Tips On Selling Your Car
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- Understanding what your car is worth
- The decision to sell privately or to a dealership
- The information you need to provide
- Five ways to increase the value of your car
When you’ve decided it’s finally time to sell your car, you may have to make some unexpected difficult decisions. Many people selling their vehicle just want the process to be over as quickly as possible so they opt to sell/trade it into the car dealership. While this may be the easy route, it’s arguably not the smartest route, at least for your bank account. In this article, we’re going to discuss what options you have when selling your car, the benefits of each option, and how to understand the value of your vehicle.
What Is My Car Worth and The Factors Involved
Before you look at where or who you’re going to sell your car to, it’s important you have an accurate understanding of the value of the vehicle. If you think the vehicle is a collector’s dream but it’s really a pile of junk, you’re never going to get the amount you want for it and therefore will never sell the car. On the other hand, if there is something unique about your car that holds value and you’re not aware of it, you could lose out on potentially thousands of dollars! Check out auto listing sites like www.autotrader.ca or www.usedcarscanada.com to find similar vehicles to yours to give you a better idea of the market. It’s important to know that the listing price is not typically the end selling price so keep that in mind during your research. Take each of these factors into consideration while trying to come up with a listing price.
History of the vehicle: has the vehicle ever been in an accident, been used as a taxi, or needed major repairs? If the answer is yes to any of these questions the car will likely decrease in value as more unexpected repairs are more likely to occur.
Amount of KM on the car: The odometer rating is a huge factor in determining a car’s value. Simply put, the more KM on the car, the less that car will sell for. As the car puts on more and more KM, wear and tear is guaranteed, creating an eventual need to go into the mechanic shop for repairs.
The condition of the car: If the car you’re trying to sell has rust issues on the left side of the car, and a dent in the rear bumper, no doubt will this decrease the value of the car. For the interior condition, one factor that isn’t considered enough is whether the car has been smoked in. We’ve all been in cars where you can smell what seems to be cigarette smoke burnt into the interior. If the car has been smoked in, unless the buyer is an avid smoker, expect this no negatively affect the value of the car. Be honest with yourself on the condition of the car and factor this into your listing price.
Three Options When Selling Your Car
Let’s talk about the three main options you have in selling your car. While there are benefits and drawbacks to each, your situation will be the biggest factor in what makes sense.
Selling Privately
Selling your car privately usually results in you getting the most money for the vehicle, but it doesn’t come without work. You’re going to have to take nice interior and exterior pictures of the car, write detailed descriptions of the car and its specs and do your best to post/advertise the car. Once you’ve done all of these initial steps, now you’ll have to wait for the right buyer. If you’re lucky you may sell the car in its first week posted. What’s more likely to happen is you’ll have to wait a few weeks if not months to find a buyer. This may seem like a lot of work to someone who just wants to take the money and run, but it could result in you getting an extra thousand dollars.
Pros:
- Typically, you’ll make more money selling privately
- You should get what you ask for if you’re patient in the selling process
Con’s:
- You need to do all the work in posting it
- You’ll need to negotiate with the buyer
- Can take a long time to sell
Trade-In To A Dealership
The second option you have in selling your car is doing a trade-in to a car dealership. This is a great option for anyone who just wants a quick and painless process of selling the car. You won’t have to worry about doing all the paperwork or fixing the dent on the right side bumper. The main disadvantage of selling to a dealer is because they’re doing all of the work to make that car sellable, you are not going to get as much money in return.
Pros:
- You’ll have the money from selling your car quickly
- Won’t have to do the paperwork involved in selling a car privately
- Don’t have to do the work of fixing the car up and posting online
Cons:
- You won’t get as much money for the car
Sell It To A Scrapyard
The last option to sell your used car is to bring it to a local scrapyard. If you’re not having any luck selling privately or you’re not looking to trade-in for a new car at a dealership, this may be your only remaining option. Not only will scrapping the vehicle earn you money, but it can get you a tax receipt depending on the region in which you sell it. Many charities look for pre-owned vehicles to be used to teach youth mechanic skills. For example, British Columbia has a program called SCRAP-IT that will give up to a $6,000 tax-receipt toward a new electric vehicle for anyone who scraps their car.
Pros:
- A quick option to sell the vehicle
- Potential tax incentives
Cons:
- Won’t pay as well as privately selling or a dealership
- Tax incentives are not available in all regions
What Info Is Needed To Sell My Car
The information you need to provide when selling your car varies from province to province and whether you’re selling the vehicle privately or trading it into a dealership. Regardless of if you’re selling privately or selling to a dealership, you’ll need to provide a vehicle history report (VHR) to show what the car has been through. A VHR shows any accidents with the car involved, the vehicle’s registration history, and lien status.
5 Ways To Increase The Value Of Your Car
If you’re determined to work a bit harder and make the extra cash by selling privately, here are four tips you can use to add some extra value to your car.
1. Take great/professional photos of it: Appearance is everything, regardless of what you’re selling. If you take well lit, well-framed pictures of your recently cleaned car, you will absolutely draw more attention to the car online. Too often people take pictures of their vehicle in dark places with little to no thought and the images alone turn online visitors off of looking further into the ad.
2. Fix up the exterior: Depending on how long you’ve owned the car, there may be some rust or dents. If you’re able to get rid of some of the dents or even scratch off some rust this could increase the value of the car. Once again, appearance is everything so the better the car looks, the more eyes it will get.
3. Ensure the mechanics of the car have been maintained: If you have any mechanical skills yourself or a friend that can help you, do all of the easy minor fixes on the car that you can. Put in fresh oil, replace air filters or blown fuses and etc. All of these are small and easy fixes that can ultimately increase the value.
4. Clean up/repair the interior: Make sure you repair the upholstery in the vehicle, if there are any tears or rips, patch them up! Take a day to scrub and clean every inch of the interior. If a buyer comes and checks out the vehicle and they see a sparkling clean interior, it should help the negotiation process.
5. Get the car safetied: If you want to ensure to any potential buyers that the car won’t break down on them a week after they buy it from you, get it safetied! Any vehicles that have a mechanic safety the car will increase the listing price of that car as the new owner won’t have to pay to have it safetied.
Ready To Sell Your Car?
If you’re looking to sell your car in order to upgrade your vehicle, be sure to check out our car loan calculator so you can have a better idea of how much car financing your new vehicle will cost! Apply on our application below!
