How to Sell a Used Car

Most people search the web for used cars. If your car isn't listed in a used car classifieds site in addition to newspapers, you could have a tough time selling your car.

List Your Car on all Online Used Car Classifieds

You never know who is looking where for used cars, so give yourself the best odds and blitz all the main online used car classifieds. Savvy consumers search for used cars on popular car buying sites such as AutoTrader.ca Sell your car there and you'll get $3000 more than trading it in. You'll get market value, which is $2000-$6000 more than trade-in value. Sell your car privately instead of losing thousands by trading it in at a car dealer.

You get more for your car selling it yourself, than trading it to a car dealer. If it's < 4 years old, dealers give you at least $3000 less than market value for it, so they can dump it on the wholesale market. Banks won't finance cars > 4 years old, they're worthless to dealers.

If your car is over 4 years old, dealers give you only 25% of fair market value!

If a dealer offers market value for your trade-in, they are making up for it on the back side of the deal in the form of full retail price, or wasted dealer extras. Anyone who thinks a dealer is really giving them market value for their trade in is living in a dream.

FRAUD ALERT

There are scammers roaming the Internet looking on eBay, AutoTrader, and just about any classifieds site, no matter how big or small has been hit. If you know anyone about to list their car online for sale, or buy a used car from any online site, forward this page to them. Don't agree to escrow of any kind!

How to sell your used car and transfer title when you still owe money on your auto loan

If you owe money to a lender on your car loan, the lender appears on the title as a lien holder, and they are holding the title. To sell the car, you need that title, but you can get it from the lender after you sell it too. When you pay off the loan, they mark the title as lien satisfied, and send you the title.

Suppose you owe $10,000 on your car loan, but your used car only sells for $8000. Whatever balance is left after you get $8k, you would pay off the bank directly because you're upside down on the car loan. Sadly too many people are in this boat, and don't have enough to make up the difference to pay off the loan, so they can't sell the car. But if you do sell the car at a high enough price to pay off your loan, then you just call the lender for a payoff figure and send in the payment. They will mail you the title in about a week. Then you can sign over the title to the buyer and send it to them.

You can give the buyer your car without title for now, and they can get a temporary white paper tag until your title comes in. Then the buyer can register the car using the title. Auto loan lenders will not send the title to the buyer, they will only send it to you.

Great tip to make your car sell: Eliminate the buyer's #1 reason for not buying your car!

You should put the buyer's mind at ease by giving them a copy of a vehicle history report on your car that they can take home, which will prove to them your mileage has not been rolled back, or your car has never been flooded or junked in a wreck. Buyers are always wondering 3 things: What's the mileage? Was the odometer rolled back? (digital odometers can be rolled back by reprogramming the EEPROM chip!) Was the car ever in a wreck or junked before? It's every buyer's biggest fear that they will buy your car that was in a wreck or junked, and not disclosed to them. It's their BIGGEST FEAR. Think about it, it's probably yours too. Eliminate that fear, and you eliminate their #1 excuse for not buying your car. You'll be light years ahead of all the other sellers on their list because now you'll set the standard that all other sellers will fail.

Sellers have success listing their car online, as millions of people see the ad. Out of province people move to your city, or travel from out of town looking for a car. At online used auto classifieds sites, type in a car to search for and they list all models fitting your criteria. Forget newspapers, their localized coverage is just too limited. List your car on the web so the whole world sees it. Use a site with a money back guarantee in case your car does not sell in a certain time period. Some sites run the ad for one low price until the car sells, a benefit newspapers don't offer. Buyers might be in town for a weekend to visit someone, buy your car, and drive it back home. The idea is to blitz the media, and let the world know you have a great car for sale.

TIP

Reserve a budget of $100 - $250 to sell your car. The world is not beating a path to your car so you have to beat a path to the world. Don't do just the usual one week newspaper ad to sell it. Very few frustrated people sell their car using a one week newspaper ad. Like a key in a lock, if your vehicle does not appear during the one week that a buyer is looking for that exact vehicle, you're out the cost of the ad. Your budget will get you into 3 different classified ad venues like a newspaper for a 1-2 week run, and at least 2 popular internet classified ad web sites, usually for a 30 day run. In newspapers, ad fees are a farce, as they are stingy on the word count. To give any useable info in your newspaper ad you'll end up paying twice what you planned.

Auto classifieds on the web are much more cost effective than newspapers as they are cheaper, and run 4 times as long. Why limit your ad to 5 local people who might want your car, when you can put it on the web where there are millions of people doing searches. For half the price you get 1000 times the exposure. Web based classified ads have the advantage of your car appearing in a buyer's search of cars within hundreds of miles of their house. But by contrast, newspapers cover a small metropolitan area. Use online classified sites where your ad stays until the car sells.