5 March 2019
By Elaine Murphy
elaine@TheCork.ie
Motors
So, you have decided to sell your car, and you want to know how to get the most amount of money for it. Well, in this article, I will run through the best ways to ensure a good return on selling your car.
Sell Your Car Online
While it may be tempting to take your car to a dealership to sell it, you will not get the best price this way. If you sell to a dealer, the dealer still needs to sell the car on again and make a profit. This means that the price you get for the car will be below the market value of the car, because you are selling to a middle man and not straight to the final buyer.
Of course, you may be able to get some kind of trade-in deal at a dealership, although even then you will still not be getting the market value of your car. Here’s why selling your car as a trade-in isn’t the best idea.
The best way to ensure that you get the true amount that your car is worth is to sell it online, directly to its next owner. This cuts out the middleman, meaning you get the market value for the car. Also, the reach of internet car selling sites is so great that you can be sure you are reaching a large audience. Meaning more potential buyers and a quick sale.
Full-Service History
A really important part of getting the most value out of your car is making sure it has been serviced regularly. This helps reassure potential buyers, and adds value to your car compared to others on the market lacking their service history. If you are still trying to get a decent sum of money for your car, buyers will be much more comfortable and confident parting with their cash if they know that the car has been regularly serviced.
What Do You Do If You Don’t Have A Full-Service History?
Obviously, while it is ideal to have full-service history, sometimes this is not possible. If you have not got a complete service history for your car, it could be worth taking it for a service before you sell. This way, you can tell buyers that it has been recently serviced, which will reassure them a little. However, unfortunately, there really is no replacement for a full service history.
If there are obvious problems with the car that you can get fixed cheaply, it may be worth doing this too as again this will help inspire confidence in the buyers.
Clean Your Car!
This might sound silly, but a clean car looks better cared for than a dirty one. Psychologically, this can have a real impact on a buyer. A fresh, clean car looks more appealing than a dirty one. It will make the buyer think that you care about the car, so they will think you have taken really good care of it.
More than this though, a clean car often looks newer than a dirty one, and as cars depreciate so quickly, anything that makes the buyer think your car is younger than it is will help your car retain value in their eyes!