Prepare a car for sale

Whether you are selling your car or trading it, preparing your car for sale will assist you in getting top dollar for your vehicle. Simple things such as dirty exteriors, untidy interiors, lingering odours, and generally uncared for vehicles are often overlooked by sellers, but taking care of these things you will benefit from it.

When preparing your car for sale be sure to look at it as though you were the purchaser, not the buyer. Pick up on all the little things that you don't like about the car and and repair what you can. Changing mechanical issues may not be realistic, but overall condition, maintenance of the car can be fixed up. An appraiser is going to take money off your cars value for things that aren't looked after so take the time to make your car look as good as it can.

Do your own appraisal of the vehicle in your driveway:

• Check the cars paint job. Is it dull or scratched? You can touch up minor scratches fairly cheaply; a good clean will bring the colour back to life. Do the touch ups before waxing
• Check the tires. Balding tyres will lose money. If there is a sale on where you can pick up cheap tyres then this could be a worthwhile expense
• Windscreen cracks can be cheaply repaired and often fall under insurance jobs so may cost you nothing, check with your insurance company
• Sit in the vehicle. Is it appealing? Is the upholstery clean or are there remnants of trips to the fast food restaurant still there? Is the carpet clean? Does the interior smell fresh or does a bad odour linger?

If your vehicle does not appear to be ready for resale to you, it will look the same way to potential buyers, whether it is a private individual or a dealership
In addition to the physical preparation that needs to be done, there are additional items you can do to assure yourself that you are getting maximum dollar for your car.

Get a complete report on your car so that you can answer questions from buyers regarding the quality of the title to your car. It may eliminate buyer's concern regarding odometer rollbacks, fraud, or flood damage.

Be professional in everything you do with trying to sell your car. If you need to transport your car once it is sold, contact Ship My Trade to arrange delivery if you have specific questions relating to the preparation of your vehicle for transportation and to arrange delivery.

Remember, if you are selling an item on Trade Me (or similar) and you do not want to chase shipping costs for delivery to all areas of NZ, try obtaining a Ship This Auction Code to place on your auction. This allows any potential bidder to obtain their shipping price, anytime, day or night. This service gives you have the opportunity of gaining more potential bidders, which in turn can end up with a higher end bid price for you. Learn more about Ship This Auction Code