Many car owners face the dilemma of selling their car, with most of them not knowing where to start or being unable to decide where or how to sell the car confidently. Due to this confusion, they either end up keeping or selling the vehicle using inappropriate methods and not getting what the car is worth because not all methods will work for all types of cars. Case in point, consignment selling works best for high-end and pricier cars, but if you have a cheap daily, it will sell better online on a platform such as Facebook Marketplace, eBay, or Craigslist. Besides its value, the car's condition and age, urgency to sell, and fees imposed when selling it also determine where you can sell your car. You can use several methods to sell your car, but all involve selling privately or through a third party handling the sale for you. For example, selling online is selling privately but using a platform to advertise your car. On the other hand, selling on consignment is done through a third party, which in most cases is a dealership that will handle the sale process, including the paperwork. This article highlights every way there is if you're unsure of where you can sell your car. We explain which methods work for different car types, for example, classic cars, exotics, and newer vehicles. But before we do, what should you do before selling your car?
First impressions matter when selling a car, and since it will mostly end up on a listing or advertisement somewhere, it needs to be visually appealing to potential buyers. But it doesn't stop at that. It would also help if you instilled confidence in the buyer, and there's more than one way to do this. Making the car's information public or providing it when an inquiry is presented is one way, but that's usually further down the selling process. So, how should you prepare a car before selling it?
When we say first impressions matter, it all boils down to how a car looks on a listing or during viewing days. It wouldn't hurt too much to do a clean or even detail it as it shows the seller that the car has been taken care of. Also, de-personalize the car since you have already decided to sell it. Remove stickers or personalized upgrades such as custom floor mats, tints, and seat covers. Do a thorough check of the car's condition, starting with inspecting the body panels for dents, cracks, and rust, especially on classic and daily used vehicles. A garage visit for minor service and to ensure all the mechanicals are in excellent working condition goes a long way and might help the car sell quicker if you include it in the listing details.
Once the car checks out to be okay and is clean enough for a photo shoot, select a location that is well-lit and has a decent background that frames the vehicle. For example, instead of taking photos of the car in the garage, use the driveway with houses or trees in the background and start by taking pictures of all the car's angles: front, rear, and side profiles. After that, open up the engine bay and doors and take photos of the interior and engine bay components. Emphasize photo clarity on the instrument cluster, seat material quality, and the engine bay, especially if it has features that might make it sell quicker, for example, aftermarket performance supporting mods. When selling a car online, some websites and platforms will allow you to use a video in addition to the photos. If you want to take advantage of this, shoot a walkaround video of the car with the engine running, showcasing every angle as you did with the photos. Ask someone to record a video of you driving the vehicle if possible. This instills more confidence in buyers that the car is a runner and it drives.
If you've financed a car, you must clear everything out with your debtor before making a listing. Request a quote on how much you owe on the vehicle and compare it against your monthly payment to confirm the figure presented checks out. There's no way you can hand over ownership without paying off the loan, so ask your lender or dealership for the best way to navigate around the sale of the car. In most cases, you have two options: pay the loan from your pocket and get ownership of the vehicle, then sell it, or a buyer pays off the loan on your behalf and gets ownership.
Knowing how much to sell your car for is relatively easy, as all it takes is researching current and recent listings and coming up with a value that matches current market prices. However, it's not uncommon for car owners to get sentimental or disappointed with how much they're being forced to sell the car, especially if it has depreciated significantly. Don't let your love or frustration with the car tempt you to set a price too high, as it's highly likely that your car won't sell. If you're still unconvinced about the price you get by doing market research, you can use a car valuation tool like Edmunds and Kelley Blue Book. You'll get a value that most individual buyers and dealerships will willingly pay for the car. Urgency can force you to set the car's price lower, which is understandable but don't set it too low that it will raise questions. Set a realistic price that a buyer will drool at and not start asking questions doubting the car's condition and history.
Put together all necessary paperwork, such as the vehicle title, maintenance records, warranty papers, and any documentation relevant to the car that the seller might need to see and get with the vehicle. Paperwork is just as crucial as taking clean photos, so don't take anything lightly. Well-kept maintenance receipts are more than convincing that the car has been in good hands and the buyer should have nothing to worry about.
After completing everything listed above, the final step is deciding on an appropriate selling method that works best for you and your car. This is where most car owners go wrong, using unsuitable methods for their vehicles and regretting later or using methods that might be a nightmare during the sale process. According to research done in 2022 of 2,000 adults, 69% of the people who had ever personally sold or bought a used item wished they could go back to before the deal was made so that they could do things differently, especially when it came to cars. In the following section, we explore different ways you can sell your car, highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of each.
Selling cars has changed significantly over the years, with the industry offering various options, ranging from traditional methods, such as auction selling, to technology-inspired methods, such as selling online on websites and social media platforms. Understanding each technique is vital in determining how satisfactory, smooth, and convenient the sale process is and enables you to utilize the advantages to their full benefit. So, where can you sell your car?
The evolution of technology and the internet space has made selling cars online better than when it started becoming a thing in the 1990s. Dealerships and Individual sellers are now selling their vehicles online more than ever, with 61% of people relying on online sources for buying and selling their cars, according to research done by Cox Automotive in 2021. During the COVID-19 pandemic, more buyers and sellers moved online, adopting a safer method for buying and selling that lasted and improved how people buy and sell cars online. Today, selling cars online is more personalized and gives sellers better control of the sale and buyers access to listings and services they might need when buying a car, for example, financing, comparison tools, and transport services. Where can I sell my car online? There are limitless platforms and websites where you can sell your car online. Autotrader, Cars.com, and CarGurus are some of the best, all with 4.5-star plus seller ratings. But if you are selling a classic or exotic car, consider websites tailored to cater to such vehicles. Case in point: Autotrader Classics and Hemmings are the best websites to use when selling a classic car, but when selling an exotic, Bring a Trailer would do, and we've got you covered here at Exotic Car Trader. Cheaper alternatives for selling a car online include eBay, Craigslist, and Facebook marketplace. These platforms have extensive reach and don't charge high additional sale fees like most major websites. However, the reach is limited to local car buyers.
If you have a car that you feel could fetch more, for example, a classic car or a recently discontinued model that is highly sought after, one of the best ways to sell it is through an auction. Choose an auction specializing in selling cars since you can't just walk into any ordinary auction house to sell a vehicle. After that, ensure your car is in its best shape; if possible, it should look like when it first rolled out of the factory. Auction houses will thoroughly inspect cars, and if they feel the car is worth selling, the issues will be included in the listing details displayed publicly before the auction date. Set a reserve price, the least amount you will accept for the car.
One of the most commonly used means to sell cars in the United States is selling to companies that buy cars. Which are the companies that purchase cars? Kelley Blue Book, CarMax, AutoNation, Peddle, Copart, Carana, and Vroom are some of the household companies, but some websites you can list your vehicle on, such as Autotrader, also buy cars. How does selling to a company work? Car-buying companies will only require you to submit vehicle details, and they'll give you an offer. Should you accept it, you'll be required to provide additional information, such as contact and location, for the company's field representatives or transporters to collect the car as they deliver payment.
Even though most sellers prefer selling their cars online, some still prefer selling to dealerships, which still offer several advantages that make this option better than most. When you take your vehicle to a dealership, they'll appraise it to determine its value, inspect its condition, and do a VIN check, which reveals the car's history, including if it has had crashes and if there are outstanding finances. The best dealership to sell your car to is the one you got it from, especially if you have a long relationship with them, since you'll most likely get a better offer. Also, if you've been servicing your car through that same dealership, it increases your chances of getting a better offer again since they already know the car's condition and how you have been using it.
Selling a car doesn't get as private as selling it through public promotion. How do you do this? If you've finally decided to let go of a vehicle, you could tell a friend to tell a friend that you're selling the car. You could also advertise it by putting up 'for sale' stickers on the rear windshield or any place you feel could catch an eye. Car bazaars also work pretty well if you want to advertise your car.
Selling cars has never been easier, as it is with Exotic Car Trader. We provide listing solutions for all makes and models, including military vehicles, exotics, supercars, classic cars, luxury cars, and sports cars. Besides listing your car on Exotic Car Trader, we'll also list the vehicle on partner sites such as eBay Motors, CarGurus, Autotrader, Cars.com, CarsforSale.com, and even Facebook and Instagram for the most exposure. If you can't do a vehicle photoshoot, we'll do that for you and much more, including transacting the sale on your behalf and handling shipping, trade-in, financing needs, and more just in case you, as the seller or the buying party, require any of those services. So, why not sell your classic car with Exotic Car Trader?
Amidst the many techniques you can use to sell your car, finding an ideal method that works for you and is tailored to your vehicle is important. You might want to enjoy the costless benefit of selling online or selling to a company that buys cars, but you might not get as good of a deal when selling through auction or listing the vehicle on car-selling websites. Before selling, consider factors such as urgency to sell, the car's condition, age, and type, as these determine which website, auction house, or dealership to sell to.
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