Tips for Getting a Decent Price for Your Used Car!

If the time has come for you to part with your current car, you will need to sell it before you can buy a new one, or – for many if not most of us – a new used car. Selling a car means doing things few people genuinely like to do, such as cleaning your car (this is a big one for a lot of people), advertising it on Craigslist, fielding telephone calls, answering sometimes-obnoxious questions, watching people walk around and stare at your car, and finally – discussing money with strangers. If you want to get the most you can get for your car, it’s best to take the time to do the right footwork first. The first and probably most important thing is this: your car needs to look awesome. Few people are interested in buying the bugs on your windshield or the candy wrappers on your floor along with your car. The fact is that people want to buy clean, nice-looking cars. If your car looks dirty, people will think it hasn’t been well-maintained, and the most important thing in selling your car is convincing a nervous buyer that your car is well cared for. So –
• Get your car detailed: car dealers detail their cars to sell them, so should you. It’s worth it to spend the money to do this, because detailing your car can add $500 or more to the resale value. What does a car detailer do? A detailer helps make the car look new again by removing light scratches and paint imperfections, buffing it, shampooing the carpets, cleaning and degreasing the engine, and more. It can be a DIY job, but it’s truly tough to do the kind of job a car detailer can do.
• Replace the floor mats: This is an easy and inexpensive fix that will immediately make your car feel “new.”
• List the modifications: If you’ve had modifications done to the car, like a new stereo or custom shield coating, make sure you list that and point it out to potential buyers.
• Repair the most obvious problems: If your car needs extensive repairs, it doesn’t make sense to lay out a lot of money to fix them unless they’re major and you’re unlikely to sell the car unless they’re done. Anything that will have an impact on the perceived quality of the car should be taken care of, though, if you can possibly do it. Things like a non-working keyless entry will stick out in a buyers mind as a big problem that could keep them from signing a check. All it may need is a $5 battery for the key fob, but a buyer doesn’t know this, so make them feel secure by fixing what you can.
• Fix bigger cosmetic problems: If there are some bigger things that affect your car’s all-important appearance, it can often pay to take care of it. Fixing a large dent is worth the $250 to get it removed, because it may net a couple more thousand dollars for the car.
• Get your car serviced: Consider getting a $60,000 mile service done on the car, because you’ll probably get back double that in resale value, and you’ll sell the car more quickly. A buyer will pay more for the peace of mind that the words “I just got it serviced” will give them.
• Gather all your records: A car with maintenance and service records is golden; it says to a buyer that the car has been cared for, and you have the papers to prove it.
• Price it right: the bible for what your car is worth is the Kelley Blue Book, but you can also look at similar cars being sold on Craigslist, or other websites offering used cars. After this, it’s smart to add a couple of hundred dollars to whatever price you decide on, just so you’ll have a buffer for people who want to bargain you down.