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Men walk past used cars at the Al Aweer car market. Image Credit: Gulf News Archives

If you need to get rid of your old clunker, you could just drive it to the desert and leave it there… Better yet, you could sell it! Now, how hard can that be? Should be a pretty easy and straightforward process, right? Take a few pics, upload them to a site of your choice, be inundated with calls and take all that money to the bank! If only it was that easy…

You have to be careful when placing an advert as those with a keen eye will immediately devalue your vehicle if, for example, you haven’t provided the correct details or if the photos aren’t very flattering. Here are several basic yet essential ways that you can try to maximize profit when you are planning to sell your car…

1. Clean your car thoroughly

The devil’s in the details! Make sure your car is super clean inside and out before you upload any photos of it online, 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. If you’re not put off by all those crisps packets and cigarette butts littering the cabin you can be sure that any prospective buyer will be…

2. Take some good photos of it

No blurry snaps, none of it parked with other cars and especially none with your fat fingertips covering half of the pics! Make sure all the photos showing your car are presentable, have a clean, uncluttered background and help make it look as attractive as possible.

3. Provide a good description of it

Aside from the basics (year of the car, the make, the model, engine and transmission) why not make your ad a little more entertaining by telling a little story about it like when you bought it and how reliable it has been in the time you have had it…

4. Provide a full service history

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.

5. Figure out a price

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.

Read the full report on Wheels.ae