We have covered the basics of selling a car to a dealership, cleaning it, changing worn tires, fixing dents and scratches and so on. But what about insider tips from within the car industry?
We asked our Woodstock auto loans team to find out a few simple tricks to help when selling a car to a dealership. Tricks from within the forecourt. This is what they found out.
Depersonalize the car
If you have your car for a long time, you may acquire bumper stickers, car parking stickers, festival parking permits and other personalization. You may have changed the shifter, added a new steering wheel or changed the pedals.
Remove all that and return the car to stock. The future buyer needs to see the car as neutral and see no sign of a previous owner. The less a dealer has to do to achieve that, the better.
Depersonalize your view of the car
This second point is similar, but in a psychological way. You probably have many happy memories of the car and of the times you had in it. None of that matters when it comes time for selling a car to a dealership.
A dealer is only concerned with the physical car so you have to put that in your mind as you discuss prices. It’s tough, but necessary and will help you negotiate better with the dealer and accept a fair price for the car.
Only negotiate in person
Some dealers and many private buyers like to negotiate over email or SMS and that’s never good. People are braver when they aren’t dealing with you in person so make sure to set a price and seal the deal when you’re at the dealership.
Or work with a dealership willing to deal in person, like Car Nation Canada.
Don’t let mileage lower your valuation
Mileage is definitely a factor when placing a value on your car when selling to a dealership but some cars can handle more mileage than others.
Some cars can have 250,000km on the clock and not even break a sweat while others will struggle to do 100k.
Know your car and its capabilities. Look at average mileages for the make, model and year and see what’s typical. Then price it accordingly.
Cheap fixes can make a huge difference
Fix a cracked taillight, de-fog a headlight, repair a broken side mirror, replace broken turn signal bulbs, replace a worn or damaged tire. All these things will cost you money but will make your car more saleable and perhaps more valuable.
The closer your car is to resale condition, the less the dealership will have to spend on it, which makes them more likely to buy and more likely to make a sensible offer.
For those of you who know that you have a challenging credit situation, please visit Dixie Auto Loans where we have a team of credit specialists ready to help you get approved for a car loan today!
For any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact us here!
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