How to Best Prepare Your Car For Sale
If you’re looking to sell or part exchange your car, properly preparing your car could help speed up the process.
We’ve pulled together five important tips on what you need to do to get your car ready for sale.
Read on to find out more.
1. Ensure you’re allowed to sell it
Before you do anything, you must make sure you are eligible to sell your car.
To do this, you need to settle any outstanding finance you have on your vehicle. If you are selling privately, you will need to contact your finance company to sort this, but if you are selling your vehicle to one of our Vertu Motors dealerships, we can take care of any outstanding finance for you.
You will just need to contact your finance company to request a valid settlement letter and bring this with you to your appointment with us. Whatever the outstanding balance is, we will settle it for you and deduct it from the payment we give you for your car.
Important note: Be sure you don’t cancel your direct debit until we have received your car and confirmed that all finance has been paid.
2.Give your car a good clean
Making sure your car is fresh and clean can definitely help speed up the process of getting it sold - especially if you’re selling privately.
Put some elbow grease into into cleaning both the inside and outside, because no one wants to buy a dirty car.
3. Check it’s in good order
As well as being super clean, it’s important that your car is in the best physical condition before you try and sell it.
If you want a thorough vehicle inspection, we recommend you book your vehicle in for a service at your local Vertu Motors dealership. Key safety components such as brakes, steering and suspension will be carefully checked, giving you peace of mind that your car is prepared both mechanically and cosmetically to the highest standard, ready for its new owner.
4. Check the bodywork
Any major bodywork damages on your car will impact it’s valuation.
If your vehicle has any noticeable damages such as scratches, bumps or dents, we would recommend booking an appointment at one of our Vertu Motors bodyshops, where our team of manufacturer-trained technicians will repair your car to as good as new.
5. Check that you have all the relevant paperwork
Finally, making sure you have the right documents is a really important factor when preparing your car for sale. It can help increase the value of your car and informs potential buyers about the vehicle’s history.
At Vertu Motors, these are the documents we require if you’re looking to sell your car to us:
- Vehicle registration V5 document (logbook)
- Service and MOT history
- User manual
- Your driving licence
- Proof of address (dated within the last 6 months)
- Bank details
Your vehicle’s MOT must be in date when you come to sell the car to us. If this is about to run out, don’t worry – we have a really easy online service where you can book your car in – at a time that suits you.
Once you’ve followed these top tips on how to prepare your car for sale, you’ll be ready to take the next step. You can start your free valuation either online or by visiting your local Vertu Motors dealership today.