Used Car Tips

Nothing works in used car transactions like a sale well advertised. Here’s 21 ways of actually selling your car through successful advertising.

1. Write the ad

First step, start with writing your advertisement for a used car sale. Advertising is the soul of successful transactions – even when it comes to used cars. It may sound sophisticated, but in fact you only have to follow a few steps to an advantageous used car selling process. You can choose to have your ad placed in a local newspaper, but nowadays going online is likely to get you to the desired outcome sooner and with more benefits to you. It should not take you too long; however, you will have to put some thought into the process and consider just about every aspect that could lead to closing the deal favorably.

2. Get inspired by other ads

You can check other people’s ads for selling used cars, if you lack the “brainwave”. See what they have written in their ads; then think about what is similar to and what is different from your case, and finally point it out in your own advertisement.

3. Ask for help in writing the ad

If you think you are not good at it, ask a friend or a relative for some piece of advice. Or perhaps you know someone who has already sold a used car (or more used cars) and you can ask for an opinion on what you want to include in your ad.

4. Focus on the strongest points of the car

Search for someone who has gone through the process; he or she will tell you more exactly what you need to point out and what you should leave aside – remember that there are strong points and weak points in every transaction, and you do want attention on the strong points when trying to sell your car.

5. Don’t hide the weak points of your car

Indeed, weak points should be made known in an online or local newspaper ad – let potential buyers know everything there is to know about the car; you may be surprised, but this is actually working. People are not requiring perfection from a used car, so they will be expecting certain weaknesses to the object. If the ad overemphasizes strengths and says little or nothing at all about car weaknesses, buyers will most likely say, “Yeah, right” or “Probably too good to be true” and they will go on with browsing for other ads.

6. Put yourself in a buyer’s shoes

Try for a few minutes to be the buyer. Don’t worry; if you know your car well (and you should, particularly if there have been some years since you have it), you will see that it is easier than expected. What would you look for in an ad like that? What would attract you and what would make you want to give it a try? Remember those ads that you have already read – what was particularly eye-catching to them? Were they written smartly?

7. Give plenty of details

Include enough details to make potential clients want to buy your car. Now consider your car and see what neat aspects you can call attention to – mileage, condition, tires, color, and anything else you can think about and you can underscore in a used car selling ad.

8. Insert images of your car

Words are not everything about a successful used car sale process. Images often speak louder than words. So have a photo camera and take a picture (or more pictures) of your car. You can take pictures of whatever aspect you want. You may photograph the interior, the exterior, the seats, or the tires.

9. Carefully photograph the car

Try to take a really good picture of your used car. Make sure the light shed on your used car is not too bright; nor should it be too weak. If you have the time, wake up earlier one morning and take the photo. Or when you come back from work, allow some minutes to photographing the car in an advantageous light.

10. Don’t hide the car’s imperfections

Forget about using Paint or Photoshop to conceal used car flaws. As said before, it is best to place an ad as truthful as possible. Again, potential used cars buyers will be expecting some flaws. Putting an image of a wonderful, unblemished car will make them think that either you are trying to fool them or you are definitely asking a lot of money for such a car.

11. Post your ad both online and in print

Next, find an online ad posting service or a local newspaper – both ways should be pretty accessible to you. There are incredibly many of them, but make sure you register on a site that has visibility.

12. Choose more than one newspaper/website

It is best to use more than one site /newspaper to post your ad on/in – you have more chances of more people reading your ad.

13. Send mass e-mail to friends and family members

If you think you do not need such special online advertising services, you can simply choose to send e-mails. Maybe you know some relatives and friends who are interested in buying a used car. Well then start sending e-mails. You never know from where the next buyer may appear. What is more – it is definitely cheap; it will only cost you some time, particularly if you do not want to send the e-mails to groups, but to individual recipients. Otherwise, it will require no money investment from you.

14. Check the car documents

Finally, once you have placed the ad online or sent it in tens (hundreds?) of e-mails, make sure your insurance, your car documents and every type of formality necessary are in the right state. It is no good to be dealing with it after you have found a very interested buyer. If the process extends too long, the buyer may just leave and you will be stuck with delayed paperwork.

15. Start bringing your car to a decent shape

Make sure your used car is not a wreck. Once you have finished with the creation of the ad, take a good look at your car and start dealing with its major problems.

16. Get a copy of the Auto Check Vehicle Report

Take care that you should maintain the Auto Check Vehicle Report of your car before actually placing the car for sale. Many potential buyers pay attention to the mileage of the car. Hand over a print / photocopy of the report to your buyer to prove to him /her that your car has never been broken and that its mileage has not continued spun back.

17. Fix the car accessories

Replace damaged items: burnt lights, fuses, or other scratched, smashed or broken accessories should be replaced with new ones or repaired.

18. Carefully choose the selling place

Protect yourself against rip-offs and crooks. When you sell a used car, by no means do it someplace to their gain; you should do it wherever can be observed by camera or your home. You should on no account do it unaccompanied.

19. Price the car appropriately

Once you have dealt with major damages to the car and have taken care of the necessary documents, make sure you ask the right price for the car (which should, of course, be profitable to you, but it should also be appealing to the buyer). Don’t overestimate the car. If you cannot ask the price on your own, ask advice from someone who may know it.

20. Tell the truth about your car

Keep in mind that truthfulness is the best course of action. Above all, be truthful to yourself about your car. Many car owners have a tendency toward assuming their property is at all times superior to everybody else’s and thus value more. They think it about everything they own, from the houses, to their cars. Don’t get trapped in that corner or you risk not selling your car.

21. Take advantage of the online benefits of selling your car

Good luck and remember that online selling is possible and inexpensive – an ad, a photo, a car taken care of and a good used car selling site will be all you need.