Selling or trading in? Here are five tips to get the best price for your car

With the cost of living increasing seemingly by the month and the opposite being true of many people’s salaries, one of the most drastic methods to help improve matters often involves getting rid of the family car and reverting to an alternative means of transport.

A seemingly simple but also unfortunate occurrence, the process can be tedious when it comes to the actual selling process.

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Although as easy as listing it on many of the popular buy/sell websites, or having a salesman come and look at, the eventual price often stirs the biggest source of debate for a variety of reasons the seller often omits.

As such, AutoTrader has provided a few pointers sellers should take into consideration when wanting to sell their vehicles for the price they want to have.

• Maintenance

Often the biggest requirements, the presentation of a full-service history by way of the provided service booklet or documents is vital and often leads to make or break deal.

• Mileage

Just as big is a factor is the mileage of a vehicle relative to its age. As the case often is, a lower mileage car, especially one with under 100 000km, appeals more than a vehicle of similar age with say double the kilometres.

Another indicator is that high mileage vehicles no longer come with their standard warranty and/or service plan, which lowers the desirability aspect even more.

However, some solace can still be found in the presentation of a detailed service record from either an approved dealer or repair site adhering to the requirements setout by the Retail Motor Industry (RMI).

• Top working order

The best price means a fully functioning vehicle, hence assurances and where needed, expenditure on mechanical items, tyres and features found inside such as the radio and air-conditioning to name a few.

• Same inside and outside

While admittedly small, cleaning a vehicle rates as another key factor as it exposes what the new owner could expect without unnecessary “digging”. Although something not many seller are known to be keen on, honesty still outweighs an underlying lie.

• Research

Look into the history of a similar vehicle and do your own research to as to avoid being conned with a lower price by the dealer or “salesman” willing to provide instant cash.

Do a valuation from a dealer or via online banking sites as a further measure of not being taken advantage off when it comes to selling time.

For additional information on servicing and what to look out for, click here.