Test drives and hagglingVideo guide: selling a car

Transcript

Selling a Used Car

Hello, I’m Richard Headland Motoring Editor for Which? magazine and welcome to our video guide to selling to selling a used car.

Now this can be a daunting process for any of us but follow our tips, we’ll show you how to get the best price for the least amount of hassle.

First thing you need to do is work out how much your existing car is worth, using online price guide such as the Which? Car Buying Guide, having a look at local forecourts and also in listings papers.

This Landrover Freelander here for example here is worth about 10,000, in a private sale that is. Have a look at the car’s mileage, but don’t forget it doesn’t make as much difference as some people think it does. The cars age is still the main determining factor in how much it’s going to be worth.

Second, clean the car up a bit inside and out and consider getting a service and a fresh mot if the current one is running out. When it comes to selling you’ve got two main options. You can either sell the car privately or to a dealer.

If you decide to sell privately you’ll probably get the best price but it is going to require a bit of effort on your part. For example you’ve got to work out how much the car is worth, write your advert, perhaps take some photos and then be available to field phone calls, and offer viewings.

When someone rings to view the car it’s worth taking a few precautions. First of all any potential buyer is probably going to want to meet at your house to make sure the car is genuinely registered to your address. That’s fine but just make sure someone else is around from a security point of view.

Secondly check they are insured to drive your car either on their insurance or on yours before you let them get in. Thirdly make sure you always go with them on a test drive, unless you never want to see the car again that is.

If someone offers to buy the car, never accept a cheque. If cash is involved you are much better off going off to the bank with the potential buyer and paying it in before you hand over the keys and paperwork.

Same is true of a bankers draft which aren’t foolproof and certainly beware of anyone turning up with a bankers draft made out to the full asking price. Any serious buyer of course is going to haggle before they order the draft so this is a clear sign that the bankers draft could be a forgery.

Selling your car on an auction site like eBay can be a good option, especially if you need a quick sale. But make sure you set a sensible reserve price, such as the car’s trade in value and use accurate, quality photos that are honest about the cars condition. Otherwise the buyer could claim the auction was misleading and back out of the deal once they see the car.

Selling your car to a dealer or trading it in is certainly easier but you won’t get as good a price for it. Dealers make good money on trade-ins so never accept their first offer. Take along evidence such as price guides, and adverts for cars similar to yours and certainly play one dealer off against another to push for a better trade-in price.

However you sell the car make sure to sort out the documentation, fill in the tear off section of the V5c registration document and send it off to the DVLA. Don’t give the whole V5c to the buyer or if they delay in sending it to the DVLA you could end up with their speeding tickets and traffic offences.

If you’re looking to replace your old car with a second-hand one, don’t forget to watch our video to buying second-hand as well.

Back to top