Want to sell your car?
Are you considering selling your used car, possibly in preparation of buying another car?
First, you must realize that you are now selling a used car. In the eyes of potential buyers, it’s a car that has been driven for some miles; its parts have been worn; and it is in an unknown condition. Buying it represents some level of risk. Its model has also been replaced by the manufacturer with newer models every year. For these reasons, the car now has possibly considerably less market value.
It is important to also realize that you will never recover much of the cost originally spent for the car, whether it was new or used at the time you purchased it. Originally you paid sales tax, registration and title fees, and you suffered the effects of value depreciation that all cars experience.
You can price your car using one of a number different strategies:
- Look at dealer prices. You can look on online dealer web sites at advertised “sticker” prices for cars that are similar to yours.
- Look at individual asking prices. You can look at web sites such as Craigslist and eBay Motors for individuals who are selling cars similar to yours.
- Set your price to be negotiated. Regardless of how you choose to price your car, set it higher than the price you are willing to accept such that a buyer can “talk you down” and feel good about his deal. Remember, the dealer prices you find online are only “asking” prices, and not actual selling prices. Most of those car will be sold at lower prices, depending on how much the buyers are able to negotiate.
- Consider selling to a dealer. Dealers may want your car and are willing to buy it from you. Carmax is a large national used car dealer that buys cars. But remember, the price a dealer offers is a wholesale price. He has to make a profit when he sells. Therefore, you might not get the same price as you would if you sold the car to an individual.
- Don’t overvalue your car. Many car sellers tend to think their cars are worth more than other similar cars. It might because they have recently spent considerable money to make repairs or added expensive items to the car. You might not be able to recover the full cost of repairs and buyers might not place value on any items you have added.
Potential buyers of your car may be “smart” buyers who take steps to minimize their risk in buying your car. They may ask you if they can take your car to a mechanic to have it inspected — or bring their mechanic to inspect the car at your location. Be prepared to have them negotiate with you if the mechanic finds problems that reduce the car’s value. They might also get a CarFax car history report (or ask you to provide one) which could identify accidents or other issues that they feel reduces the car’s value.
Do not entertain any requests by buyers to give you a “deposit” to hold the car until they can arrange payment, unless you are willing to miss other sales opportunities and risk the that the buyer fails to get payment. Decide whether you will return the deposit if such a case as the buyer wants out of the deal, and let them know up front of your policy.
Do not entertain requests by potential buyers to sell on a “payment plan”, even if they are friends. These kinds of deals have a long history of failing and it’s usually the seller who ends up on the bad side of the deal. What if the buyer is late with payments? What if the buyer stops paying? Can you get the car back? What if the car is wrecked and the buyer stops payments? Who pays for insurance? What if you want the car back for some reason? Is the buyer willing to return the car? Do you refund some money to the buyer?
In summary, selling a used car requires some some time and effort to make sure you get a good fair deal.