The Best Ways to Sell Your Car

You want to sell your car, but you don’t want to deal with a ton of hassles and issues during the process. There are ways to make selling your car as easy as a trip to the post office.
If you’re looking for a great way to get the most money for your old ride, you’ll want to review the tips offered at the bottom of this article, but let’s begin with the various options you have for selling your old car.

Understand the Value; Before Anything Else

You should find a reliable estimate of the value your car offers before you start working toward selling your old car. This value is going to have a lot to do with the condition of the car, the number of miles, your vehicle maintenance history, and the model. Start on Kelley Blue Book or Edmunds and get an idea of how much your car is worth before you start the process. This will give an idea of what you should expect to receive for your old ride.

Various Ways to Sell Your Car

Trade it In

Are you going to buy a new car to replace the old one that you’re trying to sell? If so, you will want to the dealership where you’ll be buying your new car and find out how much they are willing to give you in the trade. The trade-in value is going to be lower than the value of the vehicle, sometimes much lower, but you will have the most convenient process because you won’t have to try and sell the car on your own.

Sell Your Car to an Outside Dealer

Independent used car dealers are a great place for you to sell a car and avoid the hassle of having to do things on your own. Unfortunately, similar to trading your vehicle in to a dealership for another vehicle, you’re going to end up with an offer that is much lower than the value of your vehicle. Even so, if you want to separate the process of selling and buying, this is certainly a great way to get that done.

Let CarMax Buy Your Vehicle

Do you have an older vehicle that isn’t in very good condition? Has it been a while since you drove that old car, and you’re trying to figure out how to get it out of your driveway? Take this vehicle to CarMax. They will buy any vehicle in any condition and will pay you by bank draft. Their offer is good for seven days, which gives you time to see if you can get a better offer. Once again, you’ll likely get a lot less than the value, but the process is quick and easy.

Sell it Yourself

To get the most money from your vehicle, you need to sell your car on your own. Thankfully, there are many ways for you to do this today. You can list your car on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace for free and then set your price. This will take the most amount of time, will cause you to meet with strangers, and will potentially leave you wondering if you need to bring your price down. You’ll get the most money out of your car with this process, but you will need to be patient to do so.

Take Advantage of a Cars for Cash Program

The dealer where you want to buy your new ride might have a “We buy cars for cash” program for you to take advantage of. This is not much different from trading your car in, except the value you receive can be listed as a down payment instead of a trade. You could walk away with a check for your old ride, but you’ll still likely experience a much lower offer than the value of your vehicle.

What Should You Do When You Want to Sell Your Car?

There are some actions you should take, other than learning the value of your vehicle when you want to get the most out of your car. Here are some tips you should take advantage of:

• Depersonalize Your Car – Remove bumper stickers, bobbleheads, anything that isn’t part of how the car came from the factory
• Give Your Car a Thorough Cleaning – Wash, wax, detail, and deodorize your car. Get into those cervices where the dropped French fries have collected
• Take the Right Photos – If listing yourself, the background of your photos can make a huge difference
• Take Lots of Pictures – The more photos of your vehicle that you can take, the more a buyer can get an idea of what you’re selling
• Be Descriptively Short – Describe your vehicle but don’t go into too much detail
• Be Honest With Yourself – Just because your car has gotten you around for years doesn’t mean it’s a great car, be objective and honest with yourself
• Perform Cosmetic Fixes – Improve the look of your car with a few small items that will make it more attractive to buyers
• Set Your Price Above Your Target Price – Buyers are going to try and offer you less than your asking price set it higher than your goal price.
• Negotiate in Person – Don’t negotiate the price over email; ask the buyer to come to see the car first and then talk price.
• Use the Right Listing Site – Some sites attract buyers that are going to try and lowball you, while others will attract more serious buyers, do a little homework, and use the right site for your listing

How Are You Going to Sell Your Car?

You might find that we haven’t covered all of your options, but some of them are simply nuances of the various ways to sell your car that we have mentioned. You have to consider whether or not you want to get the most out of your old car or that you need to. The best way to get top dollar is to sell it on your own, but you can still enjoy going to a dealership and walking away with a check in your pocket that you might use for something other than buying another car.