If you’re thinking of changing your car, you’re probably wondering what your current runaround is worth. It’s not an exact science as what you can expect to get for it will depend on whether you’re planning to trade it in with a local dealer or sell it privately yourself. More and more of us however are giving online ‘Cash for Car’ operators the chance to make a cash offer and buy the car outright in as ‘hassle free’ a way as possible.
We spoke to SellYourJamjar, one online buyer who offered the following tips on maximizing the value of your car and realizing the best possible selling price regardless of how you’re planning to sell it.
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Keep it clean -It’s important to remember that first impressions count, and while the car must be mechanically sound with no major electrical, glasswork or bodywork defects, it is always a good idea to make sure your vehicle has been cleaned inside or out. You can even go the extra mile and wax or polish the exterior and vacuum the interior.
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Lengthy MOT – Many people may be put off buying your car if it only has a couple of months of its MOT to run as it may instill some doubt that the vehicle could need a lot of work when it comes around to putting it through the MOT centre. It is worth it in the long run if you make sure your car includes a new MOT certificate or it at least has a minimum of six months to go before it expires.
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Keep Service Records – A car that has been regularly serviced demonstrates to the buyer that you have looked after your vehicle by having proof of regular maintenance and repair work.  If you can include receipts of any work carried out that is even better. You are also likely to receive much more for your vehicle if it has a full service history by the manufacturer.
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Make Your Headlights Sparkle – If you have a more expensive vehicle to sell and you have dingy or misty headlights for example, then it is worth spending a bit of money on special cleaning products that can return them to their former glory. It may be even worth getting them replaced altogether if this proves unsuccessful and you are likely to get what you spent back and more when you come to have your vehicle valued.
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Check Tyre Tread – The legal limit for minimum depth of the tread of your tyres is 1.6 millimetres across the central three quarters of the tread around the complete circumference of the tyre so it important that you check this before you get your car valued. If any of the four tyres are below the legal limit, it may be worth replacing them as the buyer will then have to take into consideration how much it will cost to replace the tyres and may expect a significant discount for the inconvenience of having to do this themselves.
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Dent, Chips and Scratches – If your have lots of these it might be worth seeing how much it would cost a car dent repair company to fix any substantial bodywork issues of your car. If a major ding in a panel needs replacing, it might make more financial sense to get this fixed – you can only benefit from it when your car is valued.
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Brakes– If the brakes of your car make a crunching noise then it could mean the brakes, discs or pads are in urgent need of repair. If the buyer has any doubt that the car will not definitely stop when he or she put their foot on the brake it could be the difference between you selling the vehicle or not.
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Windscreen – A chip in the windscreen could put a buyer off if they know it is something that could get worse that they might have to end up spending money on replacing at a later stage so check with a car window glass specialist and see how much it will cost to fix. It might be more affordable than you might think and if you leave the damage it is likely to affect the value of your car.
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Improving or upgrading your sound system – Most people love listening to music or the radio in their car so if your CD player is on the blink or needs a new head unit it can really makes the difference if your music system looks the business when the buyer steps inside your vehicle for the first time.
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Check the exhaust – there is nothing worse than starting up a car for the first time and hearing a noisy or blowy exhaust – it can indicate a whole range of problems for the buyer underneath the vehicle or it could be something simple. But the buyer is unlikely to want to bother risk purchasing the vehicle when he can just find another car. Consider getting your exhaust looked at and see how much it will cost to replace.
If you would like anymore information leave a comment below or tweet us @hpicheck.
Happy driving,
www.hpicheck.com