Car Detailers San Diego CA
Prepping Your Vehicle for Sale
Prepping Your Vehicle For Sale By Zach Bowman, DriverSide Contributing Editor
It’s that time. You’ve made the decision to send your current ride on its way and get yourself a new car or truck. Though visions of carefree driving and that new-car smell are first and foremost in your mind, you have to find a home for your current set of wheels first.
It may be tempting to simply stick a 'for sale' sign in the window, posting it for sale on Ebay Motors or drive it as-is to the dealer for trade-in, but you can lose hundreds, if not thousands of dollars by not taking the time to prep your car. We know the last thing you want to do is invest more of your time and money into that old ride, but trust us when we say it’s worth it.
Everyone is looking to stretch a dollar as far as it will go right now, and not getting the most out of your used car is just like giving money away to your buyer. DriverSide can help you find replacement parts, a good mechanic to do a tune-up and help you sell your ride when you and your car are good and ready.
Take a look at our simple steps to preparing your vehicle for sale.
1. Take Inventory
Before doing anything else, take the time to get an Experian AutoCheck report on your vehicle. While there are plenty of services out there that offer a vehicle history report, AutoCheck is unique. The standard lemon check, salvage title alerts, odometer roll back warnings and accident reports are all there, but AutoCheck will actually give your car a score based on similar vehicles on the road. A higher score can show your potential buyer that your car is a good deal and help to put their mind at ease.
You’ve probably owned your vehicle long enough to get used to any quirks it has. That means you don’t really notice the door dings, scratches or coffee stains inside, which is exactly why it pays to step back and evaluate your vehicle as a buyer.
Would you buy your car? Probably not, since you’re selling it, but imagine anyway. Start at the front of the car with a pad of paper and mark down any blemishes that a potential customer could complain about. Dings, dents, scratches and stickers all need to go on the list. Once you’ve taken care of the outside, look through the interior of the car. Is anything broken? Write it down. Stained? You know the drill. Are the floor mats missing or worn? Make a note.
Getting missing bits and pieces can be a headache, but having all of your vehicle’s original equipment can make a big difference in the overall value. DriverSide and eBayMotors are two good sources that will help you track down any interior or exterior parts that may have gone astray while you’ve owned your ride.
“Walk around and look for obvious things that would stick out to a buyer,” said Mike Caudill, a spokesperson with NADAguides.com . “Do a visual evaluation to determine your own hot-spots and go from there.”
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