How to get the best price when selling my car?
We are all after as much money as possible when selling our vehicle, for obvious reasons, however, selling your car can be a daunting prospect whether it is done privately, via a dealer or with a simple trade-in. We have scoured the web to answer all of the key questions you have when it comes to maximising how much you can get back for your vehicle when it comes time to sell.
How to increase your car's resale value
When it comes to increasing the value of your car's resale, we have a few key points that will ensure you get more for your vehicle, these include:
- Ensure all of the routine maintenance has been performed by an RMI-approved dealership
- Make sure consumables such as brakes and tyres have a reasonable amount of life left in them
- Ensure that the car is clean
- Have the exterior and interior tidied up with some paintwork, a wheel refurbishment and reupholstering if needed
- Have detailed paperwork pertaining to the service history and other work done to the vehicle on hand
How to get the best trade-in value.
Trading your vehicle in on something that is perhaps newer, faster, more efficient, larger, more compact or just newer means that you will be looking for the best possible deal, whereby the dealership in question offers you the best price for your car while also making the deal sweeter on your next vehicle. There are a few sure-fire ways to get a good trade-in value on your vehicle that is both fair and representative of what is currently being offered across a variety of dealerships. Here are our tips on how to get the best price for your car:
- Ensure the car is a great mechanical condition
- The dealership will look for any reason to take away value, so ensure the vehicle's cosmetics are tip-top with a wash and some mild restorative work
- Do some homework and see what vehicles such as yours are worth in the market, thereby giving you some negotiating power
- Get valuations from various dealerships
- Often a dealership that sells the brand you are trading in may be willing to offer a better trade price on the car
- Get a quote on your new car before getting a trade value on your old vehicle so that the dealership does not inflate the price of the new car to offer you a better trade value
.Find a local dealership to trade in your car >
Does high mileage affect car value?
When it comes to the odometer reading on your vehicle, this has a direct effect on the value of your car, meaning yes, high mileage does affect the value of your car. We have created a useful article about how much mileage is too high for a used car.
How much value does low mileage add to a car?
A vehicle with low mileage is generally more sought after than an example with higher mileage. The caveat here is that some vehicles with higher mileage may have been cared for better, serviced more regularly and used in open road driving scenarios, which would mean less wear and tear. As a general rule of thumb, though expect your vehicle to lose between 15-20% of its value per 30 000km covered, so the less mileage you cover, the more value your vehicle will retain, generally speaking. Try our useful Instant Offer initiative, where you can see exactly how much your vehicle is worth.
At what mileage does a car lose value?
Generally speaking, the 100 000km mark is a psychological barrier at which consumers and dealers start to consider a vehicle to be a potential liability from a reliability and maintenance perspective. Some newer vehicles have longer warranties, however, with the average yearly mileage being 20 000km, after five years, a car is generally out of both its warranty and service plan. Here are some cars that are cheap to own and maintain for those looking at high-mileage examples.
Does detailing your car increase trade-in value
The term 'detailing' is a buzz word in the automotive industry and refers to a process whereby a professional cleaning service cleans both the interior, exterior and undercarriage of a vehicle. In many instances, these companies use high quality products that coat and protect the exterior paint, protect and refresh the interior materials and get the dirt and grime off of the underside of the vehicle, leaving it looking markedly better, making it safe to say that a detail will certainly increase the value of your car. Find out more about paint protection here.
Not sure what the value of your car is?
Navigate to the AutoTrader, Value My Car tab on our site, and enter in a couple of easy details, and within 2 clicks you’re done, our unique tech matches your car against live market data, providing unprecedented accuracy.
Do you want to sell your car instantly:
AutoTrader now makes it easier than ever to sell your car, with the introduction of our new Instant Offer service. After following this simple 3-step process, you will get a market-driven valuation for your car within minutes, and a solid cash offering within hours – safely, conveniently, and with total peace of mind.
