Selling a car and buying a new one - gap?

DennisBrunnen

I want to sell my current car and buy a brand new one. But I'll get a rubbish price if I part exchange my current car or sell it to a dealer. So I'd like to sell it privately - though I've never done this before.

My problem is that I really don't want a big gap between selling my current car and getting my new one. So my question is, when selling a car privately is it common to agree a future exchange date, or is it normally done there and then?

Thanks!

Quentin

If you don't hand over the car at the time of the sale you both (vendor and purchaser) need to enter into an enforceable contract to complete - though a purchaser would be advised not to! (What if you put lots of miles on/damaged the car/switched tyres etc etc)

NeverAgain_2

Nothing to stop you agreeing to a future exchange date, but I would urge you not to do it.

Far too much could go wrong in what is essentially an unregulated transaction.

The most likely thing is the buyer changes his mind, having seen a juicier motoring morsel elsewhere, or having his head turned by his mate who 'knows a bit about cars'.

You have more chance of building some flexibility into the delivery date of the new car.

The dealer should be able to give you a cash price for the new car, less a basic trade value for yours.

You then know how much you need to sell for privately to be up on the deal.

The dealer should be prepared to give you a few weeks to sell your car privately.

Hintza

But most folk try and get too greedy when selling cars and it might take weeks to shift.