Why Can’t I Manage to Sell My Car?
Selling off your used auto – beloved or not – is rarely an easy or enjoyable task. Whether your difficulty lies in inspiring interest toward your car in others or simply getting over the emotional barrier of separating with your beloved beater, the process rarely gets easier as time passes. It’s best to sell quickly and for a good price, to reduce stress on you as the seller and to make sure your car is in the best possible condition to be shown
If you’ve had trouble getting your old car off your hands and now you’re thinking “Why can’t I sell my car?,” don’t fret – the problem is not without its solutions. By keeping just a few simple guidelines in mind, you can get that used car you’ve got for sale out the door and in the hands of a brand new driver.
Here are some of the most common classic mistakes car buyers make when trying to get rid of a used vehicle. If you’re a savvy seller, keep these in mind as you go about your business:
Does Your Car Look Presentable?
There is no over-exaggeration of the importance of curb appeal for a used car. Driver’s don’t just want a car that look nice and like it’s going to run well, but also something they’ll be happy displaying in their driveway later on. This means minimal visible damage, easy visibility from a high-traffic area, and – most importantly – a clean exterior.
If a car seller isn’t even willing to keep the car for sale reasonably clean and presentable for sale, then what else can the consumer expect him or her to have cheaped out on? In the eyes of your potential customers, a less-than-perfect exterior is a sign of deeper, more serious problems. For any smart buyer, this could (and should) be a turn-off.
That’s why it’s critical to keep your used vehicle looking great – visibly clean, easy to see, and generally inviting. If it looks like you’re trying to hide something with a dirty exterior – or that you simply don’t care enough to keep your vehicle dirt-free – then you can be sure the customer will look elsewhere for his or her next vehicle.
Can’t Hide A Bad History
It’s the 21st century and, arguably, secrecy is dead. This is especially true of automobiles, whose unique Vehicle Identification Number can be used to track accidents and service record no matter where you’re living. This means that if your car has been totaled or needed serious repairs in the past, the consumer can almost definitely find out – and choose to not buy from you, depending on the severity.
That’s why it’s best to just be upfront about what your used vehicle has been through and to price it accordingly. Keep in mind that a buyer must consider the cost of future repairs when buying a used car and, if it seems like your vehicle has needed extensive repairs in the past it could hurt your chances of finding a buyer willing to take it.
The worst thing that you can do is try and lie about your vehicle’s history, or try to cover up a prior accident. If the customer looks up your car and discovers that you have lied, your positive reputation with this buyer – and, potentially, with other buyers in the area – could be ruined, and could set your efforts to sell back quite a bit.
Is Your Price Right?
One of the most powerful – and least understood – advantages to being a private car seller is the ability to set your own price. This is actually a huge leg up as a seller, as you can competitively match or beat the prices of other offers for similar vehicles in your area at your discretion. In some cases, you may actually be able to get more than what a dealer would offer simply for the convenience of buying from a private party.
That being said, it’s important to be able to gauge your price and set it at a reasonable amount for your used vehicle. Set too high a price and you’ll scare off potential customers looking to save money, who will simply look elsewhere for a used vehicle; set your price too low and it will seem suspicious, as though you’re just trying to pawn off the car for some unspoken reason.
Make sure your used vehicle is competitively priced – not too high, and not too low. Remember, you’re trying to get a good deal, and maybe make a little bit of money if you can – but you still have to sell the car first to get there.
Might Not Be Reaching The Right Customers
How you advertise your vehicle for sale is critical to who you’ll be reaching; if you want to attract the right customers, you need to advertise in the right way.
This means a few things, including but not limited to expanding your advertising beyond the “For Sale” sign in the windshield. Posting an ad online is a good way to both broaden your scope of potential clients while also containing your results to a specific geographical area. This is just good marketing, as it most directly targets those customers most likely to be looking for the kind of vehicle you’re selling.
The same rules for cleanliness and visibility still apply online, probably because it’s actually critical to have good quality photos of your vehicle to accompany your ad. These can be as simple as amateur cell phone photos but need they need to be there, and they need to clearly show your vehicle from all sides. Would you ever buy a car without seeing it first? Probably not, and the same is fairly universal among buyers – so try to expect it, and use it to your advantage.
Do You Really Want To Sell It?
Sometimes you’ll hear about someone who’s trying “desperately” to sell their used car, only to find out that seller has been worried about what kind of buyer will be taking it, and how good they’ll treat the seller’s “baby” after it’s gone.
This is just foolish. If you’re trying to sell a car, you need to lower your standards and trust your buyer. Once sold the car is out of your hands, and so it’s important to make that mental separation prior to seeing it drive away with a new owner.
If you’re not mentally ready to handle your car actually being bought and taken away to anyone that makes you a good offer, then maybe trying to sell your used car isn’t the best idea. Holding out for a “good buyer” is a surefire way to not sell your car, and so it’s important to keep an open mind and focus mainly on just getting your used car out the door.
These are some of the most common mistakes people make when trying (and failing) to sell a used vehicle By adhering to these standards, however, you give yourself a much better chance at successfully selling off that used car in no time.
End of 2021 Update
Looking back at the advice we gave not too long ago on the best tips to help you sell your car, some of it almost feels quaint. So much has changed just in the last 18 months or so that it hardly feels like we’re in the same industry as we were when we wrote that. Between COVID, the microchip shortage, and the surge in popularity for pre-owned vehicles, the only advice you really need for selling a car right now is this: list it for sale. That’s about all it takes these days, especially if you’re selling a decent vehicle at a price that’s even remotely fair.
All of this being said, however, there are still some pieces of advice that we’d like to offer to help you get the most for your vehicle. At the heart of all of this, just remember: this is one of the best seller’s markets that have ever existed for used cars. There are many ways you can take advantage of this, but it’s still important to keep your head, be reasonable, be careful, and make sure you get the most for what you have. With all of this in mind, here are some things to consider and weigh as you’re working on selling a vehicle in a way that is safe, beneficial, and ensures your success.
What’s Going On With the Market?
If you only sort of pay attention to the auto industry, then you’re probably wondering this very question, uncertain of why the current situation is so unique for selling your car. For starters, we have to jump back to early 2020 and when the world came under the effects of the spreading COVID pandemic. As you probably recall, things started shutting down in late spring, just before summer, and that included both car dealerships and the factories where vehicles are made.
What followed, however, was one of the best years on record for the auto industry in quite a long time. As the months passed, dealerships began to reopen, following strict protocols and rules on how they could interact with their customers. Meanwhile, a lot of people found their plans for the year completely interrupted and thrown into chaos – folks who had planned on taking a vacation and put money aside for it suddenly found that wasn’t going to happen. A lot of people used this as an opportunity to invest in other things: there was a lot of home repair and big projects going on, and many people decided to buy a new vehicle.
So by the end of 2020, the auto industry was booming with record sales going on, more than making up for losses during the initial shutdowns from the pandemic. But there was just one problem: when things shut down and sales slowed, a lot of car manufacturers were worried about excess spending. To avoid problems, they canceled or greatly reduced their orders for things needed to manufacture vehicles, figuring they wouldn’t be able to make the number they had initially planned on. This included semiconductor microchips used in every vehicle made today.
By the time manufacturers realized they needed a lot more chips, they found they weren’t the only ones. Microchip manufacturers also had to shut down, which resulted in a backlog in making more chips. Car companies put in orders for a lot more chips going into 2021, but by then, it was too late – so now we find ourselves in a microchip shortage that will probably last another year or two before everything goes back to normal.
This has resulted in manufacturers making far fewer vehicles this year than they had originally planned. The consequence has been that many dealerships have struggled to maintain a decent inventory of new vehicles. As people in need of a car found they couldn’t get new ones, they turned to the used market – this resulted in huge demand for pre-owned vehicles. Inventory of used models shrank, prices went up, and decent used cars became incredibly valuable. At one point, at least half a dozen models were selling for more as used vehicles than they did when they were sold new only three or four years ago. That brings us to where we’re at now.
Is Now the Best Time to Sell?
If you have a vehicle that you want to sell, this is a terrific time to do so. The prices have generally stopped going up, but they have held pretty steadily at a much higher point than they were at a year or two ago. This means that right now is still a fantastic time to sell your car, and you’ll get a great value for it. Just remember that if you sell your only vehicle, then you’ll probably need to buy something, and that might be more difficult than you expect.
Of course, the better the condition of your vehicle, the more you can probably sell it for, just like any other time. But the major difference is that even models that aren’t in the best condition are still selling for a lot more than they would have before. A lemon that needs to be sold for scrap is still just that, scrap, but anything that runs well and is in good shape is quite valuable.
Getting the Most for Your Vehicle
Even though demand for used vehicles really skyrocketed this year, now that the major frenzy for them has mostly passed, you should still keep in mind all of the tips and suggestions we made before. When you’re selling your car, it’s a good idea to have it in the best shape possible: clean it inside and out, have any cheap repairs handled, and just generally get it looking as good as you can. Before you invest too much money into any major repairs or replacing tires, however, consider who you plan on selling your car to.
If you’re going to sell it to a dealership like us, then the work you can do generally isn’t worth the expense to you. Dealerships have service centers either on-site or as a partner, so they can get work done for less money than you can. In other words, if you put $1,000 into repairing something on your vehicle that we can repair for $500, then it doesn’t increase the value of your car as much as you’re going to spend. On the other hand, if you plan on selling your car to another person, not a dealer, then that kind of work might be worthwhile – though it still depends on what they consider valuable.
Keep Calm and Be Careful
The most important thing when selling a car right now is to be cautious and treat it like you’re selling a car at any other time – you can just get more money for your vehicle. If you’re going to sell to another person, be cautious and do everything possible to avoid scams, potentially dangerous situations, and other issues. Don’t give out private information that can be used to track you down or scam you; only meet a potential buyer at a public location and NEVER go to a second location with them. Bring a friend along with you, and always be cautious.
Big money has a way of making people overlook a situation that can become deadly or catastrophic, so remain careful. We might sound a bit partial, but we always recommend selling your car to a dealership in order to avoid issues with scams, assault, or identity theft. Ultimately, you have to decide on what’s best for you, but always be careful and take your time to consider a situation before you sell your car.
What’s the Future Look Like?
For now, it’s quite likely that the used car market is going to remain very hot for the foreseeable future. Despite what some manufacturers have stated, many experts believe the microchip shortage will last through most or all of 2022 and could go into the first half of 2023. Even if things start to get better, it’s still going to take some time for enough new vehicles to be fully built and delivered in order to meet the demands of people looking to buy a car. In the meantime, used vehicles will remain a great option for a lot of drivers, and a used model that’s in fine condition will remain as good as gold. Eventually, prices will probably start to go back down, but until then, you should take advantage of the situation if you can.