► The essential steps to selling a car
► How to eke out those extra pounds with some TLC
► Get a free valuation with our partner, Exchange My Car
Selling on a car isn’t a straightforward affair, especially if you’re doing it yourself. Tales of lowballers, tyre-kickers and other time waters can make it seem daunting.
Thankfully, if you know a few tricks and things to focus on, you’ll be able to sell your car with confidence. You might even be able to add a bit more cash to the asking price.
Join the Car-Buying Editor from our sister site Parkers.co.uk, Ryan Gilmore, as he counts down the five essential steps to selling a car and explains how you can even maximise the value of your car for not much money to build.
Get it looked over by a mechanic
A keen customer will know the potential pitfalls of your car, so it makes sense to do some research and inspect the areas yourself. For things like rust, interior damage or bodywork issues, you should be able to gauge them quite easily. It may be tempting to cover them up with bitumen or gaffer tape, but a proper repair will help maintain values.
If anything serious happens with the internals — clonking, knocking, tapping, or any other onomatopoeic diagnostics — turn to a mechanic who’ll thoroughly inspect it. If it’s worth fixing, get it done. If not, honesty is the best policy when writing the description.
At the very least, a fresh service should help make the car easier to sell. A full-service history is the holy grail of used car buying. If nothing else, it points to regular maintenance and a dedicated owner, all good news for getting the best price possible.
Give it a deep clean
This step is self-evident. A clean car will look nicer in pictures and point to a more careful owner. The extent you clean your car is up to you, but I’d recommend a few extra steps beyond the usual dollop of car shampoo in a bucket if you want to make your car stand out:
- Use scratch remover for any small paint blemishes. If you’re very particular about paint, a professional detailer will machine polish the car to a glass-like finish for a few hundred quid
- A black trim restorer will make a noticeable difference to the exterior of an ageing car. No more faded grey plastic here
- A nice coating of wax or quick detailer will help make that paintwork sparkle in photos
- Moving inside, a deep carpet extraction on the insides will help make the upholstery look factory-fresh.
My final advice would be to go easy on the tyre shine. If they begin to look like they’re wearing pomade, you’ve strayed into dodgy used car territory.
Get your documents in order
The most important part of any car sale, make sure you have the correct documentation in order. You’ll need a VCS5 (the logbook) at a minimum. It’s not essential but will look dodgy. A full-ring binder of MOT certificates and receipts for work done will again make you look like a careful owner.
It’s also here that you must ensure you can sell your car. Check for any outstanding finance on your car. It’s illegal to sell a financed car, as the car doesn’t belong to you until paid off. You can settle the outstanding finance, which would make you the owner, however.
Get it valued, properly
Working out how much to charge depends on so many factors that it can be daunting. Mileage, age, condition, spec, and even colour will all have a small but noticeable impact on how much someone is willing to pay. Charge too much, and you’ll be left with something unsellable; too little, and you’ll miss out on cash.
That’s where a valuation service like our partner at Exhange My Car, comes in. Enter your registration and mileage and it will work out a rough price point. Add some images and a little more information, and it’ll give you a more accurate price. The really innovative part is that you can sell your car to a bank of dealers via the service. With 4.9/5 review scores on Trustpilot, it’s a clever way to know how much to charge and even take the hassle out of selling.
Get some good images
We’ve all been browsing our used car marketplace of choice and seen some photographic horror stories on display. Badly cropped, blurry, upside down, the list continues. Not the most enticing of pictures.
The pictures you take are a potential customer’s first impression, so it pays to get some good ones. I’m not saying to hire a professional or spend a lot on a DSLR. A modern smartphone can take quality car images, so long as you’re prepared to dedicate a little time.
Ensure the car is well-lit and not just captured from chest height. Play around with angles, and take pictures of as many things as possible. The front 3/4s, rear, interior, individual wheels, engine bay and boot are all must-haves for a good listing. In the name of honesty, snap a close-up picture of any visible rust, damage, or nasty scrapes. After all, if you try to hide it, you’re more likely to be accused of being dishonest.