Selling a car is a challenging task. Many buyers will have questions about why you’re selling it privately instead of selling it through an authorized dealer. They see it as an indicator that the car might be faulty.
However, if you take a strategic approach to sell your car, you can get a good price for it without too much hassle.
In this post, we’ll share six effective and actionable tips on how to strategically sell your car and maximize your profits.
1. Sell It To A Private Party
Selling your car to a dealership makes the process easier. All you have to do is fill out some documents, and you’ll get the money. It’s a good solution for those who are in an urgent need of money.
But from a profit point of view, selling your car to a dealership usually comes with a loss. You get a price lower than the market.
For that reason, we advise selling your car to a private party. There are several websites where you can list your car, including eBay Motors and Facebook Marketplace. You can also sell online with Grays, which is completely free and has over 3 million shoppers.
Once you list your car on online marketplaces, people who seek the model you’re selling will contact you.
Physical marketing follows the same process. Just put up your ad in the newspaper or distribute pamphlets in your vicinity. Anyone who’s interested will get in touch with you.
The process of selling your car to a private party may be lengthier but you’ll get a good price for it.
2. Know Your Vehicle’s Worth
Consult a dealer, your car history, internet resources, and listings of other people selling the same model as yours. Gather information about the following factors to get an idea of your car’s worth:
- Make
- Model
- Year
- Mileage
- Condition
- Features
Once you know your car’s market price, you’ll know both the highest and lowest amount you can ask from potential buyers. If your car has any additional accessories or an appealing history attached to it (e.g., used by a celebrity), you’ll get an idea of how much more you can ask for. In this way, you’ll manage to get a fair price for it.
3. Maximize Curb Appeal
The curb appeal of a car refers to its external appearance. If you have a model from recent years and it’s not well-maintained, you might get a low price for your vehicle. But if the curb appeal is well-maintained, people will pay thousands for old car models too.
How can you maximize the curb appeal of a car? You can improve the looks by removing scratches, fixing minor dents, and fixing broken or defective windows.
We do not recommend repainting the car because it lowers its value. However, if your vehicle has faced a major accident and its raw appearance is not presentable at all, it’s okay to repaint it. In this case, repainting will help you get the best money for your vehicle and may minimize the financial impact of the accident.
4. Be Honest & Provide A Detailed History
Now, a lot of people attempt lying to their prospects in hopes they’ll get a better price for their car. This is a super bad move. It’s not difficult to find the history of a vehicle online from government-run websites. For example, if you live in the USA, you can use this guide to find the history of used cars.
Hence, it’s better to sell your vehicle with complete transparency. If the vehicle has suffered any major accidents or problems, let potential buyers know. The same goes for alterations you’ve made or information about how regularly you maintain it. Maintenance records, in fact, may help you boost profits as most people prefer buying a regularly-maintained car.
Transparency will win the trust of prospects, while lying about any problems with the vehicle might become the reason you lose a very good deal because buyers will perceive you as a sleazy salesman.
5. Take Your Time
If you want the best price for your vehicle, we recommend taking at least 2-4 weeks before saying yes to any prospect. As more and more offers come in, the competition for your vehicle will increase, and you might get a better price than what you initially expected.
6. Diversify Your Advertisement Channels
Do not list your car on only one platform. Publish an ad for it on as many platforms as possible — both online and offline. In this way, you’ll have a greater reach and the more people know about your car, the more offers you’ll get.
What’s more, we also recommend giving ample attention to your ad. Come up with an action-inspiring copy and use the best images of your car. Also ask your acquaintances with a good social network to reshare the ad, as it can help multiply its reach.
