Selling car privately - advice needed

flyingscottie81

Hi,

I have never sold a car privately before, but the trade in price being offered is just dreadful. I have taken a Glass report and know how much it is worth.

I appreciate that the market is slow at the moment, but I would like to at least TRY as I really need the money!

Can anyone give me advice on this? I am a little anxious, don't know what to put in the ad, don't know if the milage is good for a car this age etc etc!

It is a 2003 Hyundai Coupe 2.7 V6 with 63k miles, decent service history, a brand new clutch which cost me nearly £1000, but it does have a scratch on the back, and the central locking fobs not working.... it would be a bargain for a car enthusiast who could fix these things at little cost!

Someone recommended pistonheads.co.uk, anyone have any experience of this"?

chalkie99

How much have you been offered and how much do you think it is worth?

I don't think the new clutch will make anything like a £1k difference to the value of the car.

flyingscottie81

We were offered £2.5k by a dealer - we want £3k - £3.5k for it (similar cars are listed on AutoTrader for £4.5k, obviously in better shape tho).

Thanks

goldspanners

that does eem a bit of a low offer compared with similar cars.

flyingscottie81

Exactly!

Any suggestions then on how to go about a successful private sale?

Thanks
FS

goldspanners

flyingscottie81 wrote: »

Exactly!

Any suggestions then on how to go about a successful private sale?

Thanks
FS

ive used ebay before for succesful sales, its no different to selling on auto trader or the likes,some folk get a bit scared by it though,but you shouldnt be its really very easy write an honest and full description and price it realistically and it should sell, or as you have already been suggested try pistonheads it does have quite a large following these days and i tink its free.

TellTheTruth_2

Local yellow free advert newspaper. Postcards in local offlicences or newspaper shops. Autotrader. Sign printed on window of car advertising for sale.

ALSO when you sell the car, make sure you give a receipt out stating "Sold to Mr (or Mrs) xyz car registration number xxxxxx today the (date) and sold at (time). Said car is sold talequale.

Then make two copies. You sign one and the other person signs the other. Then you keep the one the other person signed and he gets the other. (Just tell him/her as proof of sale until he/she gets the new logbook).

Notes: date (should be as per logbook which you then have to send to DVLA. Time = in case the person does a speeding session on the M1 or M6 and gets loads of tickets. That way any speeding ticket, parking ticket, or whatever AFTER the time sold you are not liable for. Talequale means "as seen" and means that there is no guarantee with the car.

Nick Smith

flyingscottie81

goldspanners wrote: »

ive used ebay before for succesful sales, its no different to selling on auto trader or the likes,some folk get a bit scared by it though,but you shouldnt be its really very easy write an honest and full description and price it realistically and it should sell, or as you have already been suggested try pistonheads it does have quite a large following these days and i tink its free.

What kind of charge does EBay take? I have a very active Ebay account and a 100% rating, so that could be a strong contender!

Is it reasonable to ask people to pay the full amount up-front at the end of the auction tho? How does it work? Do they have to view the car whilst the auction is still running then make a bid?

Thanks!

harveybobbles

Best bet is Autotrader. Price your's competetively so that it sits at the top of the page...

aqueoushumour01

I guess it really depends on the state it's in - does it have any other problems apart from the scratch? You could ask Chips away to give you a quote and perhaps have it fixed prior to selling it to make it more desirable.

Also, what colour is it? You may be able to get a bit more for a black one as they are less common than the silver.

Doesn't your alarm go off if you can't deactivate it using the key fob? Perhaps consider having that done - will cost about £80 from a dealer unless you can source the actual fob on ebay and just pay to have it reprogrammed (around £40)

goldspanners

flyingscottie81 wrote: »

What kind of charge does EBay take? I have a very active Ebay account and a 100% rating, so that could be a strong contender!

Is it reasonable to ask people to pay the full amount up-front at the end of the auction tho? How does it work? Do they have to view the car whilst the auction is still running then make a bid?

Thanks!

it usually costs about £8 to list the car, but there will be fees afterwards if you dont know how to work ebays system.

you could do it loads of different ways, you could start the auction at 99p and hope it makes it to your desired price, or put a reserve on it near the price you have in mind. or add a buy it now price or put a best offer thing on it, allow time for folk to come and veiw the car while the auction is running but for some reason folk are quite happy to bid win and then turn up and take the car away. dont accept paypal for it whatever you do as this could leave you open to some of the easiest scams going. take cash on collection or some other form of payment you are happy with.