You fell in love with your car. Your reliable transportation has been there to take you to your employer, shopping, and entertainment venues of your choosing. In the last few years, you have enjoyed your auto. However, lately, you have thought of moving on, and the first thing you want to do is sell your car for top dollar.
You know the car has many good years of service still ahead of it and that another person would enjoy owning it. The used car industry is enormous. How huge? Glad you asked. In 2015 over 38 million used cars were sold in the United States. That’s a lot of used car transactions.
Poorly maintained cars bring fewer offers.
Selling your car is the easy part, but what should you do to get your vehicle’s top dollar? I have been buying and selling cars for over a decade. Here are the top things Dealers look at when taking in trade-in. If your vehicle has any of these issues, a dealer or buyer will use them to negotiate your asking price down.
- Worn Tires
- Bad Brakes
- A dirty car needs cleaning
- Car Maintenance and Accident records
Selling your car for top dollar requires planning.
Finding a car buyer should be easy. All you have to do is place an ad on a website. A potential buyer will see the ad, and from there, it is as simple as meeting up for a test drive. It sounds so simple, but in reality, it is actually more complicated.
- First, when you want to sell your vehicle, you need to determine your car is worth. This is what the car will bring out on the open market. That may be what close to the value quoted by a virtual appraisal, or it may be more or perhaps less.
- Second, you must have access to someone good at photography.
- Third, someone will need to write the copy for the ad.
- Lastly, when someone inquires, you need to show the car and be ready to negotiate the deal, allowing the buyer to pay the top dollar while feeling he is getting the best car for his money.
- Finally, once the price has been finalized, you will need to submit a transfer of ownership paper to the department of motor vehicles.
Anyone can do all of this—however, time-consuming and better left to the professionals.
