UK car classifieds

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UK new or used cars and dealerships buying/selling cars


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  4. Selling a Used Car

Selling a Used Car

A point will come when you have bought a new car yourself and are then left with your old car to get rid of. There are many options for you to discard of the old car:

- One option is for you to part exchange it with your new car and let the dealer make any profit on the vehicle.

- Another option is to sell the car yourself and take credit for any money to be made on the sale. It is a far from simple process to sell a used car unless you know what you are doing.

There are similar processes in selling a car online as to offline. The same checkpoints should be followed. Some pointers have been drawn together to set you in the right direction in selling your used car:

One of the first things to do is to Determine the Value of your Car.

This can be done by:

  • looking for similar cars advertised and checking their prices.
  • going to used car sales dealers to investigate what price they would sell it at if you handed it over to them to sell.
  • Looking in the used car price guide book for the price of your model.

After the price has been determined you can now start to Prepare for the Sale of your Car.

There are many items on the car that will need to be checked over;

  • the whole car inside and out will need to be thoroughly cleaned.
  • The engine should have any dirt or oil removed from it and steam cleaned if possible.
  • Anything loose should be tightened to prevent any rattling on a test drive with potential customer.

One suggestion is to Not Make any Major Repairs on the Car.

  • you will not make any money if you make expensive repairs.
  • It is better to be honest to the buyers and explain any major repairs that need doing and take this into consideration when pricing the car.

After having prepared your car for sale you now have to find some buyers. This is done through Advertising.

There are many places to gain the interests of potential buyers here are a few;

  • VIA THE INTERNET. Advertising on the net and selling your car on the net makes the process seem a little less hard work. The process allows for consumers to see the ad online and also check out anything else they need to know about the car before making the purchase. The buyer can simply make a bid online and the next step is for the papers to be processed and sent out to the buyer. Once these are returned the deal is settled and no personal contact has been made yet. However there will be buyers that will continue the process offline with a test drive as can be expected, but the initial dealing will be made on the net.
  • Word of mouth. can be very resourceful especially if friends are looking for a car or know someone that is. They can tell them where the car is being advertised on the web if they want to purchase it that way or they can go direct.

( Remember to leave a contact name and number with the advertisements!)

A swell as leaving your name and number, there are other Important Features to put in your Advert.

It is often best to be very honest when writing about the car that is for sale. When considering what to put in the advertisement it is often a good idea to check other ads and see what is included in these and if there is anything else you could add. Include items such as;

  • make of model and year.
  • its mileage.
  • colour and any extra features.
  • the general condition that it is in.
  • how many previous owners.

Now that the advertisement has been written and placed you will, hopefully, receive a good response. You should now have to think how to Respond to these Potential Customers.

  • Be professional if buyers do want the process to be taken offline then make set appointments with them.

Finally if you remember to be as Honest and Helpful as Possible then the sale will be much smoother.

  • You will receive far more credibility if you are honest and friendly towards all of the customers.
  • go on the test drive and help show the driver around the car and get them comfortable with it.

It is also important to bear in mind that while you are being honest and helpful not everyone is like this and there will be buyers that may try to pull the wool over your eyes. Be Cautious!

  • do not allow a buyer to test drive the car without you.
  • take a deposit from a buyer and then at least if they do not reply/return you have not lost all.
  • keep a record of all people interested so you can contact others if a sale falls through.
  • when taking cash payment if the buyer appears dodgy make sure that the money is not dodgy as well. It is particularly difficult to assess the character of a buyer over the Internet so make sure they are genuine before handing over the product or at least take their money!

GOOD LUCK!