5 Tips For Trading In or Privately Selling Your Vehicle
So, you’ve decided that, for one reason or another, you want to switch from your current car to a new one, either by trading it into a dealership or by selling it privately.
What’s the next step you should take?
There are a few, actually! And they’re all important steps to take to ensure that the process goes smoothly and that you receive a fair deal.
Here now are Obvi’s Top 5 tips to know before selling your vehicle:
Make your vehicle look pretty
This is an obvious one, but it’s still worth mentioning. Make sure to give your vehicle a good cleaning — both inside and outside. Even though it doesn’t affect what the car is worth, it’s still a sign to potential buyers that it was well taken care of. If the outside of your car is covered in deep layers of dirt and there is garbage all over the floor on the inside then it’s going to be harder to convince anyone that you’ve taken the time and effort to give the vehicle routine check-ups and oil changes.
Research its value
Accurately determining a car’s value is no easy task. There are many different kinds of vehicles on the road, specific makes and models can have a variety of special features, and all vehicles lose value relative to how old they are and how many kilometres they have been driven. Just because you value your vehicle at a certain dollar figure in your mind doesn’t mean that the market of potential buyers is going to agree.
The “Price a Car” tool on the Autotrader website is a great way to determine your vehicle’s value, but it’s also worth taking the time to look online to see what other people are selling similar vehicles for to get a slightly better feel for the market. Both Autotrader and Kijiji Autos are good resources for that.
Get a CARFAX report
A lot of different things can happen to a vehicle that will reduce its value, and not all of them are immediately noticeable. Unsurprisingly, this makes many dealerships and private buyers incredibly cautious and skeptical before agreeing to a deal, even if your car has never had any problems.
By getting a report from the trusted company CARFAX, you can prove to any would-be buyer the major history of your vehicle.
Have your documents ready
Not only does having your bill of sale and proof of insurance help prove ownership, but having receipts of all your oil changes and service appointments on hand to show a potential buyer increases the trust in both you and your car.
Shop (or sell) around
If you aren’t in any kind of immediate rush to make a decision, it’s worth putting in the time and effort to shop around (or, more accurately, sell around). The more potential buyers you find that are interested, the better your odds of finding a fair deal — or maybe even getting a better price than you initially expected.