Sell My Car Guru

Sell My Car Marketing

Consider what it was like to sell your car 20 years ago, you pretty much had two options. First, park it on the side of the road and give a brief description, cost and phone number available in the small white strip under the orange “For Sale” sign. Then you go home and hope someone calls you. Second, place an ad in the newspaper, sit at home and hope someone calls you. If you were a real go getter you actually did both! I sold many cars this way, but the process was slow because you had limited views.

Today you can still do those things and probably have some success. However, with sites like craigslist.com, cars.com, autotrader.com, eBay and many others you have lots of options. Actually, you may now have too many options! Now you have to consider things such as; if you place it on craigslist you set the price, people come over to see it and test drive and then they’ll dicker with you to lower the price. The positive is you gain a large audience very quickly and can sell your car quickly too. eBay, for example, is an auction site that allows you to put in a minimum bid you will accept and then if people like it they can bid it up. For the most part the car is purchased sight unseen and the auction and payment can take you a week or more. Not to mention you may not sell the car and will still be on the hook to pay eBays fees. One way is not necessarily better than the other, it depends on factors that are unique to you and the vehicle you are selling.

Some classic, sports or luxury cars can have a wide audience that can draw interested purchasers from a national audience, so eBay or cars.com may be good options. Other more common cars, such as Saturns may be more suited for craigslist. If getting money quickly is paramount than opt for craigslist.

Do yourself a favor and do a little research on auto sales sites and discover which option is best for you. Ask friends, many have had experiences selling cars that they would love to discuss. Whatever you do, enjoy the ride!

Posted in Car Marketing | No Comments »

Sell My Car Preperation

There is a balance between preparing your car too much and too little. Striking that balance will help you gain the most for your vehicle, while not losing sanity over car preparation. One question I am asked is, “I want to sell my car, what are the things I should do to make it a quicker sell”?

There are some basic and maybe obvious things you can do, which include wash the car both internally and externally, wash and clean the door jams to remove dirt build up, clean under the hood and wax the car. Although obvious (or seemingly obvious) you would be surprised at how many people don’t dedicate the time to these cosmetic improvements. Once complete ask yourself if you were a buyer would you like what you see?

Things that are not so obvious are items such as an oil change, tire rotation (or replacement if worn heavily), air filter or anything else that may help the cars performance improve. If you are aware of serious mechanical car troubles than you either need to disclose them or have it serviced. You will need to weigh the pros and cons of service versus disclosure to gauge whether it’s a cash plus or negative.

If you haven’t done it with this vehicle do it with the next, because you should prepare to sell your car when you buy your car. If you have mechanical records great, get them in order because people like to see these when purchasing the car. They can use a service like carfax.com, but this shows you’ve taken care of the car.

There is something to consider; if your car is an investment or worth a lot consider having it professionally cleaned and serviced. What someone can do professionally versus what you can do individually can add dollars to the value of the car.

Just remember that when you look to sell your car think about the person who will be buying it. Would spending time on it really make the difference and add value? If you have a 1967 Cadillac the fuel economy may be enough to scare people off and fixing it up and cleaning may add little value. If it’s a 1998 Honda Accord a little work can go a long way to increasing the value. Like most things, enjoy the process of preparing your vehicle for sale.

If you need to replace the times consider looking into the best tires for sale, this will lower the amount you need to pay while still making your car attractive.

Posted in Car Preparation | No Comments »