I have been driving the same car for around ten years. When I bought it, it was already ten years old. I have used my car for adventurous sojourns to the wilderness and coastal towns. I haven’t really had much time to clean my car. Although it is not spotless it is still in great working order. Cars do wear out but they do last a long time if you look after them. My car makes some noises that probably weren’t there when it was rolled off the assembly line and the acceleration is not the same as a new car. This happens with cars, they lose their spritely new car acceleration and feel. However, there are people out there that want to buy my car.
It is important to maintain your car regularly. If you take it down to the beach hose the salt off after you arrive home. This is important; salt is extremely corrosive and can cause rust. If you are taking a long trip check the fluids and make sure you do so fairly regularly. If someone was to buy my car tomorrow I am sure that they would be happy with it. I care for my car and it has never let me down because of it. Proper maintenance won’t only help preserve your car’s resale value but will also help ensure your car is safe to drive. You can feel confident if your wife or other loved ones need to borrow it that it will get them where they need to go safely.
Be responsible for the people who you let in your car. For example, make sure they aren’t getting in with sand all over their feet. If a seat cover has come loose fix it before anyone sits on the seat. All it takes is someone to drop some food or spill something and your interior is ruined. Nobody wants to spend hundreds of pounds reupholstering their car. I feel pretty confident in my cars interior in the event someone wanted to buy my car. I can safely say the seats are in the same condition they were in when I bought my car because I have been extremely careful with my seat covers. As I said, I don’t clean my car all that often but you don’t have to if you make sure it is protected with coverings.
I am sure you can appreciate that car care is important. I may not be the most diligent car cleaning fanatic but nor do I have to be. I spend so much time in my car that not making sure the cloth coverings are not covered would be foolish. So get your car serviced and take care of it while you are using it. If you get a scratch in the paint work treat the exposed metal and put a layer of touch up paint over it. Car care does not have to be difficult; you just have to use preventative techniques before anything disastrous strikes.
If you want to sell your car you should really know what to expect from your buyers. They may be fussy or they may be so easy going they are throwing money at you. Both types of buyers exist and are not limited to the vintage car market or those in the market for family get around. If the car is a vintage car and only a limited amount of the models still exist in the world then you will be more discerning with who you sell it too. Unless you just care about the money – you are not going to sell it to the first person that comes along. This is especially true if that first person who comes along is someone who is not interested in preserving the vehicle in the manner you have.
This may be the case if you want to sell your car and the car is not a vintage car. Maybe the car is just a family get around, a soccer mom van for the lack of a better way to put it. Or maybe it is your first car and you have just graduated to a full license and to celebrate you want to get yourself a new car and you’re trying to get rid of your old one to get some money together. People form an attachment to their car. It may be a car that has transported your family halfway around the country on vacations – maybe you bought the car after becoming a family and you have many memories invested in it. This is especially true if it was your first car.
This is the point; it does not matter if the car is a vintage car or not. Sure if you have invested countless hours in restoring a vintage car and want to sell it you may have a little more reason to be apprehensive in selling it. However, the same thing applies. You have a vested memory interest in the automobile. You want to find the right person to sell your car to. Loved ones may not understand the love you have for the car. In that instance tell them why you are attached to the car and explain that you don’t want the car bought by the first rev head that comes along. The sentimental value of many cars far outweighs the financial. What is the car you are selling worth to you in terms of sentimentality?
The other end of the spectrum is this; the car is not worth sentimental currency to a potential buyer. If you want to sell your car you have to keep in mind the monetary value only. You can’t expect the buyer to understand why you are asking five thousand dollars more than what the car is worth. The buyer is not interested in the sentimental value of the car. They just want a fair price it. Sure if the car is a vintage vehicle and you have spent twenty thousand dollars restoring it then a high asking price is legitimate – just don’t tack on an extra twenty thousand for the memories.
Many people don’t realise that they have options when they want to sell their car. There are multiple places to sell your car. You may be a little worried about using a relatively unknown methodology to get rid of the old machine. Sometimes you have to think outside the box a little. It is assumed you have taken good care of your car and you have removed any barriers (i.e. you are not selling a lemon and your car is in good condition) but still won’t sell.
I will detail methods I have tried in the past to sell my car. Some of them I probably didn’t try at the right time – the market for that particular avenue may have been saturated or it was the wrong type of car for that market. I have tried many methods. Some I will try again and others require a specific niche to take advantage of. A lot of it does come down to the type of car you are selling and the price you are looking for. These methods include car auctions, trade meets, parking it on the side of a busy thoroughfare, approaching used car dealerships and various online methods.
I will start with the vague one; various online methods. I have tried to sell my car using online auctions, car sales portals and general online classifieds. The most successful method of selling my car – for me – was online classifieds. Area specific classifieds make it pretty easy to find someone in your immediate area that wants a bargain. Not only did I manage to sell my car via online classifieds, I also generated a lot of interest. I am sure if people see me post another car I have a readymade band of interested people waiting to check out what I have to offer.
Another very valid method I tried to sell my car was online auctions. Although I haven’t been as successful with this method as I was with classifieds (and it is not as location specific), if your car is a classic or a rarity people will travel to look at it. The global economic crisis may have slowed down online auction traffic a little, but there are still plenty of punters online that are trying to get hold of a bargain. Again, it is also a good place to get a dedicated group of buyers who are interested in your products. Many online auction sites have a favourite seller function which also makes advertising your products a snap.
selling your car is all about promotion. It is the same as marketing anything. The first step is to actually believe in your product. Spice up the description; make sure it is in good working order and answer queries in a timely and accurate fashion. If you tell someone that the car is a six cylinder model instead of a four cylinder model and the person comes to look at it to find you were lying, not only have you probably shafted yourself out of a sale but you have also lost a potential buyer in the future.