Prepare Your Car For An Easy Sale

If you are going to be selling your car, you want to make sure you present it to prospective buyers in great shape. The better your car operates and looks, the more you will be able to ask for it, and the faster it will probably sell. Here are some tips to getting your car in better shape before you put it up for sale:

Make sure the tires are in good shape – Believe it or not, one of the first things many people like to do when looking at a car is point out the shape of the tires and see if they are going to need to be replaced soon. They tend to use this as an easy target to try to get you to lower the price. So if you know the tires aren't in great shape, replacing them ahead of time can take this tactic away from the buyer.

Have routine maintenance done to the vehicle – Before you put the car up for sale, take it in to a mechanic or auto repair shop and let them know you want it prepared for sale. Have them check the brakes, do an oil change, give it a tune-up, check all of the fluids, and go through it to make sure there are no unknown issues with the motor, the transmission, or other systems. You should also make sure you get receipts for everything that you have done and get paperwork stating the car was checked and shown to be in good working order. If there is anything that needs repairing and you don't want to take care of it, get an estimate to show the buyers and consider lowering the price to help with the cost of those repairs.

Have any missing emblems replaced – If there are any emblems missing from the car, then you may want to have them replaced. A lot of people put a lot of pride into those emblems, and this is especially true if the car is a classic. A missing emblem can really take away from the nice look of a car's exterior.

Have touch-up painting done – If your car needs a complete paint job, then you will need to determine whether or not it is going to be worth it to have it repainted. If the amount you will profit from a nice paint job makes it financially worth it, then consider doing it. However, if you aren't guaranteed a profit, then you should sell the car with the paint as is. However, if your paint is in relatively good shape, except for a few spots here and there, then having those spots touched up can make a world of difference to the look of the car and help you get more for it.