Selling your car online

A step by step guide to maximising your car’s value from an experienced Brisbane car detailer

As a professional car detailer, I specialise in pre-sale car detailing. Needless to say, I have helped hundreds of people sell their car privately online. I wrote this car selling guide as I became aware that most people asked for similar advice, so rather than repeating it every time I was asked, I created this guide to help maximise your car’s value when selling your car privately online.

Prepping the car for sale

Over a period of time, it’s natural to develop an emotional Mobile car dent repair connection with your car. At the time of sale however, it’s necessary to cut emotional ties. It’s almost guaranteed that there will have been a personal touch added to the car, however they won’t suit everyone.

When it’s time to sell, you will need to remove the personal stickers and fruity air fresheners from the car. There’s solid reasoning behind the need to make your car generic once again for sale. The principle is to appeal to the mass audience, and it’s the same reason you won’t see pink seat covers on cars in a used car lot.

Another facet of removing emotional ties with your trusty car is switching your frame of mind to that of a potential buyer. Putting yourself into the buyer’s perspective will naturally prepare you for questions a seller may not inherently prepare themselves for.

Do the research

Find your car’s price index on Redbook. Getting the average sale price will give you the ball park figure of what your car is worth.

The next step is to search leading online car sale sites to check out your competition. View similar cars and see similar model/Kms/condition and write down the listed price. When researching your competition try to note cars in similar condition what the listing price is and how long the ad has been live. Use this data when considering your initial list price.

The next step is to search leading online car sale sites to check out your competition. View similar cars and see similar models/ kms/ condition and write down the listed price. When researching your competition, try to note what cars that are in a similar condition to yours are being listed as and how long the ad has been live. Use this data when considering your initial list price.

Obtaining a roadworthy certificate

In Queensland, you must have a roadworthy certificate before listing your car online for sale. The only way you can list without is if you plan on selling it unregistered, in which case, you must hand in the plates to the Department of Transport and Main Roads.

A good idea before going for the RWC is to get your mechanic to do a service before the actual RWC assessment. This will help identify any potential fails that might arise from the check, i.e. low brake pads.

This will avoid any fails on the original RWC certificate that you will need to show at time of sale. Having a first time pass on the original safety certificate will help show that the car is well maintained and mechanically sound.