Selling Your Car Successfully and for the Best Price

If you're ready to part ways with your car, whether you love it or not, you'll want to know some important things before selling it. Here are some tips on how to sell your car successfully and for the best price.

Trade-In vs. Private Sale

When deciding whether to trade your car in to a dealer or sell it to a private party, consider a few factors:

Ownership: Do you own your car outright? If not, what do you owe? Are you leasing?

Taxation: Selling to a private buyer might mean having to raise the price to wrap the tax into it (check sales tax in your local area for more info), while selling to a dealership might take care of the tax.

Time: Selling to a private party typically takes more time. You'll have to spruce up your ride, get some nice pictures, find places to post the car, and then go through the process of meeting buyers, having them obsess over the condition of it, etc. Trading in your car typically means much less hassle. But...

Price: Private sales often offer more flexibility for the seller.

Paperwork: Trading in a car vs selling it privately virtually guarantees the proper paperwork is filled out, executed, and filed – potentially saving you registration and ticketing problems down the road.

If you own a car that's in high demand, has low mileage, is in good condition, etc. and you have the time and patience to handle dealing with private buyers, selling to a private party might be the way to go. But if the difference in price is close, and you value convenience, trading in your car is the surefire easiest option.

How to Determine Fair Market Value for Your Car

If time is not an issue, you can shop around to get an average. Various websites publish objective, industry-standard values for used cars. Pricing your car appropriately will help ensure you get fair value while avoiding excessive haggling.

Car Sale Preparation Checklist

Selling your car successfully starts with getting your vehicle ready to present to the public. Here are some tips:

Clean your car — but do it yourself if you can. You may assume that having your vehicle professionally detailed is best, but a car that is freshly detailed might make it seem like you're trying too hard to potential buyers.

Don't bother fixing minor flaws (really!). Used car buyers, especially dealerships, do not expect perfection. If you're able to make minor fixes without spending money, it may help. Otherwise, you could easily spend much more time and money on repairing your vehicle than a dealer would when reconditioning it.

Do, however, stay up-to-date on vehicle maintenance. Get the oil changed and fluids checked, check the tires, top off your windshield wiper fluids and make sure the wipers function properly, and check the brake lights.

Gather the proper paperwork. Before you sell, make sure you have the following documents ready:

Your car title. No matter how you choose to sell your car, you'll need this (if you're still paying off your vehicle, see below).

The original sales paperwork. This will include details you may not know about your vehicle, such as trim level and all features. Having this handy can increase your car's resale value.

Service records. This information will show a potential buyer that your car has been cared for.

Vehicle history report. This is optional, but it's a great idea to have it ready, especially if your car has ever been in an accident.

A release of liability form. This will prevent you from ever paying someone else's parking tickets.

What To Do if You're Still Paying Off Your Car

Whether you're selling to a private party or a dealership, you'll want to make sure that you have all the necessary paperwork. The most important piece of paper you'll need is the car's title, sometimes referred to as the "pink slip." If you've misplaced it, check with your state's DMV for the process of replacing it.

However, if you're still paying off your vehicle, you won't have its title yet. Luckily, you can still sell your car, it just may take a little more time and effort.