Selling your car is a big decision and deciding whether to sell a car privately or through a dealership can be even harder.

Selling privately can bring in significantly more money than trading it through a dealership but in order to sell your car successfully there are a few extra steps you need to take in order to ensure it’s worth the extra effort.

Steps to selling your car privately

Get your logbook up to date

If your car is long overdue a service you’ll struggle to find a buyer confident in purchasing your car. Make sure your car is up to date with its service schedule or if its long overdue get a service as it will let you know if there are any repairs necessary.

Make repairs

To sell your car privately you will require a roadworthy certificate. In order for your car to be deemed roadworthy, you may have to make repairs or shell out extra cash on things like tyres.

Detail your car inside and out

Get your car professionally cleaned inside and out. Having it detailed can give it a great first impression and increase the amount a buyer will be willing to pay.

Advertise your car honestly

There are various ways you can advertise your car; online ads, ‘For Sale’ signs in the window, free platforms such as Facebook Marketplace and Gumtree. Wherever you advertise your car include key details such as age, km’s, service history and whether the car has been in any accidents or had any hail damage. Being honest means any potential buyers won’t be put off by a lack of trust if they don’t find out until after they’ve seen the car.

Be ready to sell!

Keep your car fuelled, clean and tidy as potential buyers may call up and want to view or organise test drives the same day, they may even want to drive it away so get paperwork organised.

Organise finance payouts

If you have finance or a personal loan attached to your vehicle then your Payout figure will change daily. If you don’t have the funds to pay your loan off before sale then get your payout figure for/on the day you will be handing over the keys to your car and as soon as the funds hit your account – pay your loan off and ensure you get a payout letter confirming that the account is now closed.

Organise payment

Do you want payment via cash, cheque, or bank transfer? Nowadays many bank transfers are instant but if they aren’t do not let the buyer drive the car away until the funds are deposited in your account. Prepare a receipt for the buyer and give this to them along with the registration transfer paperwork.

If all of the above has been adhered to, you should have no problem selling your vehicle and handing over the keys to its new happy owner!