How to sell your old car

Selling a car can be a daunting task. Do you go through a dealership? Advertise the car in the newspaper classifieds? Or on a car auction site or over the Internet? You'll need certain tips before selling, no matter how you choose to sell your used car.

Know Your Market

A necessary step in selling an auto is understanding your market and knowing what you have. For instance, is the auto an in-demand model that people will want to buy? Maybe you have a collector car with historical value or it was owned by a famous person.

Will you have to adjust the asking price because it's not a popular model? This is knowing the market, and market knowledge will save you (and buyers) both time and money. You can easily research the car you're selling on the Internet. Read some car reviews on your car. Do comparisons of your auto and other similar ones to see what the asking price should be, and then adjust accordingly.

Pricing Your Car

Don't trade-in your old car at the dealership. If you sell your call independently you are much more likely to profit than if you use it as a trade-in.. The best way to price the automobile you are selling is to find out what other people selling their cars are asking money wise by researching classified ads (both print and online ads).

The Kelley Blue Book guide is another helpful way to calculate the retail value of an automobile, and it can be found online at Cars.com and at your local library.

You can also figure out an auto's asking price and value by seeing what some wholesale price dealers are buying the particular auto you are selling at an auction. You can find this information in 'The Black Book,' a guide that shows the statistics on used car pricing from the 1950s to today.

Don't forget to leave a little "budge" room in your original asking price — what this means is you should always ask for a little more money that you are ready to accept for the car you are selling. For instance, if you hope to get $17,000 for a car you're selling, ask initially for $17,500. This way, if you have to bargain with the buyer and go lower, you won't take such a big hit financially.

After you've settled on an asking price for your car, it's time to clean it up in order to make it as attractive as possible for buyers.

Clean it Up

First impressions count, so it is vital that when you decide to sell your car and buyers come to see it, it looks attractive and is in good (and clean) condition. You don't have to do this you self. There are plenty of pro's out there if you chose to have someone else do the cleaning and detailing for you.

Clean it Up

First impressions count, so it is vital that when you decide to sell your car and buyers come to see it, it looks attractive and is in good (and clean) condition. You don't have to do this you self. There are plenty of pro's out there if you chose to have someone else do the cleaning and detailing for you.

If you chose to do it yourself:

- Wash the car. This means truly wash it inside and out, including a detail, outer wash and wax.

- Have a realistic picture of the car's true condition by taking it to a mechanic or getting it inspected.

- Be ready to show all maintenance reports and/or mechanic's reports at hand to show to potential buyers.

- Instead of selling an auto "as is," consider making a few repairs (if they are affordable) on minor things such as dings or dent or small paint scratches and scrapes, as well as any minor mechanical problems you know the car has.

- Remove any an all personal items you may have in the car, so if a potential buyer wants to take a test spin, the car won't be overrun with a lot of clutter.

- Wash the tires and wheel covers/rims.

- Clean and shine every window and all of the car's mirrored surfaces.

- Always count on a potential buyer to scrutinize a car. If the auto you are selling is in good condition, you will no doubt have a much better chance of reeling in buyers.

And now that your auto is clean and okayed by a mechanic, it's time to get the word out to potential auto buyers.

Getting the Word Out

Word of mouth is helpful, but it doesn't always do the job when selling a car. You must advertise to get serious buyers, and there are a number of ways to do this — not all are free, but it's worth the cost.

Here are the best markets for advertising the car you are selling:

- Online classified ads like Craigslist

- Your local newspaper's classified advertisements

- Weekly and free newspapers in your local area (these can be found at grocery and convenience stores)

- Bulletin boards at local businesses

- A simple ­"For Sale" sign in the car's window (don't forget to include contact information)

Last don't forget Ebay. You can auction your car to the highest bidder. On trick here to get the absolute highest amount is take a lot of time telling everything you can think of about you car and most important, have lots of great pictures. 20 or 30 showing all areas of the car. Without those you may not even get a bid. People don't like to buy something they can't see.

Last there is always the junk yard. These days they are paying about 500 dollars. That can be better than spending 1000 dollars in repairs just to be able to sell your car for $1500.

Good luck and good selling. Remember there is a buyer somewhere for just about anything!