Reveal Car Wax

“Get the best price when selling your car.” You may be asking yourself, why would a detailer write about selling your car? Well, it’s simple. About 20% of my customers are selling their cars. I want to share with you the same knowledge I have been passing on to my customers for years.

Most people don’t take the time to prepare to sell their vehicle. They simply trade in their car. The dealer loves to hear, “Can I trade in my car?” It’s money in the bank: the dealer will check the wholesale blue book, and then eagerly deduct for every item that needs fixing. The following is a normal scenario to illustrate just what you are losing. This is what they don’t want you to know! For this example, I will not add for upgrades; I will just start with a basic model in good condition.

Trade: 2002 Ford Expedition, $9,155.00

minus $200.00 (deduction for dings)

minus $350.00 (deduction for chipped or cracked windshield)

minus $200.00 (safety check)

minus $400.00 (paint bumpers)

minus $250.00 (detail)

minus $1,000.00 (dealers buy cars for about 10% under wholesale)

Dealer offer: $6,755.00. If the truck needs tires, they would deduct that too.

Sell yourself: Private Party Price: $11,750.00

Retail Price: $15,370.00

Do the math! The dealer sure did; he just made $8,615.00. Now you see why they love a trade-in. They sometimes make you feel better by offering you a better price for your trade-in, but they hold firm on the sticker price of the new vehicle. The bottom line is they always win on your trade.

Selling your car is about getting the very best price. This involves first researching what the maximum achievable price is. Look online at

AutoTrader or similar web sites; I like Craiglist because it’s free. Also check your local newspaper. Then work toward that figure. Yes, speculate to accumulate! And that’s not just a financial thing. Putting in a bit of time and effort now will bring you the financial reward. Ensuring that your vehicle is in the very best condition is your top priority. Please, when selling your car, don’t give your buyer the negotiating leverage because you left scuffs, dings, or scratches. These are all simple fixes, which pay for themselves.

OK, let’s have a peek at the expert’s technique

The best tip when selling your car is to take a good hard look at the used-car dealer’s methods. You know the secondhand (or preowned!) dealers. I have been working with used-car dealers for over 8 years; I will share with you their techniques in order to get the best price for your car.

By spending some money now, you will double that figure when you get your sale. And just as importantly, you will have the benefit of an easy sale. You want to achieve a certain look to your car. Trying to achieve an almost-new appearance to a car you’ve been using is going to take a bit of effort. But it’s well worth it. The very first person to view your vehicle may be so excited as to say, “That’s my car!”

You want the potential buyer not only enthusiastic but also in fact frightened at the possibility of loosing out to someone else! And that’s achieved by coming close to fulfilling what your buyer really, deep down, wants: a new car! When you bear this in mind, selling your car becomes a whole lot easier. If your prospective purchaser looks on the vehicle as something really desirable and as satisfying his or her dream, this potential buyer will not want to risk the next person “owning” his or her car. Fear of loss is greater than the desire for gain!

Preowned does not mean that anyone wants to see any signs of your ownership, so making sure the inside of your car sparkles and smells fresh really is a priority. Getting a professional clean look is the best option if you want the maximum price for your car. This doesn’t mean you have to hire a professional; you can easily detail it yourself and save. Remember, many dealers simply purchase a car, clean it, and sell it for a quick and simple profit. And how many of us just don’t even bother to clean the vehicle? To get a quick sale when selling your car, a clean polished finish is essential. When detailing, it’s also very important to look for areas that are an eyesore, like the wheel wells and the rear tail pipes. These areas usually look rusted and stand out badly. Simply remove the wheels and paint the wheel wells (see article below). If you have an SUV, you should also paint any part of the frame that is visible. If the mufflers show from the back, paint them silver.

Funny enough, you should never clean the engine compartment on a secondhand car just before selling. Your purchaser might think you’re hiding an oil leak! If you want to give it a cleaning, do it a few weeks before. A little dust will be OK, but heavy grease or oil will surly foil the sale.

Things you should consider. You know I talk a lot about evaluating your car, so let’s do just that, taking into consideration that you have detailed every part of your vehicle. What eyesores are left? Do you see dings? If so, call your local ding master, finding him in the local phone book under auto body repair. Do the bumpers have gouges or paint missing? If so, call a mobile paint touch-up painter. How are the tires? Lastly, how’s the windshield? If it’s all chipped up, have it replaced. All these services can be done at home or work by mobile technicians. These are the areas that the used-car dealer always fixes up. Remember, if you don’t do the work first, your purchaser could be making the profit on your sale! I do just that, if I spot a diamond in the rough, parked along the road. I will buy it and simply perform these simple tasks and flip it for a very nice profit. You may have seen the new show Flip This House It’s the same principle: clean, improve the overall appearance, and–boom!–sell for profit.

Advertise

Draft your advertisements listing all the benefits. For example, if you have its full service history, use that in your sales approach. After all, you’ve paid enough for the servicing, haven’t you? Include any desirable extras you purchased for the vehicle, but not those items your purchaser would expect to be getting anyway.

Write three different versions and discard the two you like least. The technique will give you fresh new ideas. Again, have a good look at trade magazines for similar vehicles. Yes, it’s a bit more effort and time, but you will be the one wearing a smile when the phone starts ringing after the ad is published. You did include your telephone number, didn’t you?

A picture is worth a thousand words. Now take out one of the most effective auto-sales tools you own–your camera. Correctly present your car when selling it, and you’d wish you had ten of them. The photos you take will appeal to someone’s dreams and emotions. Get this right, and they’ll be beating a path to your door. Don’t just take a quick snap in the parking lot at the local supermarket or somewhere that looks like a scrap yard. Choose a dream setting, a national-trust house, or a quaint country hotel. It’s not just about money, it’s also about the lifestyle that the purchase represents.

Only a person in search of the most exciting adrenaline-filled life will want to take such photos on a total stranger’s private property! What! I would never condone that sort of behavior! I remember parking in front of an exclusive estate for a photo; that car sold in one day. I’m not telling anyone to follow my lead, but it worked. Choose a nice bright sunny day for your pictures and wait until the sun is low for the most flattering light. Avoid harsh midday shadows. Morning or evening is the very best time. You want your vehicle to leap off the page on publication. Tip: hold your camera no more than a foot off the ground. Try this any time when using a camera. It’s very easy nowadays with digital cameras, as you won’t have to lie on the floor, attracting interested glances from passersby. Another worthwhile technique is to get down low and get some great reflection shots of the freshly waxed paint. Get several internal shots of your vehicle. Even if your ad space is for only one picture, you can e-mail several good shots to your prospective buyer. The digital camera is a really great tool; you might as well make good use of it.

Just looking at the ads on eBay inserted by professional car dealers will give you a few tips. Following the ads until the auctions are completed is a great lesson on how to attain the best price. You won’t believe the number of people who do not include even one photo. There’s no advantage in saving a few pennies if you have to do the whole thing over. Yes, these dealers work hard to achieve the best prices. Use their techniques when selling your car. You just read the word “auctions,” didn’t you? It’s certainly a great place to pick up a bargain. So, in the same way, at an auction you’re not likely to get the best price when selling your car.

Holiday times, like Christmas and New Year’s, can be slow. The favorite time to buy property is also a great time to sell your car. I like to sell at the first sign of spring through fall. It’s much easier to keep the car clean and ready to show the potential buyer. I know my sprits are much higher when the weather is inviting. During the winter I would much rather sit by the fire, than going shopping for a car.

Fraud

It’s a sad fact that you have to think about fraud when selling your car. Thieves have been targeting car sales for years because they know they are easy pickings. Unfortunately this has the effect of making us trade in our cars at the dealer’s because we feel safe, even though we know the car is worth more. A quick glance at http://www.kbb.com (Kelly Blue Book) will inform you of the true value. It’s a shame, because most folks are honorable and trustworthy. But you just can’t risk a forged banker’s draft or forged bank notes, can you?

Here’s a tip: Potential buyer calls you on the phone. He lives in another state, but he really wants the car. Now, selling to someone who would be shipping the car is a bit worrying. You wouldn’t want to be in a position where something went wrong after the sale. There would be nothing you could do to recover your property. The solution is simple. Tell the buyer to travel to your site, and if the buyer is happy with the vehicle, you will both go to the bank together. It’s great, because everyone knows where he or she stands. Simply make a time to do the deal. Be sure to leave plenty of time to get to the bank. And don’t complete the deal if you can’t get to the bank before closing. It would be very unlikely for you to be paid with funny money by the bank.

It’s very important to keep your vehicle in pristine condition after detailing and make sure it stays that way when the advertisement is published.

It’s always a good idea to have a friendly face around when you are showing someone your car. No, not a bouncer, but it just makes everything feel a little safer. And if your buyer wants a test drive, give him or her the keys after you and your friend are already in the vehicle. If in any doubt, you drive.

Some 99.9% of us will go through life never coming up against this sort of problem, and I feel bad even writing advice on it. But being sensible and streetwise is no different from paying for an insurance policy, is it?

Good luck with your sale, and enjoy the extra cash you’ve made!