Selling Used Car More Profitable Than Trading In

It may be a little bit more work on your part, put you can make thousands of extra dollars by selling your used car yourself, rather than trading it in at the dealer.

Generally speaking, if a used car or truck is less than four years old, dealers try to get a deal to give you at least $3,000 less than market value for the vehicle, so they can dump it on the wholesale market. Since banks generally won't finance cars over four years old, there are tougher for dealers to sell. So if your car has seen four years of duty, dealers will try to give you something in the neighborhood of only 25% of fair market value.

I'm sure you've heard the old line it takes money to make money. The same is true when it comes to selling your old car. Set aside a budget of $75 to $100 to sell your old car. First, give it a good wash and wax job, clean up the tires and vacuum out the inside. You never know when you might be showing it. Make sure all of the tires are properly inflated.

First, you need to do some research so that you'll know what to ask for your car. There are several web sites and publications you can get this information from. One of the best is Kelley Blue Book, www.kbb.com. Here, you can fill in the exact options on your vehicle, the mileage and your zip code. This tells you what this vehicle is worth in your area. You can also list the vehicle for sale with Kelley's on-line classifieds, when you are ready. There's also a link to purchase a CARFAX report. This report indicates if the car has ever been in a wreck or had significant repair work done. If your car is in good condition and never had any problems, being able to hand over a "clean" CARFAX report. The basic report is free, so its worth the extra few minutes you'll spend.

Purchase an ad in the local newspaper and 1-2 online sources. Ask the paper and the on-line place, such as AutoTrader.com, about a "run it until it sells deal." Never hurts to ask. Also, ask how much extra it is to include a photo with your ad. Spending an extra $10 to include a photo can make the difference between a car selling quickly or languishing for a few weeks.

When it comes time to actually sell the car, make sure you are prepared before the first potential buyer ever shows up. Make printouts from several internet car pricing sites showing the market value of your car. If the buyer complains about every scratch, mark stain, on your car, tell them it's normal wear and tear for a car of that age and mileage, that's why your not asking the price of a new car. Every used car has scratches from road debris. That's all accounted for in the depreciated value.

Mention in your ad that your price is "firm." Sure, people will still try to haggle you down and you may even be willing to go down a few bucks. But if you have done your research and have figured that your car is worth $10,000, don't be willing to sell to the first person who offers $5,000.

A powerful selling tool is a notebook with all your maintenance records, especially oil changes. When people see your notebook with maintenance records, it makes a good impression, and they're more likely to buy from you.

Good luck and good selling.