Selling a car is a scenario that every car owner will likely encounter several times in their lifetime. The top priorities here are selling your car quickly and getting the amount of money that you need. More often than not, you’re selling your car in order to get an upgrade. In other scenarios, you’re selling your vehicle in order to cover your debts or finance an idea of yours. Either way, time is of the essence. So, here are six tips to help you sell your car as quickly and effectively as possible.

Clean the car

Before you start, you need to clean your car both on the inside and the outside. Some people prefer to make some repairs to the car prior to putting it out there for a sale, however, it’s questionable how cost-effective this really is. After all, the chances that the repair will yield a positive return on investment are not that great.

All in all, why invest $1,000 in a used car that you’re going to sell for $3,000? Just make sure to look at this as a business deal and not a personal affair (regardless of how emotionally involved you are).

Taking photos of the car

Something that you will need to do is to take photos of the car for the website. Now, it’s important to mention that you can’t really hide any of the car’s flaws, however, you don’t have to display them either. If a buyer sees them on a website, they have the time to prepare their argument in the bargaining process and drive the price down. However, if you deliberately conceal a major flaw, you will have an influx of buyers with no real intention to commit to purchasing the vehicle, in the first place.

Find the right platform

The next thing you need to do for selling your car is to find the right platform. You can start by browsing the web with the use of phrases like “sell my car online quickly”. This way, you will get a selection of pages in your area where you can display your vehicle. Here, you will be asked to enter several basic parameters like the model, the make, and the age of the vehicle. Other than this, you will be asked to submit a price, some images of the vehicle and a brief description. All of these are vital when it comes to selling the vehicle, which is why we’ll cover them individually.

The description

When it comes to writing the description, you need to be a tad more creative and sentimental. First, start by listing all the objective features of the vehicle like its mileage and similar information. Then, start listing all its positive sides, things that you’ve used it for in the past that your buyer might not come up with on their own. For instance, by mentioning that it’s a great vehicle to take on a camping trip, you might implant that image in the head of the buyer and give them one more reason to buy your car.

Prepare for face-to-face

One more thing worth mentioning is the fact that a buyer doesn’t make a decision just based on the state of the vehicle or the price – they make a mental evaluation of you, as well. So, while selling your car, try to be honest, straightforward, and don’t try too hard to be likable, seeing as how these artificial efforts usually have an adverse effect. Now, speaking of haggling…

Set a price a tad higher

It’s in human nature to want to haggle when it comes to buying a new vehicle. So, why not get ahead of this in a way and set the price a tad higher than you intended? This way, you can lower the price to what your original intention was and portray this as a gesture of goodwill on your part. In other words, you get the same amount of money that you set out to get and you seem more buyer-friendly in the process.

Keep in mind that when selling a car, you need to be realistic. Just because you need a certain amount of money (for instance, if you’re short by that much in order to cover your debts or buy a new car), this doesn’t mean that your current vehicle is worth that much. Moreover, your own sentimental attachment to the vehicle in no way transfers to the buyer. In other words, the key to selling your car quickly, effectively and for the right amount is to have the right mindset about it. Be fair about the price and expect that you’ll have to haggle a bit.