You will need to consider the time necessary and the profit to be gained. As they say, time is money, so taking care of everything by yourself might not be worth the time.
Either way, you will need to negotiate the price and know when to say “no” to a bad deal. We are here to ensure that you can sell your car safely.
Step 1: The pros and cons of each method
There are many ways to sell a car, each with its own pros and cons.
Dealership
The first and easiest option is to sell your car to a car dealership and trade it for a new car. This isn’t the most profitable way to sell your car, however, it can save you sales tax money.
However, even though this is the easiest way to do it, you still need to be careful. Car dealers are professional salespeople; they know how to get you to charge you more than you should be paying. It is common to mix the price of your old car, the price of the trade-in, and the price of your new car into a hard-to-understand deal that will confuse you. What you can do to avoid this is make sure that each transaction is negotiated separately.
Instant Cash Offer (ICO)
The second method is to sell your car online / over the phone using ICO. You can list your car’s VIN or license plate number and with just the mileage and the description of the car’s condition, you will get an instant offer. You should be as detailed as possible when it comes to the description of your car’s condition in order to get an accurate offer.
Selling your car privately
The last option is to handle the selling process all on your own. This method will get you the best price, however, it will also require significant effort. You will need to fully prepare the car and also deal with all of the paperwork and potential buyers.
Step 2: Get the paperwork ready
First, you need to gather all the proper documentation. Whether you are selling your car by yourself or through a dealership, there is some paperwork that cannot be avoided. The more documentation you can manage to find, the better the price you will be getting.
Step 3: Get your car ready
Once all your paperwork is ready, you will need to get your car ready as well. The time you spend getting your car ready will directly affect the price, so you need to consider your options. You need to decide how much time you are willing to spend vs the increase in price you are getting. However, you don’t want to neglect some of the simple steps you can take to increase your car’s value significantly.
Step 4: Decide on a price
So, how should you set the price? Since selling your old car will require price negotiations no matter which method you choose, you will need to set the price high enough so that you are satisfied with it after the negotiation, but at the same time keep it low enough to get potential buyers to reach out to you in the first place. If you want to sell your car fast, you should set the price a bit lower than similar cars on the market.
Step 5: List your car
Now that your car is all clean and you have your price, you can start thinking about where you want to advertise it. You can use an online marketplace, such as Craigslist, put a “For Sale” sign in your front window, or even use a newspaper advertising slot. We recommend online websites since they are the fastest and easiest way to advertise your car and many of them are completely free!
Step 6: Test drive
If you are selling to a dealership, you can skip this step. However, if you are selling privately, once your listing is up, you will start getting responses. Most buyers will want to see the car before they buy and, in a lot of cases, do a test drive.
Step 7: Price negotiation
After the test drive, it’s time to negotiate the price. It may seem intimidating, but remember that selling your car is pure business; you should not feel scared or feel bad for the other person.
Step 8: Finish the sale
The last step is to complete the paperwork and get paid. The type of paperwork you need to complete depends on the method of sale.
When it comes to dealerships or ICOs, the dealer will usually do the paperwork for you.
If you are selling your car privately, you will need to check your local DMV (and the buyer’s DMV if they’re not from the same state as you) and figure out which title and what additional documentation is needed. You will also need a bill of sale, which you can copy from the internet. Be careful about the wording. In most cases, you’ll want to include that the car is “sold as-is”, meaning that there is no warranty or anything additional being sold.
There might also be other necessary paperwork in your state, such as mileage disclosure or title transfer form. After you have checked with your local DMV, take pictures of all of the documents before handing them away.
Next, in both cases, you will need to contact your insurance company and discuss your future options with them. If you are buying a new car right away, you will need to transfer your insurance. If you are not buying a new car immediately, you might still need to pay the insurance fee in order to avoid having gaps in your coverage.
Lastly, you want to get paid.
If you are selling your car to a car dealership, the price will automatically be deducted from your new car purchase price.
If you are doing an ICO, you will either get a check directly, or also be able to apply it to your new car purchase.
If you are selling privately, the best option is to do the transaction at the bank. If the check is issued by the bank, you don’t need to worry about it being fake. You should be especially careful about escrow services. Another common scam is to issue a check that is higher than the price and ask you to return the difference. In this case, you hand over the car and send the scammer money. If necessary, you can ask your local legal authorities. Also be wary of distant relatives or family members you are not close with. They might promise to pay and never do so.
If you are still paying off your car, your dealer will likely be able to contact your lender for you. If you are selling by yourself, you will need to contact them yourself.