Selling your pride and joy seems like it should be a pretty easy and straightforward process, doesn’t it? How hard can it be - get your smartphone, take a few pics, upload them to a site of your choice and then prepare yourself for calls from hundreds of interested parties (and time wasters offering you half without even seeing the car…). If only it was that easy…
The slightest of oversights could mean the difference between you bagging the full value of your vehicle or possibly thousands below it - so you have to be careful when placing an advert as those with a keen eye will immediately devalue your ride if, for example, the pictures you post show it in an unclean state… There are several basic yet essential ways that you can try to maximize profit when you are planning to sell your car and although some may appear blatantly obvious, just go online and see these mistakes for yourself. If you pay more attention to the following key areas, then you could end up with some extra dosh in your wallet…
1- Clean your car thoroughly:
It is highly advisable to get your car professionally detailed before you post any photos of it online for sale and this is vital for a car which has been driven on a daily basis for several years. You don’t realize just how dirty and grimy your car can get over time, and especially areas that you rarely see such as the engine (assuming you’re not an enthusiast whose busy tinkering with all the oily bits under the hood every weekend). And since it is your car you’re unlikely to notice just how rough it’s looking – especially the neglected areas (such as door jambs and other nooks and crannies). There are hundreds of online ads where the owners have taken very little – if any – care about the images posted of their car, and if you’re not put off by all those crisps packets and cigarette butts littering the cabin then you can be sure that any prospective buyer will be. Remember, the devil’s in the details! So, make sure the car is super clean inside and out before you upload any photos of it online – and get the engine bay cleaned too; it’ll make a massive difference – you know what they say about first impressions… Basically, get it looking as close to “like new” as possible.
2- Take some good photos of it:
Don’t post blurry pics of your, or with it parked by other cars or with people visible in the background; basically, make sure all the pics showing your car are presentable, have a clean, uncluttered background and help make it look as attractive as possible. Get the entire car in the frame too (make sure your fingertips aren’t visible in the corners…). Remember – a picture is worth a thousand words - and that could translate to thousands of dirhams!
3- Provide a good description of it:
Apart from the basics such as the year of the car, the make, the model, engine and transmission details, its colour, Vehicle identification number (VIN), its mileage and any optional equipment that it might have, why not make your ad a little more entertaining by telling a little story about it? This could be when you bought it, why you bought it, and how reliable it has been in the time you have had it.
4- Provide a full service history:
Not everyone likes to keep receipts of all the cash they’ve spent on maintaining their car, for most people, this just makes them feel bad – but keeping all of those service history bills could help you to recoup some of the money that’s been thrown at your ride back into your wallet. It is vital to keep as much documentation as possible showing any work that’s been done to your car because the more detail you can provide to a buyer via your records the more likely he or she will feel confident about handing over thousands of dirhams for your vehicle. Records such as these help to prove that you have done your best to maintain your car and if it has had any accidents (minor or major) it’s best to be upfront about them right from the start; retrieving information like any past prangs isn’t hard to obtain these days and so by being upfront you’ll appear to be more of a genuine person and trustworthy – and it could help you nail that sale!
5- Figure out a price:
This sounds a little obvious but if you haven’t got a clue what your 1998 Ford is worth, you can input all the major details into several online appraisal systems that will help you to determine a price for it. This will be based on various aspects such as the model of your car, what mileage it has done, and its overall condition. You’ll get all sorts of different values for your car depending on where you are planning to sell it; for instance a dealer will offer you way less than the private market and as a general rule, it’s always advisable to start higher than what your car is actually worth as once negotiations begin and all of the back and forth is over, you should still get as close to what you originally wanted for it.
