Selling Cars Online Requires the Right Tools

For whatever reason - trade-in too low, offers from friends or neighbors or just because you think you can maximize your return - you've decided to sell cars online! As has been pointed out, it's not hard to do but there are some things to think about when you do sell online.

Perhaps the most important items to think about are the right tools. You'll need a decent camera, a good detailing to make your car look good, some reasonably good photo editing software, away to resize your pictures so they will upload quickly and a good guide as to what to charge and how to determine the charge.

Unless you're a professional, most 7.1 pixel point-and-shoot cameras should handle your photos for you. Be sure you have a memory card that's big enough to handle the number of pictures you will need. Some people say all you need is 10 or 12 while others say you need 50 or 60. We've found through years or doing this type of work those 30 to 35 pictures is the right number.

The photos should be the first item on your list after the detailing job is done. This will require an investment of from $35 to $100, depending on your location and depending on the quality of the work. A minimal job - a good wash and wax and wheel scrub and an interior vacuuming - will cost you about $20 to $35, depending on your location. It's far better to get a good detailing which means not only the basic interior cleaning, but also a shampoo of the carpets and cloth upholstery, if your car is equipped with cloth, or a good cleaning and treatment with a good leather product. There are several good ones on the market and a good sealing and final shine with Armor All will do a lot to enhance the value of the car. It can make the interior almost showroom-new, if you take it to a detailing specialist.

Detailing specialists, by the way, have a wide assortment of tools that will get into small nooks and crannies that you may overlook, if you attempt to do the job. They will get out dirt and crumbs you never even knew were in your car.

A good detailing is also important in the engine compartment. Over the years, engine accumulate grease and dirt, as well as any oil back splash that might occur as well as spills of antifreeze/coolant or battery acid. In other words, engine compartments get dirty and will need a good steam cleaning. Make sure it is a thorough steam cleaning and not just a hose down with a high-speed stream of hot water. The steam will loosen and make dirt disappear, while the hose down will take away a lot of dirt, but the water may also get into key systems and cause problems, especially with the electrical systems. Be sure, the detailing also includes a shine of the engine cover and any other items that you might want to highlight.

Finally, your detailer should do a good wash and wax with a silicone-based wax product and sealer. Be sure, if needed, that the detailing includes a wet-sanding to take out any small scratches and get rid of any old dead paint on the surface. Wet-sanding will bring out lower layers our paint that can then be waxed with the silicone-based product and sealed. Your car will look great. Your wheels and tires should also be treated to a good cleaning so all that nasty gray/black brake dust will be history.

This will all take time. Plan on spending at least two to three hours having this done - or more, depending on the condition of your car. Pay close attention to your car's wheels and tires because they have a lot to do with the ultimate sale of the vehicle and be sure they are cleaned and as shiny as possible. They can tip an owner in your favor or against it.

With this done, it's time to take work with your own tools and take a complete series of photos of the vehicle. Think of your photos as a visual tour of your vehicle. Since buyers will view it across the country, you have only a few minutes to sell your car so make the photos do it for you. Start with the right front fender fully frame the car from fender to rear and then move to the and take photo of the entire side, finally moving to the rear corner and shooting across the vehicle again so you get the entire frame filled.

Next, move to the rear and take a full photo of the trunk, open and closed and be sure to show the spare tire and any tools that might be inside. Then, repeat the process on the other side so that you have a full circle of shots of the car. When you get to the front, take a head-on shot of the vehicle. As some of the enclosed photos indicate.

Next, move to the driver's side door open it and take a shot of the door panel and seat and then take a shot of the driver's control area, including the steering wheel, entertainment center and transmission, if it all fills the frame. If not, try to take separate shots of each area so that it is illustrated and fills the frame. Be sure to get the mileage included, as well as all the working instruments.

Next move to the driver's side rear door and take a shot of the door panel and seat and carpet, if possible, moving on to the passenger's side rear door, taking the same photos and then to the passenger's side front door, taking the same photos. Also take a shot across the front seat, capturing the instrument panel, again to give you another side of the front panel.

Next, pop the hood and get shots of the clean engine and different pieces of it, including the size, if possible and any user-accessible parts (usually visible in yellow). Then, get photos of each wheel and tire.

One thing you will have to do is make sure that you get photos of any imperfections such as scratches and scuffs on wheels or tires and bumper covers. Folks who buy online are very sensitive to these features and, in the interest of full disclosure; you have to get shots of each item. Some items to include, besides scuffs and scratches, include sap marks, dents (of course) and any other items that were not part of the original vehicle. Be sure, too, to note any rust of rusting spots.

You can do this easily with a standard point-and-shoot camera. By point-and-shoot, it means something like an older Sony DSC-52 or something similar. These cameras will usually shoot in the 7.1 mega pixel range.

Next, be sure to edit your photos for best effect. Use a tool provided by Goggle known as Picas a. It is a free photo editor that has most, if not all of the features you will find on other, costly brands. Yes, it is true that if you buy something like Photoshop, you will get many more options, but, for online advertising, unless you need heavy airbrushing, Picas a will do quite well. Edit each of your images starting with a good close crop to eliminate distractions in the background and to focus on the central features you want to highlight. You may find you have to do this as many as 40 times, if you take that many photos. It will take time, but the investment will be worth it.

And while a good quick link to the Internet will take these your 7.1-megapixel shots, they are a lot slower on upload because of their size. You may find that if you will lose your connection, if the photos are too large. To counteract this, use one of the tools you'll find on the Internet. You can find a good one at www.webresizer.com. At this site, you can take your photos and upload them and they will a lot of the "white" space or noise out of the photos, leaving only the essential elements themselves. It's not at all unusual to see photos reduced 70 or 80 percent and still look the same. This means that a photo that was originally 3.2 MPx3.3 MP can be as little as 32K x 33K.

At this point, your next tool will be your eyes. Take a walk around the car and make a close inspection, noting everything you can. Be sure to note the condition of the upholstery, seats, carpeting, pedals, and the body panels and wheels. Also, make sure you note if the there are stars on the windshield and be sure to not if there have been a lot of gravel hits on your front end that cause what is known as "road rash." This isn't a bad thing and it is normal, but you should make note of it.

At this point, it might be good times to have your mechanic take a good quick look at the vehicle so that you know what is wrong with the vehicle and can list it in the report. Don't try to hide this information because it will come out and it can nullify a sale on an auction site such as Ebay and you can find your account frozen or bounced. It also is a good idea to get this "safety report" for your records and be sure to put it in the right up on your vehicle.

Next, look at a tool such as Kelly Blue Book (www.kbb.com) of Edmunds (www.edmunds.com) and put a price on your vehicle. Don't think that just because you think your vehicle is perfect condition that it is in perfect shape. However, that is usually not the case, instead you'll find that if you use the "fair" or "trade" value for your car and its options (you list these items in the forms provided by the listing tools at the websites and you get the pricing you need). You can use any price you want, but it might also be a good idea to take a look at the site where you'll be listing your vehicle to see what they are selling for so that you don't overprice yourself.

With that done, it's just a matter of filling in the forms that are required to sell the car, uploading your photos and writing a clear, concise and accurate description of your vehicle and that's it, you're ready to go.

It actually sounds more complicated than it is, but it will take you some time to do it correctly. Unless you have done it a number of times before, plan to spend about four hours doing this to make sure you get it right.