Tips on Selling your car

LOOK into any shop window display and you’ll see that in order to sell a product you must present it well. The same is true when selling your car, motorcycle or any other vehicle. It doesn’t matter what make it is or where you’re trying to sell it, if you want to find a buyer then it has to be looking its best.

Here are some top tips to ensure you get the most for your motor.

Get your car back to standard

Buyers are interested in looking at a car that's in standard condition and trim. Remove any window or dashboard stickers, dangly toys, seat covers, add-ons or other personal objects. Make sure that both the interior and exterior look as close to standard as is possible, as even the smallest modification can put off a potential buyer. It may have been your car for a long time but you are currently trying to sell it and you should fully detach yourself from it in order to sell quickly.

Give your car the clean of its life

Research in the past has shown that a clean car makes more money than a dirty one. With this in mind wash,wax and polish the bodywork, clean and polish the wheels to get rid of any grime and brake dust, vacuum and shampoo the interior and give the dash and steering wheel a good polishing. Clean all the windows with a good quality window cleaner and make sure there are no streaks. A persons senses play a large part in forming that all important first impression. If someone were to sit in a dirty, smelly car you can imagine what they might think. If your buyer is a lady then spray some nice perfume around, if a man then the smell of raw polish may be more attractive. If you have smoked cigarettes in your car the cleaning job will be a lot harder as you will have to clean all the upholstery thoroughly.

Service history

You can' t put a price on having a full and complete service history for your car. A service history lets buyers see whats been done to the car, when and how much you spent on it. Service history will also reassure potential buyers that you've been a careful owner. Get a ring binder folder and put all the documents inside with the most important ones at the front (V5 registration, MOT and insurance certificate). Behind these, place other repair and service receipts in chronolological order to give a full account of the car's life. If possible, present the owners' handbook, stereo instructions and other printed material that came with the car in their original wallet.

Realistic pricing strategy

Asking £1,000 over the odds because you think the car is the dogs bollocks won’t help you sell your car, you need to be realistic about your asking price. Use a car pricing guide website such as WiseBuyersGuide (free) or look for similar cars on a few other car classified ads website such as Auto Trader to establish what it's actually worth and then prepare yourself to be flexible when it comes to the sale price. Ask yourself; is it really worth loosing a sale over a couple of hundred quid?

Last thing to think about

Just because you have a pet name for your neat little KA and you really do think its the dogs danglies doesn’t mean others will too. Do some serious homework before you submit your car for a sales ad. Ask for the going rate and don’t get all emotional and tearful if you have to take a little bit less, after all its only a car. Think about your next pride and joyride.