Should I Sell My Used Car To A Car Dealer?
Ready to say goodbye to your old car but don't know where to start? Sure, you can donate it, if you are so inclined, but if you want to maximize its value you will probably want to sell it. If selling your car is your path, the best option is to sell, or trade-in, your car to a professional car dealer. In this article, we will examine why.
Why should I sell my used car to a professional car dealer?
There are myriad issues that you have to deal with when you sell, or trade-in, your used car. Not only are there the direct issues, such as the condition of the car and its value, there are legal ones involving transfer of title, the proper paperwork and acceptable forms of payment. Let's boil this down into four major advantages of selling your used car to a professional car dealer.
Speed - A trip to your dealer to sell a used car (or trade it in) usually won't take more than a few hours. Car dealers know the value of used vehicles and they can evaluate its condition, cosmetically and mechanically, quite quickly. If you were to sell it yourself, it will take days to weeks because you have to place ads and then wait for people to respond.
Convenience - Here's how selling a car to a dealer works: you go to the dealership, you make a deal, and you go home - pretty simple. As mentioned above, when you sell a used car to a dealer, they are fully equipped to make the process smooth and easy. Unfortunately, when sell a used car privately, you have to deal with the "unwashed masses," you know, like tire kickers, no-shows, or difficult buyers.
Paperwork - With a sale to dealer, all you have to do is sign their paperwork. Depending on the state you live in, there can be certain laws and forms to complete when selling a car. Car dealers have all the right forms and will handle all the legal details properly. That's what they do for a living so it will be a smooth transaction. With a private buyer, you'll have to deal with all the paperwork and legal issues yourself.
Post-sales issues - This may be the most important point. When you choose to sell your car at a dealership, once all terms are agreed upon and contracts are signed, you'll no longer be responsible for the vehicle. It's a done deal. When you sell to a private party, you may be liable for any vehicle problems after the fact. They may even want to take care of issues long after the sale because they may feel you have not revealed problems during the sales process. Ask anyone who has sold a car or truck before, post-sales issues are very common.
Are you still on the fence?
We know your uncle has said to you that you'll get more money if you sell your car yourself. Well, in most cases that isn't really true. A professional car dealer will give you an honest and fair value for your used car, and a private sale? After a few weeks of meeting people and listening to low-ball offers, you might end up with the same amount of money in your pocket because you just want to move on.
And, as we stated above in Post-sales Issues, on one hand, you might get a few hundred more dollars when you sell your car privately but consider the risk. You never know when that sale might come back and haunt you. When you sell to a dealership no one is going to call you back a month later and ask you to chip in on a repair "that you never told them about."
Our recommendation is to give it some thought and we invite you to contact us if you'd like more information of selling, or trading-in, your used car at Pearson Hyundai.
