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KELLEY BLUE BOOK

How to Sell Your Car to a Private Party

May 5, 2014 by admin 1 Comment

Buy a new car and the dealer may urge you to trade in your old car. Unless you have plans to keep it or give it to someone else, the dealer’s offer may be a tempting one. Then again, if you choose a private party sale you stand to make hundreds of dollars more in a sale to a new owner than you would receive as a trade in. The following instructions can help you get the most money for your old car.

1. Establish a selling price.

Honda AccordYou own a 2008 Honda Civic coupe with 75,000 miles on the odometer. That’s a quality vehicle with relatively low miles, an EX model in very good condition.

Head to Kelley Blue Book (KBB.com) to find out what your car would fetch in a private sale. As of May 2014 KBB says $12,072, far above the $9,800 that the dealer offered as a trade. You can set your price to align with KBB’s estimate or choose a slightly lower amount to market it aggressively. Also determine your bottom offer. For instance, if you’d accept $11,000 for it, keep this price in mind when negotiating.

2. Get your car ready to sell.

Your car looks good, but it should look in tip-top shape before selling it. You’ll get more for it if it looks and runs great.

Washing and waxing the car is just the start. You need to have it detailed just as the professionals do. You could have someone else do it and pay the $100 to $150 cost, a smart option if you have a scratch that goes down to the metal. The professionals have the equipment to make scratches disappear and can handle small dents too.

Whether detailing the car yourself or using a professional auto detailer, your car should have its mats cleaned with a stiff scrub brush, the paint polished and waxed, a protectant applied to the trim, the air vents cleaned out with cotton swabs, and the glass and tires cleaned.

3. Show buyers your receipts.

If you want to smooth the car sale then purchase a vehicle history report and include it with the maintenance receipts and repair record. CARFAX, AutoCheck, and VinAudit are the companies that provide this service for a fee. History reports demonstrate to the buyer that they’re getting a “clean” vehicle, one that hasn’t been damaged in a flood or stolen.

If you do not have receipts, you can offer details when the maintenance was done. Write up a list of items repaired or replaced within the past year. These should include the oil, oil filter, air filter, wiper blades, and fluid top offs. Even further back you can tell potential buyers when other work was done including tire replacement, brake pads, shoes, muffler, battery and other components. Receipts are best, but when you don’t have them an explanation may suffice.

4. Spread the word.

You can cast a narrow or wide net to sell your car. If you prefer to deal with just a few people, place a notice at work outlining your sale. Tell friends, family and neighbors too.

To reach more people, write up an ad and place it online, such as on Craigslist. Offer additional details about the car including the make, model, model year, trim level and anything else of interest. Take as many as a dozen photos of the car’s interior and exterior, focusing on all sides of the vehicle. Inside, concentrate on showing the seats, dashboard, storage compartments and other features. Provide a contact email address; only share your phone number with people that have expressed strong interest in your car.

5. Make appointments and schedule the test drives.

Only spend time with people that are sincerely interested in buying your vehicle. One downfall of a private sale is the time required to promote the vehicle, make appointments, and allow for test drives.

Speaking of test drives, never allow anyone to take your car out without you riding along. It could be the last time you see your car. Riding along allows you to explain the various features of the car and answer some questions. You can also show people how the climate control, audio and navigation systems work, how to adjust the power seats and explain the other features.

6. Entertain offers.

Serious shoppers will make an offer for the vehicle as soon as they decide they want your car. Expect that they’ve already done their research and know the value of your car. If their information is correct, then you should receive an offer that is competitive. Generally, however, it will come in on the low side.

You can counter any offer without disclosing the lowest amount that you will accept. The process may take some back and forth negotiating, but it should result in a deal that is acceptable to both parties.

An all-cash deal is easiest to close. If you are okay with a check, only accept a cashier’s check. Or, go to this person’s bank and have them write a check for cash to the bank and hand you the money.

Private  Party: Sell Smart

The last matter to tend to when selling a car is transferring the title and tags to a new party. This procedure varies from state to state, therefore a visit to the Department of Motor Vehicles with the buyer can complete this process quickly.


See Also — Tips for Teens Buying a First Car

(Here is an excellent article that details the limits and sometimes the pitfalls with vehicle history reports — Limitations and Problems with Carfax or any Vehicle History Report).

Filed Under: Special Tagged With: AUTOCHECK, CARFAX, DMV, KELLEY BLUE BOOK, USED CAR, VINCHECK

What Every First-Time Car Buyer Should Know

April 20, 2013 by admin 5 Comments

If you are in the market for a new car for the first time, your feelings of uncertainty and fear should not be discounted. After all, you are beginning to undertake an important process, one that can have widespread ramifications. The first time car buyer should do his research, shop wisely and base his decision on the information assembled, before confidently buying a new car. Read on and we will discuss how this can be accomplished.

Car Buyer

1. Know what you can afford. Before you begin to search for a new car, determine what you can afford. Your eye may be on a Ford Mustang GT, while your budget is saying Hyundai Elantra hatchback.

Align your dreams with reality and you won’t grow frustrated or disappointed. That Mustang GT can wait if it is out of your price range.

car buyer2. Understand what you want. Some people look at cars as mere appliances. Others choose vehicles based on factors such as performance, off-road utility and cargo capabilities.

Choose the type of vehicle you want before moving forward as there is no sense considering any car that does not meet your criteria. Avoid confusion by narrowing your search as quickly as possible.

3. Keep in mind the amenities. Once you pinpoint the type of vehicle you want, you need to identify the amenities or features that are important to you. There is so much to consider here with some of the basics including the transmission offered, the size of the engine and overall fuel economy.

You will also want to consider other features that may be important to you including safety, turn-by-turn navigation, audio systems, power accessories, seat surfaces, the number of storage compartments and so on.

4. Know the prices. Never go by the sticker price when buying a new car. That amount represents the “suggested retail” figure and nothing more. Usually you will pay less, maybe far less at times.

yellWhat you need to do is investigate what the dealer paid for the car, something that you can uncover by visiting sites such as Consumer Reports, Edmunds and Kelley Blue Book that provide that information, for a fee of course. This effort will show you how to begin your negotiation, enabling you to save hundreds, perhaps thousands of dollars off of the sticker price.

5. Visit a dealer. You may have several dealers in your area selling the same make/model of vehicle. Conventional wisdom would say, “choose the dealer nearest to your home.” That wisdom comes from the idea that your car will be serviced by the same place that sells it to you. Just so you know, you don’t have to return to the selling dealership for service work.

When you visit your dealer, inspect the various vehicles available and ask for a test drive. Make sure that your drive is long enough to give you a strong idea to help you know whether this vehicle is right for you. Do not identify yourself as a first-time car buyer.

6. Plan your negotiation strategy. Once you are done with your test drive, you can commence negotiation on a new vehicle purchase or wait to gather more information — it is your choice: don’t rush into the car-buying process and make sure you understand what a vehicle is worth.

When negotiating, you should consider the dealer’s price and the rebates available. Work from a position of strength and that means knowing your price and the incentives the dealer has on his side. Most dealers will cry poverty with a low offer, but you still can come in low knowing that they will make a profit thanks to holdbacks from the car manufacturer.

loans

7. Arrange your financing. You can get auto loan financing from a variety of sources including your bank, your credit union and even the new car dealer. With the latter, you will want to negotiate your best price first, then talk financing. Some dealers will try to combine the two, but don’t let this happen as that effort will simply muddy the waters.

You may be better off arranging to finance separately and then go into your deal knowing what you can afford instead of what the dealer says that you can afford. Sometimes a vehicle will come with a special incentive such as cash back or special financing. If you arrange your financing elsewhere, then take the incentive and apply that amount to your down payment.

Buy Your Car

After carefully following the steps as outlined, you are ready to buy your car and drive it home. The process may not have been a quick one, but by carefully doing your research you were able to save yourself some money. Those savings are something that you can never get back if you hurry along the process.

Your first-time car buying experience won’t be your last one. Make it a good experience and you gain the confidence to strike a new deal again.


See Also — Zero Percent Financing: Is It Worth It?

Filed Under: Special Tagged With: car dealership, CAR LOAN, CONSUMER REPORTS, FINANCE, KELLEY BLUE BOOK, NEGOTIATION

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