(i) Checks and Inspections
When selling your car to a person across the other side of the country, they may be hesitant to buy because they are unable to view it.
A common solution to this problem is to carry out one or both of two checks to ensure the standard of the vehicle and the accuracy of the advert.
1. Background Check
This check costs the buyer up to £40/50, it pays for a company (such as HpiCheck or the AA) to check the history of the vehicle. It looks at all known records to discover whether the vehicle is stolen, a previous write-off, or still owned by a finance company.
2. Car Condition Inspection
This check costs the buyer up to £400, and pays for a company (such as the RAC or AA) to visit the vehicle and carry out a thorough inspection of the bodywork and mechanical components. This will often involve a test drive and post drive inspection to test the running of the vehicle.
Any faults are listed with the rest of the car details in a multi page report, informing the buyer of any problems that need fixing (or lowering of the price) before they buy.
"Inspections make it easier for you to sell the car"
These checks are normally only carried out when someone has decided to buy your car, and if you are making an honest sale, you should have nothing to worry about with these checks. They also make it easier for you to sell the car to a much wider range of buyer across all areas of the country.
(ii) Advert Details
The details of the advert are crucially important to the prospects of selling your car. By describing your car honestly, but effectively, you can greatly increase your chances of getting interested responses and ultimately a sale.
The description:
“Fiesta, White, Good Condition, FSH, 12,000 miles”
Will attract far fewer people than:
“Ford Fiesta, Pearl White, Full Service History, excellent condition with only 12,000 miles"
The latter description says the same things, but in a much more interesting and appealing way. The first description is normally used to help save space in printed adverts, but online you will usually have space to expand your descriptions to something more interesting and appealing.
"The inclusion of a picture make
the advert much more attractive"
