Selling a car that you no longer drive is a great way to get some money back on your original investment. You want to get the most out of your vehicle when you sell it, and you also want to appeal to the greatest number of buyers. To sell your car for the best value, you need to make your vehicle as appealing as possible to potential buyers.
Here are a few services you should consider investing in for your vehicle before you list it up for sale. Talk to a reputable mechanic about performing the following services for your car.
Drain and Replace Fluids
Before selling your vehicle, take it to your mechanic and have all fluids and oils checked, drained, and replaced. These fluids include your oil, transmission and differential fluid, water pump, and brake fluid.
Even if you recently had your car serviced, it’s important to have this additional service done on your car so you can show potential buyers that your vehicle has been properly taken care of. Your car will hold more value to its new owner if it has had a recent oil change and the brakes bled for safe driving.
Get a Tune-up
A tune-up is not the same as having your car serviced. A tune-up is much more extensive and involves checking the interior and exterior of your vehicle for minor flaws that can turn into major problems.
A tune-up includes checking all lights in your car, making sure the windows work, and checking all hoses and coils for signs of repair. The mechanic will make small repairs during the tune-up process — these are repairs that may be noticed by a potential buyer if you don’t fix them, which can affect the final sale price of your vehicle.
A tune-up can be as inexpensive as $40 or cost upwards of $200 — your mechanic will tell you how much your car’s tune-up costs based on any repairs that are needed during the service. But keep in mind that any investment you make for the maintenance of your vehicle today could be recouped in the selling price.
Invest in New Tires
The tires are one of the first things that a potential buyer will inspect when looking at a used car for sale. Make your car stand out by installing new all-weather tires on the vehicle. If any of the current tires are in good shape, you can ask the mechanic to set one aside as a spare tire for the car.
You can also just get the tires rotated if they aren’t very worn down or you can’t afford to buy all new tires. Inform potential buyers the tires have been recently rotated, which is an expense that the buyer will appreciate not having to invest in right away.
In addition to fixing minor flaws on your car and making sure all components under the hood operate as they should, have your mechanic replace windshield wiper blades and cloudy headlights. These small improvements give your vehicle a well-kept appeal that can make your vehicle sell more quickly at the price point you want.
The amount of money that you invest in making your car sell-worthy may be returned to you either by increasing the price your vehicle can sell for or by allowing you to sell the car sooner, which eliminates the expense of your car insurance payment.
Our mechanics will help make your car worthy of selling at a fair price.