When it comes to selling a car, it’s not always quite as straightforward as simply handing over the vehicle in exchange for cash; there are a good few steps you need to take beforehand and certain things you need to consider in order to sell a car successfully.
In our guide on how to sell a car, we cover everything you need to know about selling a car on Gumtree, Autotrader and eBay, plus all our top tips for selling it efficiently and at the best price.
There are several ways to sell a car, with selling your car at a dealership being one of the most common ways.
Selling your car at a dealership is considered to be one of the easiest ways to sell your vehicle. You can do this either by selling your car outright to a used car dealer, or you can trade your car in when buying a new or used car from the same dealership.
However, you’ll probably get less money for your car if you sell it at a dealership rather than through private selling, but it is generally considered to be much easier and quicker.
Selling your car on Gumtree is another method you might want to consider as this is also pretty straightforward and quick to do.
You will have to post your ad for your car on Gumtree and once you’ve added the vehicle’s registration number, Gumtree will automatically add specifications for your car such as the make and model of the vehicle. You can then add in any other necessary details, then post your ad so it’s live, and wait for people to get in contact if they want to buy it.
If your car is valued at less than £1,000 then you can list and sell your car for free with Autotrader.
However, if your car is worth more than £1,000, then you will have to choose from several different advertising options in order to sell it with Autotrader. The package that you choose and the length of time that you want to list your vehicle on Autotrader for will depend on how much it will cost you.
But you can pay anything from £36.95 for two weeks’ worth of advertising on Autotrader, to almost £75 for the ultimate advertising package which will advertise your car until it is sold.
The price of selling your car on eBay varies enormously depending on numerous factors.
You also have to pay several different types of fees including a listing fee, optional listing upgrades and the final value fee once the car is sold.
For a more convenient way of selling your car on eBay, you might want to use the eBay Motors app which enables you to buy, sell and shop all from your mobile phone, so you don’t have to worry about constantly watching the eBay website when it comes to selling your vehicle.
Selling your car on eBay can get quite pricey and you might actually end up spending a lot of money just to sell it. Check out eBay’s listing fee guidelines before making your decision and consider your other selling options before committing to one.
A guide price in relation to selling a car is the approximate figure/s as to which the seller expects the vehicle to be sold for.
However, the guide price isn’t always what you’ll actually receive for the car, it’s just a rough guide that gives a general idea of what the seller wants from the sale.
When it comes to selling a car privately or through a dealership, there are several things you need to know about such as the fact that you can’t sell a car with outstanding finance and you must declare your car as 'off the road' with a SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification) if you’re taking your car off the road in order to sell it.
Once you’ve sold your car, there are a few things that you need to do in order to ensure that ownership of the vehicle has been transferred over to the person that you sold it to.
For further information and tips, check out our related articles below.