Car Guide’s tips on how to sell your car fast
Are you selling your car? Here we look at different options you have when it comes to selling your car. We will also tell you the different steps you need to consider before and after selling your car.
Read on to learn more and if you have any questions, do not hesitate to get in touch with our team.
Sell your car fast with Motorway
Get your best price from 5,000+ dealers!
Selling your car online with Motorway is fast, hassle-free and it doesn’t cost you anything.
All you have to do is follow these simple steps:
- Enter your car’s registration & confirm mileage
- Find your highest offer from 5,000+ verified car dealers
- Arrange home collection & get paid the same day
Car Valuation - How much is my car worth?
One of the first things you need to do before deciding where you’re going to sell your car is to understand the value of your car in other words how much it is worth. There are a number of free valuation tools online which offer instant valuation so it is best to use a few to get a true picture of how much you could get.
For example, both Parkers and What Car offer free online valuation tools which are easy to use.
Some websites like Autotrader will require that you use their car valuation tool before advertising with them.
Bear in mind that these tools won’t give you an exact answer as at the end of the day, it all comes to how much someone is willing to pay. Nevertheless, they will give you a better idea of how much you could get.
Don’t forget, you also get a vehicle valuation as part of your Car Guide buyers report!
Selling your car privately
Private sale can be very stressful and can take more time than anticipated. Therefore you should think carefully about whether this is the route you want to take.
Having said that, if you have time on your hands and don’t mind dealing with time wasters, then you might be happy to consider this option as you could get more money.
Pros:
You should get more money for your car than for example, selling online
- Advertise the car yourself
- Deal with potential buyers
- Handle the negotiations
Where to advertise when selling your car privately
There are a few online car marketplaces such as Autotrader, Motors.co.uk and Gumtree which are very popular for selling and buying a car.
Another option is social media where you can advertise for free. Check local and national Facebook groups which solely focus on car selling/buying, but don’t just look at those. There might be generic local groups where people buy and sell various items.
A great group on Facebook, and one we’re associated with, is “Cars for Sale in the UK” – check it out!
How to write the best car advert
These are: make, model, colour, mileage, date of manufacture and registration, condition, whether the car has full service history, list of equipment/features, MOT expiry date and number of owners.
You can get most of these for free with free Car Guide account.
For more tips how to write a great car advert visit What Car.
Selling your car to a Dealership
There are two options when it comes to selling your car to a dealer:
Part-Exchange: You can trade-in your car when you are buying a new or a used car from a dealer. This is one of the easy ways to sell your car, but bear in mind you probably won’t get the best price.
Sell-Outright: Again, you probably won’t get the best price but it is a hassle-free way to sell your car.
Getting your car ready for sale
First impressions count. So ensure your car is clean inside and outside. Alternatively, you might want to consider getting it professionally valeted.
Secondly, get your paperwork together and any spare keys if you have them. You will need the V5C – the car’s logbook – service history and receipts of any repairs that you have had done on the car. If you have MOT Certificates, get them ready as well. Alternatively, you can use CarGuide and print a copy of the MOT History.
Things you need to do after you've sold your car
- Inform the DVLA that you no longer own the old car. Traditionally, you would tear off the bottom section of your V5C and send it to the DVLA, however, this can now be done online as well.
- Give the rest of the V5C to the buyer, together with all the paperwork that comes with the car, as well as spare keys.
- Contact your insurance company to let them know you don’t own the vehicle anymore.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Sell it privately
- Sell it to a dealer
- Sell it with Motorway
You will need V5C, the car’s handbook, the service log book with any receipts and MOT certificate if the car is older than 3 years. Find out more information
here.
