The best piece of advice I can give to anyone selling a car is to put yourself in the buyer’s shoes. 1. Get it inspected. Get the car checked out by a qualified mechanic, if there's a problem found you're better off fixing it now rather than having an unhappy buyer coming back to you in a few days. Make sure you also get a receipt. Imagine the smile on a potential buyers face when you say “oh I almost forgot, here’s a receipt from a mechanic for a full health check and repair..”.
2. Clean it like James May did it. If it’s in the car and it doesn’t belong to the car, take it out. As my old man would say in his deep advice giving voice “You never get a second chance at first impressions”. He's right! Get rid of any evidence of your life in that car. Especially condom wrappers, that’s definitely a big no no. If you smoke, there’s nothing like our MickFresh Air Freshener to cover up any unwanted odour. Other things to clean:
- Windows
- Dashboard
- Seats
- Mirrors (Inside & Out)
- Alloys
- Storage Compartments
- Ashtray
Make it shine so when the seller sits in it, they get that ‘new car feeling’ that’s just irresistible. 3. Good photographs. I’m not talking about adding a Pinterest filter or a Snapchat photo nor do I mean using the HD camera you got in 1999 from Argos at Christmas. Use a modern camera, if you don't have one you could borrow one from a friend or even hire one out. Park the car in an area with natural sunlight and take pictures from all sides of the the car like you've nothing to hide.
4. Price compare & Be Fair. Start by making a price comparison sheet. Be honest when you compare your cars to others on the market. Take things like the condition, mileage and age into account. Then when the buyer inevitably says “What’s your best price?” or “Is that the best you can do?”, you have concrete evidence that the price you’re asking for is fair. 5. Proof read that ad. Everyone makes spelling mistakes. And sometimes the only way to find them is to ask another person to proof read your ad. Cerealsly tho, DON’T hav spellin mistakes or MAKE THINGS CAPITAL or abbreviate sum thingz in ur add. It’s very off pudding to potential buyers. The most important things your ad should contain are:
- Engine size
- Transmission
- Mileage
- Any defects or damage
- Any aftermarket parts
- Tax
- Service History
6. Tell everyone. Throw your ad up on Facebook, Twitter and tell all your friends that you’re selling your car, especially the friends that are good at spreading gossip! This is the cheapest and easiest advertising you can do. One of your friends might even be interested in buying the car and it will save you loads of time dealing with so called ‘time wasters’. *Note: I've seen many an episode of Judge Judy where friends have sued each other over payments on cars so just be careful.
7. Tell the truth and nothing but the truth. Don’t start the ad off by telling a big fat lie. If you talk about the car as if it’s perfect, the buyer that comes to see it will be expecting perfection. When they see those scratches and little defects that you ‘forgot’ to mention they will immediately lose your trust and begin to doubt other information you tell them about the car.
8. Show them some history. The main thing I look for when buying a car is service history. Even if it’s a receipt for a new bulb that was fitted, at least that tells me that there’s one less thing that could go wrong if I buy it. The main receipts I want are for services and maintenance. Put them all in a neat folder and hand them to the buyer. The buyer would be thinking “Jaysus, this lad is fierce neat and organised….he must of looked after this yoke”. -I’m from Kerry and that’s how we talk. 9. Let Go. I’m going to be very honest here. I look after my car better than myself. I once had a splitting head ache and a fiver in my pocket so I went to the shop to buy some Panadol. I then saw there was a special weekend offer on a ‘luxury’ car wash and went for that instead. Money well spent! Anyway, you can’t be picky on who buys your car or wait for a buyer that you think will take care of your baby as good as you did. It’s time to move on, and definitely don’t ask the buyer to send you monthly updates on your babies condition! So that was only 9, if you've any other tips, share them with us? Words By Niall
