How To Sell A Car: A Comprehensive Guide

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Follow Lifehacker's recommendations and you can sell your car faster and more expensive.

If you want to sell a car at the best price, it will take a lot of effort and time. Usually, all intermediaries and car sites offering urgent buybacks reduce the price by 20-30% of the market average. Therefore, the best option, if there is at least a small margin of time, would be self-sale.

Step 1. Prepare your car for sale

First of all, you should take care of the presentation. It depends on him how quickly you find a buyer and what the final price will be. It is much more profitable to spend a little on the elimination of conspicuous defects than to later reduce the price during the inspection.

What should be done

1. Wash your car. You can do it yourself, but it's better to go to the sink.
2. Wash the engine. It is better a few weeks before the sale so that it has time to get dusty and does not arouse suspicion among buyers with its brilliance.
3. Refinish the body. This is especially true for dark-colored cars, on which micro-scratches are clearly visible.
4. Clean up the salon. Wipe down dust, polish the dashboard, vacuum the seats, wash the rugs, remove everything unnecessary from the glove compartment, clean the ashtray.
5. Organize your trunk. Vacuum, remove all trash, hang up a freshener.
6. Eliminate eye-catching faults: burnt out turn signal lamps, antifreeze leak or knocking in the suspension.

What not to do

1. Do not repaint the body. Fresh paint, even on small areas of body parts, will raise suspicions that the car has been in an accident. Plus it costs a lot of money.
2. Do not change consumables. The new owner will still have to do it himself, so there is no need to spend money on oil, belts and brake fluid.

Step 2. Choose a way of selling

Our goal is to sell the car as expensive as possible, so we do not consider dealers, car sites and trade-in services in car dealerships. There are several ways to find a buyer when selling on your own: from advertisements on the Internet and newspapers to visits to car markets. Let's consider each of them in more detail.

Internet ad

The most common and effective method used by most car owners. The good thing is that you can get a huge audience of potential buyers from all regions of the country for free. By placing an ad on the Internet, you can safely work or go about your business, and in the meantime your car will be on sale.

Here are some sites for posting ads for sale:

1. «Auto RU » - the largest and most famous car classifieds portal.
2. Drom.ru is another bulletin board that contains thousands of offers for the sale of cars.
3. Avito.ru is a popular classifieds site with an extensive automotive section.

If you are selling a popular car model, you can also place an advertisement for the sale in the corresponding thread of the club forum. The audience there is less than on ad portals, but it is much more interested in purchasing your car.

A good strategy is to place your ad on multiple sites at once to expand your audience reach.

In this case, you can even write slightly different descriptions and take different photos. Perhaps, on one site, the buyer will not pay attention to the car, but on the other - he will be interested.

Announcement right on the car

The simplest way, sometimes no less effective. Especially if you travel a lot and often visit crowded places. It is enough to buy a "Sell" sticker and attach it to the rear window by entering the phone number and brief information about the car.

However, you don't even have to go anywhere. Just leave your car in the parking lots at the supermarket, car wash or auto parts store. Customers will be able to immediately assess the condition of the body and look into the salon, and if they are interested, they will call you themselves. The only negative is that you have to walk a little.

You can stick a "Sell" sign on the car in addition to the main announcement. Even if you do not go anywhere other than work. Who knows, maybe your buyer lives in the next house or works in an office across the street.

Ad in the paper

Do not write off such a seemingly outdated method. It can be very effective if you live in a small town. In the regions, many people resort to newspapers when they need to sell or buy something.

There are many newspapers like "From Ruk to Ruki", "Everything for You" with paid and free ads. The text and photos can often be uploaded to the newspaper's website, and thousands of potential buyers will see them in the next issue.

Car market

The most troublesome method of all. And yet it works too. There are always a lot of people in the car markets, and if you're lucky, the car can be sold almost immediately.

The disadvantages of this method include a large number of dealers eager to get a good car at the lowest price, and the need to pay for a parking space. You will have to pay about a thousand rubles per day, and sometimes more: it all depends on the city.

It is worth going to the car market at least once to understand what price to ask for a car.

Going there, try to remove everything unnecessary from the trunk: you may find a buyer and you will have to urgently make a deal.

However, you should not rely only on the car market, it is better to place ads at the same time. Markets are open only on weekends, which means that the car will be idle all week and the sale may drag on for a long time.

Step 3. Decide on the price

The next step is to evaluate the car. To do this, you need to go through ads with similar cars, call several phones and talk with the workers of the car service in which you are serviced. After analyzing other offers, you can find out the average price on the market and, based on it, choose your own, taking into account the advantages and disadvantages of your car.

Even two identical cars of the same year of manufacture can cost differently. It all depends on the condition, mileage, equipment and a lot of other factors. The final cost is influenced by the following criteria (when discussing the price with the buyer, they can and should be used as arguments):

1. Model and year of manufacture. Find out the average price for this year's model and start from it. The newer the car, the higher the price.
2. Mileage. Average mileage per year is 10-15 thousand kilometers. If you sell a ten-year-old car with less than 100,000 kilometers of mileage, you can add up the price. For high mileage, be prepared to make a discount.
3. Equipment. The more options a car has, the more expensive it is. Of course, provided that all the bells and whistles work properly.
4. Tuning. But tuning has practically no effect on the price. At least the money invested in the installation of an audio system, fenders and body kit is unlikely to be returned. Unless there is such a connoisseur.
5. Manufacturer country. If a car was produced at several factories and a specific assembly is valued more, then this is another reason to increase the price.
6. Engine displacement and transmission. The larger the volume, the more expensive the car. The exception is more successful motor options, which are valued higher. An automatic machine is always more expensive than mechanics, although it also depends on practicality. Sometimes a simpler manual gearbox is preferred.
7. Number of owners. Obviously, if the car was in the same hands, there is a chance to sell it for more.
8. The presence of a service book. It will help to prove that the car has always been serviced in a timely manner. This is a good reason to ask for more.
9. Body condition. An important criterion that directly affects the price. If everything is perfect, you can safely set the price higher.
10. Engine operation. If there are any problems, it is better to talk about them right away and lower the price. This is unlikely to be hidden.
11. Interior condition. This is the first thing that people pay attention to. A well-groomed, non-smoked salon is a great reason to bargain for a high price.
12. Suspension condition. It will not work to hide defects. So, if there are any drawbacks, it is better not to be silent about them and make a small discount.
13. Wheels and tires. Good alloy wheels not only make a car more attractive, but also raise its price. It's the same with a spare set of tires.
14. Operating and storage conditions. A car that is carefully used and well preserved will cost more. If this is yours, feel free to talk about it.

Step 4. Write your ad

After assessing the condition, identifying all the strengths and weaknesses of your car, you can start drawing up an ad. The main rule is to tell only the truth.

There is no need to embellish reality or press on pity by telling stories about moving to another country or collecting money for treatment. Even if this is true, it will look pathetic and will only alienate buyers.

Do without stereotyped phrases that do not carry any information like “The car is fire, everything is serviced, no investment is required. He sat down and drove off. They are annoying and alarming. If you don't want to go into details, then just list the characteristics, complete set, replaced parts, the availability of bonuses and indicate the price. Also, be sure to note if you are willing to bargain.

Checklist for drawing up the correct ad

1. Basic information: model, body type, year of manufacture, color, engine size, transmission type, mileage. In ads on sites, all this is selected from a ready-made form.
2. Equipment. Indicate all options and additional equipment (leather interior, climate control, power mirrors, heated seats, audio preparation, airbags).
3. Replaced parts. List of works and replaced units over the past year or two. Include everything except consumables. If the car is less than three years old, it is better to skip this item.
4. Bonuses and gifts: set of tires, rugs, tools. Describe everything that goes with the car in the bargain.
5. Price and contacts. Be sure to indicate the hours in which you are available, and write if bargaining is appropriate.

What should be the photo of the car

In addition to a sensible description, you need to take high-quality photos. They are even more important than the text, because the buyer sees them first of all and it depends on their attractiveness whether a person opens your ad or scrolls further.

You can get by with a smartphone, but it's better to look for a good camera from your friends. Shoot the car from all sides, choosing the most successful angle, take a couple of close-ups on the wheel arches and sills, and pay attention to the engine compartment and trunk. In the cabin, you need to shoot the general plan, the dashboard, the rear seats and the ceiling. In general, the more photos the better.

If the car is not on sale for a long time, try to update the description more often and re-publish the ad with new photos to attract the attention of buyers.

In this case, all pictures must be fresh and must necessarily correspond to the season. If it’s summer, in no case expose photos that show snow, no matter how successful they are.

The location and background are also important. More confidence will evoke pictures in the yard of the house than somewhere at a gas station.

Step 5. Communicate and bargain with buyers correctly

So, we have reached the most interesting and difficult stage. The ad attracted buyers' interest, and they start calling, bargaining and making an appointment. How to behave, what to say, what should and should not be done? Let's figure it out.

Whichever method of sale you choose, you will have to provide a phone number for communication. Therefore, it is advisable to buy a new SIM card. This way, you won't have to show your personal number, and after the sale of the car, you won't have to answer calls from late buyers.

First of all, you need to be confident in yourself and speak politely, but strictly. If you show confusion, there is a risk that the buyer will refuse to do business with you, mistaking it for secrecy, or, conversely, will act impudently and impose his own conditions.

Prepare in advance and answer the questions briefly and to the point, without lyrical digressions that might cause suspicion in the buyer.

If the caller is only interested in the price, then this is a reseller, whom it is better to politely dismiss right away. He will impudently bargain and in any case he will not buy a car for the price you offered.

Try to adapt to the buyer when choosing a meeting place and agree to have the car checked at a car service if he takes all the costs of diagnostics.

When you meet, do not chatter endlessly, praising the car. Let the buyer look at the car first. When he has questions, he will ask them himself.

Do not let the buyer drive, but rather give him a ride yourself.

During a test drive, you should not be reckless, showing the capabilities of the car. According to the law of meanness, you will be caught by the police or something will break down in the car.

If the buyer liked everything and he agrees to the deal, be sure to take a deposit. Do not give in to any persuasion to hold the car, and if the person refuses to give a deposit, then turn around and drive away.

Step 6. Make a deal

Since 2013, in Russia, you can make a deal without removing the car from the register. No transit plates: the old license plate remains on the car, unless you want to keep it for yourself.

Under the new rules, a sales contract can be drawn up by hand or filled in a printed form. You do not need to certify it with a notary.

Be sure to check the money for authenticity at the bank. You can simply deposit them into your account, and then the bank employee will check everything for free.

For registration, you only need a TCP, a car registration certificate, as well as a seller's and a buyer’s passports. Registration data is entered into the corresponding fields of the contract, after which the buyer settles with the seller and receives the TCP and the sales contract. It is also advisable to take a receipt from the buyer, which will indicate that he has no complaints, and you received money for the car.

After that, the buyer must, within ten days, appear with the documents at the traffic police and register the car for himself. Since during this period you are still the owner of the car and all possible fines will come to your name, it is better to indicate in the contract not only the date, but also the time of sale. This can come in handy for appealing against fines. For the same reason, never agree to a proxy sale.

If your OSAGO policy is still valid during the sale, you can contact the insurance company, terminate the contract and receive part of the money for the unused period.

What not to do when selling

1. Do not deceive the buyer by keeping silent about breakdowns or embellishing the capabilities of the car. Most likely, your lie will eventually be revealed and lead to unpleasant consequences.
2. Never sell your car to family or friends. You will definitely be asked for a discount, and if problems arise, they will come to you to complain - and friendly relations will come to an end. An exception is if you are 100% sure about the car and relatives.
3. Do not agree to sell your car in installments. It is better to wait for the buyer with the money or advise somewhere to borrow the missing amount, if you really like the car.