New tyres look great. They compliment a vehicle and there is no mistaking them when you see them. When you go to sell a used car it is important to think of not only the aesthetic appeal of the vehicle but what value added options you can give to the buyer. If the tyres are new it is another cost the buyer won’t have to incur when they get it checked over for road worthiness. It also shows the buyer you care about the deal they are getting and have taken steps to give them something worth buying.
Tyres are not generally all that expensive. Don’t go out and buy top of the line low profile tyres. Get something cheap and practical. Trying to sell a used car with bad tyres is like selling a lolly pop with no lolly. It makes you look like you are haven’t cared about the car’s upkeep or the buyer. The money you spend on new tyres will be easily absorbed by the sale price of the vehicle and it will ensure your buyer won’t get a flat tyre when they drive away with vehicle after the deal has been done.
If you can’t afford new tyres then get some retreads put on the car. Retreads are cheap alternative and will do a lot to make the car look and drive safe. Bald tyres are not only unsafe but also look terrible. It will also go a long way to help the buyer make up their mind when they take a test drive of the vehicle. Cars drive differently depending on what condition the tyres are in. If the day the buyer takes the car for a test drive is raining then it is not only unsafe but it could lead to an accident that is not completely covered by your insurance.
It is surprising how closely buyers will scrutinise the tyres of a vehicle when you sell a used car. It makes a lot of sense that they do. It is what is actually keeping the vehicle on the road. There is no way I will allow my family into a car that has bald tyres. I actually prefer to replace my tyres when they still have around fifty percent of their tread left. They do wear out fairly quickly and the difference in the time it takes to stop with bald tyres compared to new ones is huge. If you need to stop quickly and skid it can take a lot of the tread off. It is just reassuring to know you have tyre tread to spare (so to speak).
Don’t be stingy with your buyer, make sure the tyres are in good condition and the chance to sell a used car will increase dramatically. It is not only matter of safety but visual appeal as well. It lets the buyer know you care about the vehicle and this belief will transfer to the rest of the vehicle. A happy buyer is one that thinks they have got a good deal.
It is important to know how much you should set pricewise when selling your car. If I want someone to buy my car I look for as much information as I can on what the car is worth. Starting with a blue book to see what your car is worth is a good first step. Although car prices fluctuate greatly during the year they are valid and they are not the best way to accurately gauge how much it is worth. Taking it to a car dealer to get an estimate is also not the best idea. They will typically tell you a figure lower than what it is actually worth in the hope that you will sell it to them then and there. That is where online valuation services step in.
Getting an impartial estimate of what your car is worth is a great way to set the price reasonably. Nobody would buy my car if I set the price too high and the likelihood of someone buying it if I set it too low is also reduced because people will assume there is something wrong with it. A fair price is one that adequately reflects the value of what the car is actually worth. Setting it a little higher is acceptable as long as you don’t go crazy it is normally considered acceptable to go ten percent over your asking price to give people opportunity to negotiate with you. If someone wanted to buy my car and offered me the extra ten percent I would take it immediately. If you go much over that ten percent it might scare potential buyers away. It is generally safe to assume that haggling is going to take place when selling something privately.
A valuation service can also save you a lot of time. Rather than scouring the Internet or classifieds looking for what others are asking you can just shoot off an email or fill in an online form and get the information almost immediately. It can also save you the hassle of constantly repricing your car in order to find the sweet spot (proverbially) which is the price that actually does end up triggering an interested buyer. Never assume what your car is worth, get it appraised or valuated by a professional who knows the product. Make sure you know all of the details about the vehicle before you approach them for an appraisal as well.
It is too easy to take a guess at what the vehicle is worth. Go too high and you scare people away, go too low and you might be shooting yourself in the foot. If someone were to buy my car and I saw the same car advertised for a few thousand dollars more I would be livid. The potential to misjudge the value of the vehicle is massive. Always seek help before you set your price. Get the vehicle valuated or at the very least look up the blue book value before putting it on the market.
When I had to sell my car like most of the general public, we are at the mercy of people who want information about every minute detail of how the car was treated, how long you have had it and any problems you have had with it. This is why keeping a log book and Service History is pretty important. Even if you bought the car second hand and the car didn’t come with a log book – start one. This way you can present the seller with everything that you have done to the car since you have owned it. Many people neglect keeping a log book up to date, when it comes time to sell the car they have trouble answering questions about how the car was maintained.
You don’t need the original dealers log book that came with the car if the car is second hand. Just get a notepad and rule up some lines to make some columns. Create a date column, a column that records what you had done on said date and a column that records how many miles were on the clock when it was done. You may also want to add another column that records when you when you next need to perform that maintenance again. That way when you are selling the car the potential buyer knows when they need to do the same. Selling a car is far from rocket science and neither is maintaining it; keeping a log book makes it even easier.
Many new cars come with a log book for doing just this. I have even gone as far as having a second log book that records the miles per gallon I am getting. This also helps you work out how weather, city driving (or country driving) and the car’s engine health has an effect on your fuel consumption. All of this will be pretty handy to have when you are selling a car as it goes a long way to show how well you have cared for your car. It may seem anal but if the buyer sees how much work you have invested in recording information about the car they will feel like you have been equally meticulous with caring for the car.
Some information that is worth recording in a log book includes the date of your last oil change, the date of your last tyre change and wheel alignment, any major mechanical work you have had done and any major body work that has needed doing. Knowing all of this will help you know everything about the car so you won’t be disarmed by any questions the buyer throws at you when selling a car. While it may seem like a chore it will pay dividends when the buyer is concerned about how the car is likely to perform in the future. They may have a family or are buying it for a loved one to drive. The last thing they want is the car failing on them or putting them at risk. They will also know when to change the oil next.