Tips and Tools
Where is the best place to sell my car?
Mar
When it comes to selling your car, the greater exposure your car has, the better. Think about any household product. The more places you can access or find the product, the more available it is and the easier it is to obtain it.
So, when it comes to selling your car, there are a number of different platforms you can use. Each of these platforms have a number of advantages and disadvantages so it is important you know them before diving in.
A general rule you can follow is that the more you advertise your car for sale, the more potential buyers are going to see the ad. The more potential buyers see the ad, the more will contact you. As a result, this gives you more options to choose from and hopefully by the end of the communication, meeting and sales processes, you should have the best possible sale price for your car.
So without further ado, let’s look at your options.
1. Car sales websites
These are pretty obvious and include websites such as:
- carsales.com.au
- autotrader.com.au
- carsguide.com.au
- gumtree.com.au
- tradingpost.com.au
A car sales website allows you to list your car (usually for a fee) to appear in searches on that website.
PROS:
- This is a good way to maximise your exposure and reach out to potential buyers
- The fee for getting this type of exposure is quite reasonable
CONS:
When you really think about it, all a car selling website does is allow you to advertise your car. This means you still have to:
- develop the ad yourself
- respond to a number of “potential buyers” who may be wasting your time
- then schedule viewings and test drives
- deal with late arrivals, no shows and low ball offers
- conduct all the market research to get a better idea of your vehicle’s market value
- carry out all negotiations
Obviously, most of these points are consistent with many other platforms however, if you’d like to avoid these common problems, then get in touch with We Sell Your Car to handle the entire sales process.
2. Car auction websites
Not to be confused with car auction businesses that buy your car first and then take it to auction (such as Pickles Auctions and Auto Auctions). A car auction website allows you to list your car on a search platform allowing potential buyers to bid for the car. An example of a website that facilitates this method is EBay.
PROS:
- Will provide a little bit of extra exposure
CONS:
Some problems associated with online auction platforms include:
- they tend to have minimum exposure since they’re not a very popular method for selling your car
- you might get a lot of unreliable bids/leads/potential buyers
As a result of these factors, you could actually end up with a lower sale price when compared to using other car selling platforms. Nevertheless, this is not always the case but certainly the most common result we’ve seen and that’s why avoid using an auctioning approach. We find that when you ask for a certain price, it helps qualify better potential buyers that are more serious.
3. Trading in your car to a dealership and buying a new car
This is where you need to be buying a car to get an offer to trade in your existing vehicle.
PROS:
- Allows you to get rid of your vehicle very quickly
CONS:
WARNING! A car dealership or salesperson usually use tactics to get you excited for completing the sale. We all know that dealers have a lot of wiggle room when it comes to the sale.
- Car salespeople will usually overvalue your trade in vehicle when compared to its “actual” or market value. As a result, you think it’s a great deal and then are more inclined to buy a brand new overpriced vehicle.
- Unreliable valuation of the vehicle
- You need to buy a car to get that “value”
So don’t rely on a valuation that a car dealer gives you as it is generally an overestimation and it is only valid if you are buying a brand new car from them.
4. For Sale sign in the window
A ‘for sale’ sign in the window of your car is generally a great idea. It is easy, normally just requires a way to contact you, a price you’re looking for and possibly some more details. Just remember, the main thing is for your contact number to be visible. Potential buyers might like the look of your car and just need a way to contact you if they are serious. Make sure they don’t miss that opportunity!
PROS:
- People that see your car and seek to contact you directly will be serious buyers which saves you time qualifying potential buyers
- This is a good way to get some local exposure – even if it is very minimal
- This is definitely one of the cheapest ways to advertise your vehicle so why not go for it!
CONS:
- Chances are, you’re not going to sell your car just with the sign or it will take
- An advertisement like this targets everyone whereas people searching on a car sales website are actually interested in buying the vehicle.
- This method doesn’t give you the opportunity to say a lot about your vehicle
However, the more exposure your car has, the greater the chance you have of selling it, and the faster you’ll sell it. You never know; someone might not be looking to buy a car but can’t resist a great deal!
5. Local newspaper advertisement
Unfortunately, local newspapers are dying and this is one of the worst ways to advertise your car. Let’s explore this sale method.
PROS:
- Adds a little bit of exposure to reach more potential buyers
- It is a very cheap (or sometimes free) method
CONS:
- The exposure is very low so most potential buyers are going to miss your ad
- The advertisement write up (or listing description) will have a strict character limit which doesn’t allow you to do much with the ad. As a result of this restriction, this method doesn’t allow you to provide enough details about your vehicle.
- The advertisement will be super generic and appear in a mess of words. In other words, your ad will not stand out and it won’t catch anyone’s eye because you are very limited in what you can actually do with the ad.
- When adding up the small cost and the time spent to actually develop an ad, it isn’t a very good investment option.
With the limited exposure you get, chances are that your car will not sell at all with this method.
6. Used car dealer
Selling your car to a used car dealer is the best way to sell your car in the short- term. There are always several used car dealers to choose from if you live in a capital city so it’s easy to shop around for the best price. Let’s look at the pros and cons of selling your car with a used car dealer.
PROS:
- Quickest and sometimes the easiest way to sell your car
- Allows you to get a market estimation (even if it is far below actual market value)
- Easy to shop around with other used car dealers to get the best sale price
- They may allow you to do a trade-in to get a better deal on another car
CONS:
Because used car dealer’s sole business is to sell cars, all their costs hinge on making a profit from your car. As a result, the following occurs:
- You’ll have to sell for a price significantly below market value
- The dealer may not buy a car that is too old or has a low resale value because essentially it isn’t worth their time
Used car dealers have large overhead costs to store all vehicles securely on a large property and as a result, they need to make large profits. Ultimately, they buy far below market value and sell just above market value.
7. We Sell Your Car
At we sell your car, we do all the heavy lifting for you. In under 2 minutes you can request an estimate to find out how much we can sell your vehicle for. We will then conduct all market resarch for you to determine the best sales price, create a professional advertisement, communicate with all potential buyers, book appointments for vehicle viewings, complete the test drive process and do all negotiating to get you the best possible sale price.
PROS:
- We have dedicated teams that are committed to selling your car as opposed to you having to do it in your spare time
- Achieve a higher sale price and a faster sale time when compared to doing it on your own, in your spare time
- We conduct all the necessary market research to get the most accurate market value
- We develop the ad for you
- We handle all communications with your potential buyers and then schedule all viewings and test drives
- We deal with all late arrivals and no shows
- Carry out all negotiations so you don’t have to deal with low ball offers
CONS:
- As a premium service, it is more expensive than listing on a car sales website because our service includes posting the ad on Carsales for you in addition to all the other benefits.
- Not an instant sale in comparison to used car dealers and vehicle trade-ins with car dealerships
With the limited exposure you get, chances are that your car will not sell at all with this method.
Factors to consider with each method of sale:
- Speed of sale
- Sales Price
- Exposure to potential buyers
- Listing cost
- Convenience and time consumption
- Develop your description for you
Conclusion
There are a number of different methods that you can use to sell your car. So it really depends on a number of key factors to determine which method is best for you. Generally speaking, the faster you want your car sold, the lower your sale price tends to be.
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