5 Simple Improvements To Help You Sell Your Car

When you put your car up for sale, you want to get top dollar for it. However, car buyers are constantly looking for reasons to negotiate to get a better deal. Anything that might be wrong or out of place with the vehicle will be a bargaining chip for potential buyers to bid lower than your asking price. Don’t let this happen. Here are five ways to raise your resale value:

Appearance

Never judge a book by it’s cover. But with a car you have to. Buyers want a car that’s clean and untarnished. If there is faded or worn paint, this can be a bargaining chip for a buyer to lower his offer. Instead of paying a fortune for a new paint job, try some car wax and buff out imperfections. This is a relatively easy way to make the exterior of your car look like it’s in tip-top shape. It won’t make a dented, worn car look new, but it will help minor paint flaws. Make sure you present the car with its “best foot forward.” Ensure trash is thrown out and the interior is vacuumed. Air freshener helps too.

Lights

Nothing tells a potential buyer that you haven’t taken care of your ride like cloudy head and taillights. First, get a specialty cleaning product specifically for head and taillight covers. Second, replace your lights with something more sporting and stylish. From European headlights and taillights to sport car and other aftermarket styles, this might be a more expensive option, but it can also help you get a better selling price.

Tires

Tires can be pricey. If the ones on your car now are less than optimal, a buyer might try to bargain you down by several hundred dollars. Nip the problem in the bud. BF Goodrich tires have a long history of quality, and with TireBuyer.com you can have tires sent directly to a local tire specialist for installation. For a couple hundred bucks, you can up your resale value and avoid the buyer’s negotiation over worn tires.

Gadgets

If your car didn’t come with a navigation system, many buyers will be pleased to see you’ve installed one. Nobody likes getting lost while on a long drive, so a dashboard mount and car-specific GPS will increase the desirability of your car, as well as the price you will be able to charge for it.

Other gadgets that up your car’s value are in-car stereo systems such as satellite radio, aftermarket speakers and onboard entertainment systems. If it is a family vehicle, an on-board DVD or Blu-Ray player will entice families, while sporty vehicles can benefit from a radar detector.

Regular Checkups

Keep a log and proof of regular checkups and maintenance on your car in order to increase its value. If a buyer knows you’ve taken good care of your car, they’ll be willing to pay a higher price. Not only do regular checkups and simple maintenance such as oil changes and tire rotations help your car run better while you’re driving it, it also helps the vehicle maintain its value. Keep a good record of maintenance as it could make the difference between the price you’d like for the car, and much, much less.