5 tips for selling your car onlineThursday 10 January 2019

5 tips for selling your car online

Do Your Research

The most important thing when selling your car online is getting a feel for the market. This means doing some research and getting an idea of the price that cars like yours are selling for.

If you’re looking to sell your car with AutoVolo, we offer a pricing service for free where we use all the data collected from similar sales to give you an accurate price for your car. Check out our dedicated page: Sell my car online in 3 simple steps.

At this stage, it is worth taking into account how quickly you are looking to sell your car. If you can wait, it might be worth setting a slightly higher price just to see if someone buys.

Similarly, if you are in a rush to get the car sold, a slightly lower price is bound to get people’s attention.

Get all Your Paperwork Together

Once you’ve got an idea of the price you’re selling for, it’s a good idea to round up all the paperwork you need to sell the car.

• You need your V5C - this is the vehicles official registration document. Once you actually sell the car, you will tear off sections 1-8 of the V5C to tell the DVLA that the car has changed ownership.
• If you’re selling with a full service history, then you’ll want proof of this. This means you need the car’s logbook. If you have any invoices for services that you’ve carried out, it can be a bonus to include these too. If you have lost the logbook, it can be recovered by contacting the garages that have serviced the car. By providing the registration of the car, the garage should be able to call up your service history.
• If you’re selling with an MOT you’ll also want the certificate showing that your car past its most recent MOT.

Take Plenty of High Quality Pictures

A common mistake when selling cars online is that sellers do not take enough pictures, or that the pictures they take are not of high quality. Poor pictures can put off potential buyers.

• Make sure that you get hold of a good camera or smartphone.
• Take the pictures on a good, bright day. Gloomy pictures will make it look like you’re trying to hide something, and will make your car look far less appealing.
• Take lots of pictures, from lots of different angles. If you’re selling on AutoVolo, you’re allowed to upload upto 20 pictures - make use of them! Include pictures of the interior. Also, if there is any damage to the car, be sure to include pictures of that too. Being honest and upfront about that in the listing will help avoid disappointment later on when potential buyers come to see the car.

Meet Potential Buyers in Person

It’s really important that you meet buyers in person. This is good practice for both buyers and sellers, because the buyer can see the car, and you can discuss the sale. If the buyer wants a test drive, make sure that you go with them in the car, and that you leave all the paperwork somewhere safe. Similarly, do not hand over keys or documents until the payment has been processed.

Also, when meeting a buyer, don’t be surprised if buyers try to haggle a little on price. It is very common to negotiate and reach an agreement on a price that is different to that listed. However, don’t feel pressured to make a decision on the spot, especially if you have had other offers. You can always tell a buyer that you would like to think over an offer before completing the sale at a later date.

Wash Your Car!

Finally, make sure your car is clean before you take your photos! Similarly, when buyers come to see it, make sure your car looks its best! This might sound like silly advice, but you want buyers to see your car in its best possible condition. You’d be amazed the positive effect a clean car has. On the flip side, a dirty car will look older and less well cared for, something that might make a buyer less willing to part with their cash.

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