Selling a car is an inevitable step in any motorist’s journey, whether a brand-new model has caught your eye, or you need something a little more appropriate for a changing life situation. With electric cars becoming more popular, you may even be hoping to transition away from fossil fuels altogether. It is only natural, if you are selling your car, to want to get the best price for it. How can you ensure this happens?
Maintain Your Car’s Condition
This first point is an exceedingly basic one, and yet one which bears repeating regardless your experience with vehicles: it is absolutely crucial that you maintain your car’s condition as well as you can, not just in the run-up to a sale but also in general.
Something as simple as regularly vacuuming the interior footwells and fabric can greatly increase not just the cosmetic condition of your interior, but also the longevity of its aesthetic appearance. Likewise, taking care of the exterior can ensure your vehicle shows fewer of its years; semi-regular washing and waxing can preserve the paintwork and stave off fading or chipping.
On an even more essential front: the better your car’s mechanical condition is maintained, the better price it will fetch on the market. Even if you’ve serviced or MOTed the car relatively recently, taking your vehicle in for an interim car service before you put it on the market can alleviate any worries that a new gremlin has surfaced just before you sell. You can also provide prospective sellers with confirmation that a service has taken place, alleviating their anxieties about making the investment and increasing your chances of a swift sale.
Mechanical Upgrades
Speaking of your vehicle’s mechanical condition, you might be able to boost the resale value of your car by investing in its mechanics beyond simple maintenance. Quality-of-life upgrades can help your car run better and increase its lifespan, giving eventual buyers more confidence that it will be a reliable purchase for them. Likewise, they can improve the fuel economy of your vehicle, reducing potential running costs for buyers.
Perfect Your Sale Process
The condition of the car is the ultimate reflection of its value, but often cannot be meaningfully impacted without serious investment on your own part; meanwhile, the sale process itself is something you can engage with without incurring additional costs – and could sway buyers towards a better offer or swifter purchase. For starters, you should ensure you have all the right documents handy to complete the sale without fuss.
Pictures of your car for online auction sites should be well-lit and well-staged. Don’t shy away from documenting issues with the vehicle in your images, but do put your best foot forward with bright, sunny images of a recently-cleaned vehicle.
Your demeanour during the sale process can also count for a great deal. Politeness and amenability go a long way, particularly for motorists travelling out to view your car in person. A friendly approach could be all it takes to get a reasonable offer for your vehicle.
