How to Increase the Price of My Used Car? You may think that purchasing a car could be a good investment. The reality is, once you take it out of the agency, its value will start decreasing. That means, even if you sell it almost as new, you’ll never get back the amount you invested initially. The odds are that when you sell your used car, you will get half or less of what you paid for it. But not everything is lost, some hacks will increase the value of your used car.
Today,we will be talking about the things that you can do to sell your car at a higher price. We aren’t talking about lying on the milage or doing things that will affect the future owner in any way. Keep reading this article if you want to know what to do to increase the price.
- Polishing and waxing
This is an obvious one, but a lot of people leave it behind. Remember that in a lot of cases, love is born at first sight. Before taking photos of your vehicle or showing it to a potential buyer, make sure to do that. Polishing your car will help you get rid of any type of small imperfections on the paintwork. Some other benefits of polishing are:
- Get rid of opacity in the paint working
- Get your car clear from any dust
- Eliminate any oxide on your paint
- Improve the texture of the painting
On the other hand, applying a coat of wax to your paint will leave it shiny and smooth. Another good point of this is that wax will protect your car’s paintwork. Just by doing this, you’re ensuring that the vehicle will seem taken out from the agency. If the outside of your car seems well-cared, then people will think that you would have taken good care of the interior also.
- Fix minor bumps
We all know the risk of parking a car on the streets. The solution would be always taking your car to a parking lot, but most of the time, that’s not possible. Accidents happen all the time on the streets, and other careless drivers can crash your car. This will easily create bumps on the bodywork of your vehicle. And it doesn’t matter that this hasn’t been your fault, this will rest value to your car.
Before putting your automobile on the market, make sure to repair all of these bumps. For sure, you’ll be investing money to do that, but it will pay off. So don’t hesitate about doing this because later you’ll gain more money for fixing your bodywork.
- Deep cleaning
Make that the cleanliness of your outside matches the inside as well. It’s horrible to get inside a car and realise that it’s dirty. It will discourage anyone willing to buy your car. There are plenty of car wash services that will vacuum and clean your vehicle’s interior. It is not expensive at all to hire those services, and believe me, they are totally worth it.
You can also make them put an air freshener that will make your vehicle smell nice. Remember that people also get encouraged about things due to the way they smell. Gain points just by doing this deep cleaning in your vehicle’s interior.
- Change materials
It’s common that due to the daily use and sun’s exposition, the steering wheel leather and gearshift lever wear out. This will obviously give a sign that your car has been used a lot. You can make it look like a newer one by changing the leather of these items. If you didn’t give them the right maintenance, then changing the materials will be the right option for you.
Ask for several quotes before choosing where to get this service done. Remember that some places can have cheaper prices with the same quality of work.
- Wash the engine
Another thing that will be convenient to wash will be your engine. Take into count that a lot of dust, dead leaves, and dead insects can accumulate there. And the prospect will take a bad surprise when they open the chest and sees all this dirt. If the buyer sees this part of your car well-cared, then he might be willing to pay a higher price for it.
Remember that it will be good to check all the liquid levels of your automobile too. That way, you’ll be giving your car in the best possible conditions.
- Change the AC filter
Do this if you haven’t given maintenance to your AC. With the pass of the years, dust will start accumulating on the filter and can clog it. This will make your AC system work with less efficiency and your engine will overwork too. Having an AC system working properly is very important for safety. It is because it avoids that glass fogs up easily while driving.
Changing the filter should be a part of your often car’s maintenance. So people will hope to find this in a good state when purchasing your vehicle.
Take This intoCount When Selling Your Car:
- Give your car’s record
This will make the life of the person who purchases your car easier. Giving a car’s record will make you gain the confidence of the potential prospects. That way, they can make sure that you’re being honest. A good part of having a record is that others can know what has been done to the car. Knowing which parts have been replaced is important to avoid further problems and to keep an eye on them.
This small detail can make a huge difference for a person that wants to buy your automobile. And in case that is needed, they can ask you questions whether the problems have been fixed or not. Remember to always be honest on this; there’s nothing worse than being disappointed for a bad purchase.
- Have your papers in order
Before selling your car, make sure that you have paid for any ticket that you may have. It’s easy to check that on the internet, so there are no valid excuses for not doing it. This will save your problems and misunderstanding with the future owner of your vehicle.
Probably, nothing of the past effort of deep cleaning, changing materials, etc., will work if you don’t have this set. So before doing any of the previous points, put your papers in order.
- Advertiseon a trusted site
People can take advantage of any situation. And selling your car will not be an exception for this. Always use trusted sites to advertise your vehicle. That way, you can make sure that nothing wrong will happen with putting your automobile on the market.
Maybe, you’ll have to pay a fee for using trusted sites, but it would be worth it. Always check reviews of the sites; that way, you can know other’s experience with it.
Final Thoughts:
An easy way to know how much to ask for your car is to do market research. Check as many sites as you can to get yourself an idea of the value of your car. That way, you can make an average of how much you would be able to ask for it. You can go to second-hand car agencies or dive into the web.
One last piece of advice; you need to make a contract of your car’s selling. It doesn’t matter that you’ve sold it to a family member or friend. That way, you’ll be sure that any agreement that you have made will get done.