How to go about in determining a fair value for your used car to impress buyers

Selling a used car is an elaborate exercise that few car owners would like to get involved with. After all, selling anything is not easy, and it is a bit more difficult when selling used cars. Buyers of used vehicles usually haggle about the price arguing that it is a used car and point out various demerits. As a seller, you cannot afford to get angry with them at the same time you cannot afford to lose money by selling the car as you are likely to use it for buying another vehicle. Therefore, if you are selling the car privately, you must be ready to haggle with buyers. However, negotiation is a part of buying and selling, and you cannot help but go through the process.

To sell the car on your own, be ready to devote time to engage in the end to end marketing. From advertising to the directory listing and from handling inspections and facilitating test drives by being present on every occasion, you have to handle everything on your own. Considering today’s fast-paced life, used car sellers usually prefer to choose a more comfortable way of selling it through dealers or online used car buying companies.  It makes life easy for sellers as the bulk of the work disappears. However, every seller wants to get a fair price for their car and determining the fair value is a pre-requisite before entering into the process of selling. If you are wondering what is my car worth, going through the steps described in this article will help to get the answer.

The price for choosing a more straightforward process

When you decide to sell your car to a dealer because it is easy for you to handle the process that entails your minimum involvement, you should be ready to pay the price for it. The dealer offers you a trade-in price which is less than what you could have got through a private sale. When you sell your car to someone directly, you gain more because the dealer’s margin does not come into play. Which method of selling suits you depends on your financial goals and how much time you are ready to devote to it. Regardless of the method of sale, getting a fair price is what all sellers want for which you must first ascertain the actual value of your car that can set the ball rolling.

Setting the right price

Indeed, there is no rocket science involved in determining the correct value of your car, but you must know that it requires some proper research backed by your gut feeling (hunch).  Only by setting the right price you can recover the full value of your car but doing it wrong can leave you lamenting due to poor buyer response. Your target should be to set a price that despite being competitive is at the high end of the price band. That leaves room for some negotiation that ought to happen and saves you from going below your expectations.  Decide your cut off price first and then start working backward.  As a starting point, know the market first.

Know the market

How much you can expect to get from your car depends on the kind of demand the vehicle has on the market. Moreover, timing the sale right also helps to get a reasonable price.  If you are selling a family sedan, the demand is quite reasonable in the market due to its utility and not the looks or appeal. Selling a sports car for a decent price depends on the season of sale. Sunny days invite more buyers while the cold season only prolongs the process. Commercial vehicles like vans and trucks are always in demand and can fetch you a reasonable price.  The best sale price comes from the collector’s cars because people are ready to pay for the passionate possessions, but it takes quite some time to find a buyer and complete the process.

The fuel efficiency of your car can be a high selling point. If it is highly fuel efficient as people want to economize fuel consumption in the face of rising fuel prices then the cost can vary. The type of fuel, petrol, diesel or gas also influences the rate.

Know the competition

The used car market is quite competitive, and you must know the type of competition you are facing.  Refer to trade directories that list used cars to get some idea about the asking price of similar vehicles. By using filters, you can narrow down the search to find prices that match most closely with your type of vehicle. Remember that these are asking prices and not selling prices. Compare the cars’ mileage, condition and geographic location with the asking price and use it as a guide to set the cost of your vehicle.

Refer to pricing guides

On browsing the internet, you will come across some websites that provide guidance about the actual market value of vehicles. The prices that appear on these websites are transaction prices and adjusted for conditions, color, mileage and the region to which it belongs. The price tells you where to stop and to get a fair idea, compare the price information from a few other comparable websites.

Put up a competitive price

Set your asking price in a manner that not only takes care of negotiations but also gives some more elbow room so that in the event you have to go a little below the asking price, there is still enough reason to smile. Doing some proper homework by gathering extensive information about the market and price trends should help you to work out a reasonable price that creates interest among buyers and entice them to negotiate for a better price.

Despite all the figure work and research inputs, listen to what your mind says because your hunch feeling is as important as any other findings of the price.  Just remember to go with the high side of cost when listening to your mind to absorb the shocks of possible errors.