A bit of careful prior planning can ensure that you get the most for your old car. Here's how to go about it.
WHEN buying a new car, trading in your current vehicle can easily become something of an afterthought. Don't let it be. This is something you need to sort out well before you strike a deal. We'd recommend the following steps:
1. Check on the value of your car – newsagent price guides will help you here. If you know someone in the trade, borrow one of their guides – they'll be more accurate.
2. Advertise your car in the local paper for a couple of weeks slightly above its value. If you get no response, you'll know the trade publication value is right and can insist on it with your dealer knowing you couldn't have got any more. If you sell your car, it's a bonus.
3. While you're advertising, find your ideal replacement car and get the dealer's best quote without taking into account any trade-in.
4. If you get no advertising response, introduce the trade-in to the dealer and insist that the market value is subtracted from whatever deal was previously on the table. This way, you know that your trade-in isn't eating into the dealer's discount.
Whether you sell your existing car privately or use it as a dealer trade-in, you'll only get the best valuation if you present the car properly:
1. Make sure that your service records are up-to-date.
2. Have all the paperwork ready to hand at valuation or sale time: if you haven't, it will make the deal seem dodgy.
3. Invest in a comprehensive professional valet, inside and out – don't just shove the car though the car wash. Dealers know the difference and private customers appreciate it. If you don't want to stretch to a valet, then at least follow our car cleaning tips below:
BODY & PAINTWORK
Shoddy bodywork is a big turn-off. Scratches on paintwork and patches of rust not only make a car look scruffy and neglected, they automatically lower the price that a buyer is prepared to pay.
Make sure that rusty areas are treated with Rust Treatment. If the rust is too far gone, use a little body filler to fill up holes in the bodywork.
Use a colour brush to cover up stone chips and minor paintwork problems that need an exact colour match.
Make sure that the less obvious areas are also pristine. Take care to treat marks on wheels, inside the engine and on bumpers with specialist paints.
Replace any individual wheel trims that are missing and ensure you have a matching set.
CLEANING
First impressions count when selling a car and nothing impresses more than a spotless showroom shine. You can achieve this using any number of different products, ranging from upholstery cleaner to tyre cleaner.
Begin by cutting through dust and grime with a strong solution.
Use a colour restorer to restore paintwork to a gleaming full-bodied shine. Combine this with a showroom polish to give the car a quick-shine that returns the paintwork to showroom standard.
Dazzle the potential buyer with the quality of your alloys by using one of the many cleaning products available.
Return faded bumpers to their original colour with an exterior trim treatment.
INTERIOR VALETING
Bad smells won't sell your car. To make the most of your motor, it is vital to make sure that the interior is as spotless as the chrome on the outside.
Be sure to spruce up the seats with an upholstery cleaner.
Stick down any loose pieces of carpet with tape and freshen them up with a heavy duty carpet cleaner.
Get dusty dashboards back to their former glory with interior trim treatment available in gloss or matt.
Get rid of unpleasant smells with odour neutralisers, available in a wide range of fragrances.
MOT
If your car is unroadworthy, it's not worth buying, so a current MoT is essential. But before putting a car through an MoT, it is important to carry out a series of simple checks to help it to pass.
Check and replace any faulty bulbs – the most common cause of MoT failure.
Make sure that wing mirrors are not cracked and the interior mirror is firmly attached. Replace worn wiper blades and ensure that number plates are legible and not cracked.
A few pounds spent on car valeting products and a bit of effort can make all the difference between a quick sale and a non-sale – and if that effort also increases the price of the car, you would be mad not to get your hands dirty.
