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Selling and Buying a Used Car – Preparing your Vehicle Advertisement

If you are currently considering trading in your vehicle for an alternative model this coming autumn, then our team at Stourbridge Automotive have some wonderful tips to assist you with getting the best from your sale and what to look out for when buying a used car. This month, we are starting with, how to prepare your vehicle advertisement.

Preparing your vehicle advertisement

Selling a car isn’t something that we do everyday and so getting it right is important. Afterall, no one wants to lose out on the financial value, for which they believe that their car is worth. Therefore, before you start, it is ideal to carry out some research on local internet websites to get an idea on the pricing. Use the vehicle make and model, the year it was made and the mileage to build an understanding as to where to pitch your car in terms of its advertising price.

When selling a vehicle, it needs to look it’s best so give it a good clean, both inside and out. Pay particular attention to door trims and under the seats where dirt can harbour. Polish the dash and blacken the tyres to create extra emphasis, these will really help to bring out the details in the photographs.

Remember that you will eventually be posting these photographs on a variety of advertisement websites and so for security reasons, you might want to take it away from your home location. Avoid taking any photos with details of your home in the background, such as house name or door number.

Choose a bright spot to take photos of the vehicle. You will want the photos to look as vibrant as possible so go for somewhere that isn’t too shaded by trees or surrounding buildings. Go for a background which contrasts well with the colour of the vehicle, so that it stands out well against the background. Take photos of the whole vehicle from front and back perspectives, but then also by opening the doors, the bonnet and the boot lid.  Focus on important details i.e., the dashboard to include the mileage, car marque’ badges and any upgraded features or eye-catching details.

Posting your vehicle advertisement

Be as descriptive and as honest as possible in your write up. Be clear on the vehicle year and the mileage. Aspects such as how many owners, and if the vehicle has had low use can also help to drive interest.

Consider the best time to advertise as you’ll need to be on hand quite promptly to respond and meet with buyers (don’t advertise if you are going on holiday).

Look at where is best to advertise. Websites specifically focused on car sales are great to use but also selling sites like eBay or Gumtree and Facebook marketplace are good. Some may take a small commission fee, so you might want to factor that into the price too. Try local magazine features or putting signs in the car windows can also spark interest from passers-by, so it’s worth considering all options.

Finally, be prepared to handle enquiries and to discuss questions in more detail with prospective interested parties.

Here at Stourbridge Automotive we help customers to prepare their vehicles for selling. If you are looking to obtain an up–to-date service or to fix any impending faults through our repairs and maintenance service before the sale, then please do not hesitate to contact our experienced vehicle technicians for further support.