Top 10 tips to sell your car

top tips to sell your car

If you’re looking for a stress-free car sale, look no further than Motorway.

Motorway lets you sell your car and get a great offer from our nationwide network of 5,000+ verified dealers, but before you do so, there are a few things you’ll want to consider beforehand. 

Read on for Motorway’s top 10 tips to help you get the fastest car sale with the best possible price.

Top 10 tips for selling your car:

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1. Understanding your car’s value

As much as we all like to think we’re driving top-of-the-range, money-can’t-buy vehicles, in reality, car values are set by the car market. Just like anything else, they’re a commodity. 

Age, mileage (the most accurate indicator of an engine’s wear and tear), condition, and service history all affect the value of your car, but market prices are the biggest driver.

2. Where to value your car

It’s important to get an accurate idea of the value of your car before you consider putting it up for sale. This can be done quickly and easily using the valuing tool on Motorway, which gives you a market-guided estimated sale price as well the option to sell your car to our nationwide network of 5,000+ verified dealers. You can see how it works here.

Auto Trader and eBay are useful tools for private sale price indications. You can use WeBuyAnyCar and their alternatives for instant buying valuations.

Just remember: valuations are hugely variable depending on who is buying it and why.

Motorway valuations are based on activity in our nationwide used car marketplace.

3. Decide what is important to you

Do you want to sell your car quickly? Easily? For more money? All three? 

If you aren’t in a rush and want to focus on getting the highest possible price, then selling privately on a classified listing or auction website (such as eBay) is a great option for you. However, you will have to wait for the best offer to come in and you may need to show your car to a number of different prospective buyers, with zero guarantee of success.

Motorway meanwhile works with a network of 5,000+ verified dealers to help you find the highest price from a professional buyer. It’s quick, easy and you get significantly more money than part exchange.

Instant car buying sites are great options if you just want to get your car gone and don’t mind sacrificing a bit on the end price. Alternatively, you can elect to part-exchange for your next car at a dealership. At the end of the day, it’s all about weighing up your options and picking the one that’s right for you. 

4. Pick your selling route wisely

Private sales generally enable you to get a higher asking price, but there are no guarantees of a sale happening. You also have the hassle of buyers coming to your home, bartering and general sales admin to deal with. 

Instant car buying sites are good options if your car is worth less than £2,000 – as many dealers wouldn’t purchase these directly. As long as your car is accurately described, sales are usually guaranteed and the money can be in your bank account within 24 hours of the sale. 

As as a seller, you need to weigh up value and speed and choose the right option based on what’s important to you. 

Our final tip is to be realistic – if your car is worth less than £200, you may get more selling for scrap.

5. Get car selling deals online

Selling your car online is a great, efficient and often cost-effective way of parting ways with your vehicle, but you have to make sure you’re informed and know your options before you do so. 

There are now a couple of large instant online buyers. If we use WeBuyAnyCar and The Car Buying Group as two examples, there are huge differences between these services. Do your research and compare them all against selling on Motorway, part-exchanging and selling privately. 

6. Prepare your motor

It goes without saying, but make sure your car is looking as good as possible to avoid buyers trying to renegotiate on price once the car has been seen. We recommend cleaning it inside and out and fixing any minor issues like small dents and scratches. 

7. Be ready to negotiate if needed

Be prepared for buyers to try and negotiate with you on price. Do your research into what your car is worth and turn up prepared. It’s great to have a couple of counter-statements up your sleeve – they may not always work, but it’s useful to have a couple of talking points if the buyer tries to reduce the price when they inspect the car. This should never happen if you sell your car with Motorway, but some online buyers may look to reduce your offer on the day of sale.

Remember, the sale isn’t finished until the money for your car is in your bank account. Only then can you class your car as sold.

8. Never accept cheques, bankers drafts or IOUs

This might sound obvious, but don’t hand over your keys until you have been paid for your car. This is applicable to both private buyers, dealers and car buyers. 

Any reputable buyer will understand you need to be paid in advance before they own the car – either by BACS/ bank transfer, or cash on collection if selling privately. 

If they cannot digitally confirm funds have been transferred, then they should always be able to give you evidence that the funds transfer has been completed, in the form of a receipt or digital transaction statement. Be sure to ask for this if it’s not offered.

It’s worth doing the admin of selling your car correctly

9. Checklist to sell your car

You need to make sure you have a few key items to complete a car sale and avoid losing any value from missing keys and paperwork.

Make sure you hand over all your car keys, your V5C logbook, and your service and MOT history. 

If you’re missing any of these, a buyer will have a good case to drop the final price offered. Remember to only give them the ‘new owner’ section of the V5C logbook! 

10. Get money back after the sale

As well as sending the remaining part of the V5C logbook back to the DVLA, make sure you cancel your car insurance and reclaim your road tax. The DVLA makes this very easy.

Is it time to sell your car?

Want to learn more about owning, maintaining, and selling your car?Check out more of our guides here, covering everything from finding buyers, to negotiating a good price, and completing payment safely. With 84% of Motorway customers getting more money, it’s never too soon to get your valuation.