How to sell a car quickly

Looking to sell your car quickly and for a fair price? We run through the best ways to do it.

Selling a car quickly is a balancing act. You want the car to sell fast, but you want a fair price. Achieving both is where things get tricky.

In this guide, we’ll include tips on preparing the car, setting a sensible price, and taking good photos. We’ll also cover the paperwork you’ll need to complete, and where to sell the car. Important jobs such as preparing for the sale, cancelling insurance, and informing the DVLA that you’ve sold the car will also be explained.

Once you’ve read this guide you should be ready to sell your car quickly – and for a good price.

Prepare the car

Preparing a car for sale is a whole lot easier if the car is in good condition to start with. There’s less work to prepping a car that’s cleaned regularly than one which sees the inside of a car wash once a year.

Prospective buyers will expect the car to be clean, inside and out. The higher the car’s value, the higher a buyer’s expectations will be. If you are asking for tens of thousands of pounds, a professional valet may be worthwhile. Usually, though, a thorough DIY clean inside and out will be sufficient.

Almost all cars pick up the odd scuff and scratch over the years. It’s worth polishing out any minor imperfections to show the car in the best possible light, but sensible used car buyers won’t be expecting perfection.

Dog owners and smokers should pay extra attention to the interior. Make sure any pet hair is cleaned up. Use upholstery cleaner and air freshener to take away any lingering odours.

Remove personal possessions so the car is uncluttered. Doing so ahead of time means you won’t forget about them when the car is sold.

Understand your car’s value

You can value your car with an online valuation tool. Carwow has one, and it’s quick and easy to use.

It’s also worth looking at online car adverts for similar cars to get a feel for the market. Take into account age, mileage, and condition when you make comparisons.

For a quick sale, you may want to price your car keenly. Just keep in mind that a potential buyer is still likely to haggle for a lower price, so give yourself some room for negotiation.

If you have modified your car, remember that aftermarket alloys and an uprated stereo will appeal to some buyers but put others off, so you won’t necessarily see back the money you’ve spent on these upgrades.

Don’t be tempted to overvalue your car or match the asking price of similar models sold through dealers. Buyers will expect to pay less for a private sale than when buying through a dealer, as they won’t enjoy the same legal rights and extra services that are available at a dealership.

Take good photos

When you sell a car, think like a salesperson. You want to show your car in the best light.

So, when you take photos, don’t leave the car next to the bins or shoot it when it’s almost dark. Clean the car thoroughly, take your stuff out, then drive the car to somewhere with a clean background, such as a quiet car park in the countryside.

Once parked at your location, check for any rubbish or other mess that will spoil the photos. You want to be sure there’s nothing that will take the viewer’s eyes away from the car.

Take your time shooting the pictures, making sure you hold the phone or camera steady so the images are sharp. Shoot with the light behind you for the best pics, moving the car as you shoot different angles rather than walking around it so the light is always in the right place.

Be thorough. Show the dash, every wheel, and the tread of all four tyres. If there are any obvious faults or damage, shoot these too. It’s no good pretending they aren’t there so don’t waste someone’s time by concealing something that will be obvious when they come to view the car in person.

When you upload the images, the best shot of the front three-quarters of the car is a good one to choose as the main image. Pictures showing flaws can go towards the end of any gallery, but don’t be tempted to leave them out.

Get the paperwork ready

There’s some paperwork that any buyer will want to see before they part with their cash. You’ll want to have these documents ready before anyone comes around to view the car. Hunting through drawers to find old MOT certificates won’t give a good impression.

Here’s a list of the paperwork you will want to have to hand:

• V5C (the logbook, which shows you are the registered keeper)
• Service history
• MOT certificate history
• Purchase receipt
• Receipts for any repairs and parts
• The owner’s handbook (probably in the glovebox already)
• Finance settlement letter (if applicable)

Consider the best place to sell

The are all sorts of places to sell your car. You’ll need to weigh up speed, price, and convenience.

Option 1: Carwow

You read that right. You can sell your car to a dealer through Carwow. Tell us all about it, warts and all, and upload a few photographs. Dealers will then compete to offer you the best price. You choose to whom you sell and arrange a time for the dealer to come to you and pick it up. It’s a quick and simple way to sell that yields a good price, too.

Option 2: private sale

Most of the advice we’re giving in this guide is most applicable to selling privately. You advertise the car online, in a magazine, or the local paper, and wait for the phone to ring.

The trouble is it may not ring. Or the ‘buyers’ who come round may not be serious. You’ll also have the added worry of being satisfied that anyone who wants to test drive the car has insurance.

The big plus with a private sale is that – if it goes well – you should get more money for the car than if you part-exchange it against your next purchase. There are no guarantees, though. And if you want to sell the car quickly then the private sale route can be hit and miss.

Option 3: part exchange

If you are changing one car for another at a dealership, a part exchange is a painless way to do it. You do the deal on your new car and agree a price for your old one. Once the new model is ready to collect, you turn up in the old car and drive away in the new one.

For speed and convenience, part-exchange is hard to beat. There’s no waiting around for your old car to sell, and none of the hassle that comes with selling privately. The trouble is the dealer may not offer you a great price on your car, especially if you’ve negotiated a discount on the new one. Carwow sellers tell us they make an average of £1,000 more selling through us than they are offered in part exchange.

Option 4: auction

There are many auction houses up and down the country running regular sales. Put your car into an auction and it will be in front of lots of potential buyers at once.

Offer the car with no reserve and it will almost certainly sell. Even so, it’s usually best to pick a sensible reserve so the car doesn’t go for a fraction of its true worth.

If you are looking for a quick sale, an auction is a good option as it can be over and done within a day.

Option 5: online auction

As well as in-person auctions, you can put your car on an online auction site. The length of the auction period will vary depending on your preference.

Setting a reserve will prevent someone picking up your car for silly money, but it’s possible the car won’t meet a sensible reserve first time. You may need to be patient, so this isn’t necessarily a quick route to a sale unless you are happy to accept the highest bid, even if it’s far from generous.

Option 6: car buying service

Car-buying services which offer to buy any car can be a worthwhile option if you are in a rush to make a sale. You give the company details of your car through an online form, and they make a provisional offer for it. Next, you take it to a branch to have it checked over.

You need to be scrupulously honest in the way you describe the car, or you may not get as much as much as the company first offers. In fact, there’s a good chance whoever inspects the car will find something to justify shaving some money off the initial price.

These services can be very useful if a quick sale is your absolute priority, but there’s a good chance you can find a better deal elsewhere.

Prepare for the sale

So, the car is clean, the paperwork is in order. Someone has been on the phone and seems very keen – they’re coming over in half an hour. What happens next?

Expect the prospective buyer to want to take a test drive. Make sure they can prove to you that they have cover before you let them behind the wheel. If their regular policy doesn’t insure them to drive your car, there are temporary insurance specialists who can sort short-term cover in a couple of minutes.

Think about any questions they may ask and have answers ready. When was the car last serviced? When does the MOT run out? Has the car ever been in an accident?

You should also be ready to negotiate. People expect to make a deal on a used car, so you should be prepared to knock a bit off the advertised price.

Think about how you will accept payment if the deal goes through. A big wad of cash is tempting, but you need to be very sure the notes are genuine. A bank transfer is better, as this lets you know the money is in your account before you hand over the keys. PayPal or an escrow service also offer peace of mind.

Tell the DVLA

You might be tempted to count all that lovely money, or perhaps start looking for your next car. Before you do, make sure you inform the DVLA that you’ve sold the car.

This isn’t just a boring bit of bureaucracy, if the DVLA doesn’t know the car has a new owner you could receive parking fines and speeding violations that should really land on someone else’s doormat. So it makes sense to tell them straight away.

If you have sold to a private buyer, you need to make sure you give them the green ‘new keeper supplement’ from the V5C before they leave, then use the DVLA’s online tool to inform the DVLA of the sale. You’ll have to enter the reg number and the V5C document number.

The process is similar if you have sold to a dealer, you just need to give the V5C to the trader and select the ‘sold it to a motor trader’ option when you use the DVLA’s online service.

If you fancy a walk to the post box you can notify the DVLA by mail, but it’s a lot quicker and easier to sort it out online.

Cancel car insurance and tax

Next on the to-do list is telling your insurer, either online or by giving them a call. If you have paid upfront for a year, then you should get a partial refund although there may be an admin/cancellation fee to pay. If you pay monthly, it’s unlikely you will receive a refund, but you’ll still need to cancel so that your next payment isn’t taken by mistake.

Your car tax (Vehicle Excise Duty) should be refunded automatically. You’ll be paid back for each full month remaining. If for any reason the tax is not refunded within six to eight weeks, contact the DVLA directly.