Selling your car: privately vs. dealership
Posted by admin at 22 January 2020, at 08 : 32 AM
When it’s time for a change, whether it’s an upgrade or a downgrade, selling your car can be a stressful and time consuming ordeal. There are many options nowadays and it’s difficult to make a decision as to which one is best for you. Here are some guidelines or your different choices when selling your vehicle.
Selling privately
The main advantage of selling your car privately to another individual is the price you will get for it. You can often expect roughly a 10% difference in what you can sell it for, compared to when you go with a dealership. You have the opportunity to set the asking price yourself and are then able to haggle with potential customers. You will need however to take on more responsibility and work throughout the selling process which makes it more time-consuming as a result. It is advisable to ensure you get the best price you can to properly advertise your vehicle. The first thing people expect from the advert is of course, a photo of the car. Make sure to place an ad with a clear photo, in order to show the customer the condition of the car, don’t hide any scratches or other wear and tear as these will be discovered at the eventual viewing. Having said that, give it a proper clean and sprucing up beforehand, and choose an appropriate backdrop and lighting to make the car look it’s best. Be clear about the specs in the ad and include as many accurate details as you can, even about any faults or defects. Remember it is illegal to give misinformation, and this won’t help you sell your car.
Going with a dealership
When you sell your car at a dealership you have different options. A common choice is to go with a part-exchange which means that you effectively hand in your old car when you by your new one from the same dealer. This will usually get you a better price than if you sell it outright to a dealer, because it’s in both yours and the dealer’s best interests. Selling your car to a dealership is quicker and easier than selling it privately, whichever way you choose to do it, as it requires much less admin. The main appeal here is that although you might receive slightly less money overall, there really is a lot less work involved. You don’t need to worry about advertising, showing and test driving your car, much less to mention going through necessary checks and paperwork. Online buying sites are a more typical convention which can take care of all of these things for you.
Depending on the car marketplace, there are better times of year to sell your car depending on the model. Winter is the best season to sell a 4×4 whereas summer is better for convertibles. Certain months tend to be lower at dealerships particularly January, March, August and December.
All in all, you need to consider which is more valuable, your time or your money.