Best practices for selling your car

Best practices for selling your car

After purchasing a home, buying a car or van is the second-largest purchase. Hence, selling your car for the first time can be quite scary. Don’t worry: there are some steps you can take to ensure you can change your motor as smoothly and efficiently as possible.

Here is a guide with some pointers for easily and safely selling your vehicle:

Get the right paperwork

Only vehicles that you own or are authorised to sell may be sold. When you sell your car, you must fill out a section of the V5C document to transfer the title to the new owner.

As a result, if you're selling a vehicle that you've financed but still have a balance, you must pay off the balance before selling the car. If you're selling on behalf of someone else, be prepared for resistance from potential customers.

The person listed as the registered keeper of the car on the V5C isn't always the owner of the vehicle, but they oversee taxing and maintaining it. Until authorities are advised otherwise, they will also be the first to receive any fixed penalty notices.

Clean up

Let's be honest: if you saw a filthy car filled with drive-through wrappers, muddy pawprints, or an unidentifiable musty smell, you would likely offer to buy it for a bargain price, if you were even prepared to make an offer.

Service your vehicle!

With a lengthier MOT and a full-service history (FSH), or, in other words, tangible evidence that you've cared for your car, you are more likely to fetch a better price.

Get any worries addressed by a professional.

Determine whether the cost of repair will be outweighed by the value of the work to be done. Manage your expectations for the price if the effort is not worthwhile.

Decide on your price and write your advert

Determining the best price when selling your vehicle requires some research and you must take into consideration how quickly you want a sale. You can make a deal to sell it quickly or wait it out for top pay.

Check out listings for your model with the same year and specifications. Compare prices to get a general idea, then consider miles and conditions and decide where to post your ad.

Your vehicle’s ad should be written to grab a buyer's attention wherever you are selling, provide them with all the information they require, and persuade them to visit and have a test drive.

Sell your car privately

Whilst you can part-exchange your car or sell it to a corporate buyer, you will typically get a better price if you sell it privately online.

There are many online car-selling platforms available today. Selling privately typically results in the highest price since you get to retain all the proceeds after paying to list the ad.

Some sites are affordable to list on, and some are even free. If you do decide to pay for your ad, you could increase your asking price a little to make up for the fee or even to leave yourself room for a lower offer.

Before telling the customer where you are located, gather their contact information, and try to find them online as security can be an issue.

Replacing your car with a Flexxilease short term lease

Leasing a car is like paying a monthly fee for Netflix but for cars, and for a set period. While most vehicle leasing firms only provide long-term leases, Flexxilease allows you to lease a car for as little as three months. Don’t delay, choose a Flexxilease vehicle today!