clean, no, super-clean your car. Shine, wax and detail it to make it sparkle. If there are minor repairs you can make to improve the vehicle’s appearance, like buffing out some scratches or touching up paint, do so. A clean car will appear well taken care of. If the car is dirty and dull, someone might think you may have also neglected regular maintenance for the mechanical parts.

Tip 2
Determine a fair price. You can go to websites like Kelly Blue Book and input information like condition, mileage, age and add-ons your vehicle has to find out what the estimated value is.

Tip 3
Advertise that you are selling a used car. You can post on free websites like craigslist or on a web edition of your local newspaper. Be sure to include pictures and point out why this is a great buy. Was the car always kept in a garage? Did it have regular maintenance? Did you just put on new tires? Is it fuel-efficient? Make sure your ad lists all of these things.

Tip 4
Be prepared to negotiate. You can expect that prospective buyers want to negotiate the price down. It is always a good idea to have receipts and service records available. This puts you in a good position to negotiate why the car is worth what you are asking and you may end up closer to your price.

Tip 5
Have a blank contract ready and only accept solid payment like cash, cashier’s check or money order. Be sure to draw up a contract ahead of time where you will only have to fill in the buyer’s information and the agreed price. Your contract should state that the car is sold “as is” to avoid any future problems.

Here is one of my newest used car selling tips: We recently sold a truck by leaving it with our maintenance mechanic. We agreed on a certain amount for letting us park it on his lot on a busy road. We received phone calls within minutes of leaving. People stated that they felt good about the mechanic who maintained the truck being able to explain the condition it was in. It was sold in 48 hours after four parties were interested.