When it comes to selling your car there are so many options it can be a minefield to work out which is the best for you. Some will yield more money, others are simpler and less time-consuming so it’s really your choice.
From selling privately to a person, selling online, selling in an auction, or selling to a dealer, there are many ways to offload your old used car before treating yourself to a new one. Which way to go depends on what matters the most to you.
While there are tons of advice out there that you can consider, we turned to the experts and talked to the people of Big Motoring World and with them, we came up with a guide to the pros and cons of selling your car privately vs selling through a dealer:
#1. Work Out Your Car’s Value
The first thing you need to do before deciding, is finding out what your car is worth as what you will actually receive for it could vary depending on your sale method, so knowing the figure upfront is vital to help you make your choice.
You can use some of the common online tools to get a value for your car and you can also look at other car sites to see what people are selling similar cars for. That way you can be sure your valuation is realistic.
#2. Getting the Full Value for Your Car
Once you know the full value of your car you need to consider how much you are likely to receive depending on your sales method:
Pro: Selling privately is the best option when it comes to getting the full value for your car – you are likely to receive at least 10% more money than you will get from a dealership.
Con: Selling via a dealership is unlikely to give you the full value of your car as they need to make money on it when they sell it on. If this is important to you then you are better off selling privately.
#3. Part Exchanging Your Car
If you are planning to buy a new car then part-exchanging it with a dealer to buy your next car is a great way to sell it on. Again, you are likely to get less money than a private sale but it means you don’t have all the hassle of advertising it, dealing with buyers and test drives, etc…
Pros: Part exchange with a dealership takes all the hassle out of selling and also helps you on your way to buying your next car.
Cons: You will get less this way than you would be selling it outright to a dealer or privately.
#4. Selling Your Car to a Dealership
If you want to sell your car directly to a dealership it is a very simple and quick way to sell your car, however, they will only give you the trade price, not the full value, and so if you need a quick sale rather than the full value, this could be the way to go.
Pros: Quick and easy transaction, no hassle of having to deal with private buyers
Cons: you will only receive the trade value, not the full value of the car
#5. Selling Your Car Privately
This can be more time-consuming as you will need to advertise to local buyers and you will need to be able to prove that you are the legal owner. You will need to deal with all inquiries from buyers and arrange viewings and test drives of your car at your buyers’ convenience.
You will also need to work out the best way to get paid to ensure you don’t hand over the car before money has cleared.
Pros: you are likely to get the full value of the car – around 10% more than a dealer will pay you.
Cons: Time-consuming and you have to do it all yourself. You also never know if the would-be buyers are genuine.
There are also other ways you can look to sell your car such as online auctions, live auctions, and car-buying sites but none of these are likely to give you the full value of your car and are in fact likely to pay the least for your vehicle.
When it comes to selling your car if you want to achieve the full value of the car you are better off selling it privately, as long as you are happy to deal with all of the issues which that entails.
If you want a quick and simple sale and don’t mind losing around 10% of the price then you might be better off selling your car directly to a dealership – that way you don’t have to deal with things like advertising and arranging test drives. It really comes down to what’s more important to you – the money or the convenience.
