Steps before selling a car: Motoring Motoring Discussion forum

Motoring Discussion > Steps before selling a car	Buying / Selling
Thread Author: hjd	Replies: 13

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Tue 22 Mar 11 16:05

Steps before selling a car - hjd

We shall shortly be selling my son's car, a 52 reg Seat Ibiza 1.2 5 door.
It had a full service and MOT in mid-July 2010.
Would it be best to have another service and new MOT now, before we advertise it, or would the extra expense not be worthwhile?
The car has done around 54,000 miles and has service history (not full). Mechanically OK, a bit of a cheap paint repair job on one door but would cost a bit to get that sorted.
Also, any tips on how and where to advertise it?
Thanks in advance.

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Tue 22 Mar 11 16:11

Steps before selling a car - Bigtee

Any car with 12 months mot on will sell faster and for a little more cash than one with 4 months left, Still your price wants to be fair like £900.00 to shift it on quick.

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Tue 22 Mar 11 22:22

Steps before selling a car - Bill Payer

The snag with getting it MOT'd is that if it fails you'll feel bound to get it fixed - cost me a couple of hundred when our Ibiza failed MOT at 4yrs old, althoug SEAT did eventually repay me.

If you're confident it'll pass then it should prove worthwhile.

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Tue 22 Mar 11 22:36

Steps before selling a car - Boxsterboy

MOT, yes. Service, no - it's not due yet, is it?.

Just give it a damn good clean, and maybe a polish too, to make it looks like you have looked after it lovingly. Cleaning the glass inside and out makes a world of difference if it hasn't been done for a while.

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Tue 22 Mar 11 23:00

Steps before selling a car - Dave_

>> £900.00 to shift it on quick

Too cheap. A base model Ibiza 1.2 5 door is worth between £1155 and £1735 as a private sale according to Parkers, depending on condition, and that's the price with 80,000 miles on it.

HJD, if all the lights work, the tyres have plenty of tread and the windscreen isn't chipped then take it for a fresh MoT. Don't service it before it's due, buyers at this level won't expect it so save your money. A recent, premature service also suggests some kind of fault is being hidden... Spend half a day giving it a good clean and polish and advertise it for £1695, but be prepared to take £1500 for cash.

Places to advertise it:

eBay - £8.00 to list, another £20.00 if it sells. National coverage, searchable, detailed listing, 12 photos included, huge number of potential buyers (although that means a huge number of potential idiots).

Auto Trader - £9.99 for 2 weeks on the website, £17 for 1 week in the paper publication. Good website, provides lots of model-specific info (economy, dimensions etc), and several photos.

Local paper - £36.80 for a week in the Leicester Mercury, your local rag may vary.

gumtree.com - free to advertise, 3 photos included, searchable. Adverts listed in order of posting, so yours will only be on the first page for a day or two.

Notice board in your local Tesco / Co-op / Wilkinsons etc - £1.00 a week usually.

Not a good idea to stick a poster in the car window because a) some local authorities don't take kindly to this at all and b) it says you can't afford ten quid for an advert (and by implication, couldn't afford to service or maintain it either).

Last month I sold my Escort through Gumtree within an hour. Bought the Mondeo after contacting the vendor through eBay. Searched and viewed a handful of cars listed in Auto Trader first, no complaints about any of the three methods from a buyer's point of view.

There is currently a high demand for small, cheap to insure, fuel efficient cars with a bit of "image" - I can't imagine your lad's Ibiza will hang around for long wherever you advertise it. Good luck.

Last edited by: Dave_TDCi {P} on Tue 22 Mar 11 at 23:01

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Tue 22 Mar 11 23:12

Steps before selling a car - bathtub tom

I'd add PistonHeads to the above. It's free, includes photo's and was successful for the last car I sold.

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Tue 22 Mar 11 23:12

Steps before selling a car - Hard Cheese

Good advice from Dave!

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Wed 23 Mar 11 12:08

Steps before selling a car - Alanovich

>> Not a good idea to stick a poster in the car window because a) some
>> local authorities don't take kindly to this at all and b) it says you can't
>> afford ten quid for an advert (and by implication, couldn't afford to service or maintain
>> it either).

I did this once with a FIAT Marea I was selling. A man who worked at the care home opposite my house bought it off me for cash within 24 hours of me putting the sign in the window. It was fully serviced and maintained and I had the receipts to prove it. Which is what counts. However the car is advertised, there's no guarantee you'll see the evidence of maintenance until you meet the seller and ask for it.

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Wed 23 Mar 11 12:12

Steps before selling a car - Zero

>> I did this once with a FIAT Marea I was selling. A man who worked
>> at the care home opposite my house bought it off me for cash within 24
>> hours of me putting the sign in the window.

Stuck an A4 sign in the back of Nicholes old Clio, was sold at full asking price in three days.

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Wed 23 Mar 11 12:42

Steps before selling a car - Soupytwist

No one's mentioned the 'Cars for Sale' forum on here, though I wouldn't advocate that as your only outlet if a quick sale is required ;-)

I sold my Octavia Estate through Gumtree in a day in early January. It had 12 months MOT and because a service was due I got it done. I also put a note in the window and parked it in a layby up the road which got me one phone call in the two days it was in. I also put it on Pistonheads and had several calls from people willing to travel silly distances at odd times of the day.

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Thu 24 Mar 11 07:08

Steps before selling a car - hjd

Thanks for all the advice.
It's not the base model, so has aircon (don't suppose that adds greatly to the value!). It also has a flashier stereo and speakers (teenage boy!) than the original fit, although these are not OTT ones and they do have an ipod connection. All designed to appeal to the target market.
One day a week, I work on an industrial estate. Two other units house "training centres" with motor/plumbing/hairdressing courses for teenagers. The food van (bacon butties etc.) stops outside my workplace for an hour every day, and there is always a queue. I'm amazed how much money they must have to afford that every day! I aim to put a notice on the car and make sure it is parked nearest the van. I'll also use some of the suggestions on here.
Everyone seems to agree that a new MOT would be a good idea, so I'll sort that. As far as we know, everything works OK. Will have to get the boy to give it a really good clean, though.

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Thu 24 Mar 11 13:15

Steps before selling a car - Cliff Pope

My brother in law once sold his car to a hitch-hiker he had picked up. He hitched a lift from the new owner for the rest of the journey.

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Thu 24 Mar 11 13:18

Steps before selling a car - crocks

Shades of Victor Kiam there.

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Thu 24 Mar 11 19:41

Steps before selling a car - Alastairw

>>Victor Kiam

Shudder. Memories of an audit at Remington in the distant past that did not help my career come to mind. Stupid American accounting conventions....mutter...moan.

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