When it’s time to sell your car, you have several options. Do you decide to get valuations and quotes and then proceed with a buyer, look privately or sell to a main dealership? Selling your car to an online valuation provider gives you the peace of mind that you are working with a legitimate company and provides you with a guaranteed valuation for your vehicle. Not estimated auction prices or having to run the risk of selling your car through a private buyer.
This article discusses the ways that you can sell your car as well as why selling to an online valuation provider is better than other methods. Discussing the points of consideration when considering the method of sale and the issues with other methods such as auction estimated prices and fees as well as the risks of selling privately.
This article is written by We Love Tesla, the leading independent purchaser of Tesla vehicles in the UK. Helping our clients to “Sell My Tesla.”
What are the Different Ways to Sell Your Car?
When you decide that it’s time to sell your car, there are a couple of different options that you can choose. Typically, you will research the current market and obtain a valuation before assessing all of the other methods.
Online valuation providers will provide you with a guaranteed offer for a set period and then your vehicle will need to be revalued. This allows you to get a fixed cash payment for your vehicle, sell it to a trusted buyer, and get a guaranteed cash payment rather than an estimation. This provides you with the peace of mind that you have a legitimate buyer for your car and that you get the full fixed amount of cash during the sale.
Selling privately is not recommended due to the number of scammers and fraudsters that operate on these markets. If you are set on selling privately then you need to take a number of precautions such as controlling the reviewing of key documents, hiding important details such as the VIN number and ensuring that you aren’t giving away keys that can be quickly cloned.
Online auction websites typically provide higher than market value ‘estimates’ which then encourage the seller to pursue the sale of their vehicle by auction. This carries all of the considerations of an auction setting. There may be auction fees to pay which cuts into the money that you receive and there’s no guarantee that your vehicle will reach the estimated or higher figure if you are in a difficult auction. You may receive higher than market value but this is fairly uncommon depending on the vehicle and its desirability.
Preparing Your Car for Sale
The most important aspect to tackle first when preparing to sell your car is to ensure that all of your relevant paperwork is in order. Also ensure to include evidence of service history and any other receipts for repairs for the vehicle. The paperwork provides the new buyer with the peace of mind that the car has been kept in good condition and this makes the car more attractive to buyers.
You should make sure that your car is in a clean and presentable condition when you are looking to sell. Ensure that you have cleaned the interior and exterior of your car as well as removed any odors and cleared out the glove box and other areas of the car. You can either do this yourself or arrange for professional cleaning services such as a car valeting service.
Potential buyers will expect some signs of wear and tear for a used car but to increase the overall value of your car, you should ensure that you have carried out additional maintenance. You should ensure that all of the relevant fluids for your car are topped up and if you do find anything to fix, it’s recommended to do this before the sale.
