Sell Your Car
Tips on selling
your car quickly and safely
- Prepare your car for sale by removing your
personal belongings and addressing any issues that would deter potential buyers.
Body work, mechanical issues etc.
- Thoroughly clean your car and shampoo the
interior and the engine and have it buffed and polished so that the car not
only shows in it’s best light, but also because it becomes easier for the buyer
to asses it’s condition.
- Advertise your vehicle, making sure to include a
lot of pictures and any pertinent details that could affect the buyers
purchasing decision. This will help minimize wasting your time by addressing
questions that are certain to come up.
- Carefully screen any callers that are interested
in coming out to inspect your vehicle. This will help minimize any prospective
buyers who take up a lot of your time, only to make unreasonably low offers.
Find out whether they will be requiring time to find financing and whether the
car would be for them selves and if they are in a position to make a buying decision.
- Avoid inviting people to your home, instead
arrange to meet them in a public place, like a gas station or shopping mall.
- Before agreeing to a test drive, have a look at
their Driver’s License noting the expiry date to confirm it is valid. Have a
good look at the picture and confirm that the bearer is the same person
presenting the license. Take a picture of the driver’s license and email it to yourself
or a friend. Try and check a second document i.e. insurance slip, vehicle
ownership etc. to confirm identity.
- Be sure to accompany them on the test drive and
choose a route yourself through populated areas.
If the prospective buyer would like to proceed
and would like to leave a deposit, write up a receipt including the following;
- Date
- Name of the buyer
- Name of the seller
- Vehicle Year, Make, Model, colour & V.I.N.
- The total amount and how it is to be paid (certified
funds, currency etc.)
- The amount of the deposit and how it was paid
- Whether the price includes safety certification and
emissions testing
- When the transaction is to be completed by and the consequences
of not complying with the contract
- Similarly, complete another receipt when vehicle is to
be picked up.
- When the deal is being finalized, ideally meet
the buyer at the MTO office and make certain it is transferred to their name.
At the very least complete the transfer of ownership section on the back of the
registration.
- Refuse any unusual requests such as the
prospective buyer forwarding you funds and subsequently shipping the car. Also
be aware of wire transfer fraud.
If the idea of selling
your car privately is not appealing due to time constraints or the effort
required or if you would like to take advantage of the tax benefit of trading
in your vehicle, contact Icon Autosport. We are always on the look out for
quality pre-owned vehicles and we also receive a lot of requests from our
customers for winter vehicles and vehicles for their kids, so we may already
have someone looking for your vehicle.