How to sell a car

I'm taking a lease on a brand new car in a couple of weeks, which leaves me with the problem of getting rid of my current car... an R-reg Subaru Forester.  (God, im going to miss those lovely heated seats!  :\\\'( )

In the past, I've always used my old car as part-exchange for the newer car, which has eliminated the need to try and sell it.

But the lease company are only offering me a pittance p/x, so i guess i will need to sell it myself.  I need to get as much £ for it as possible, in order to help make the lease payments on the new car.

Anyone got any ideas on what's the easiest/best way of achieving the most money for the least effort? 

Have you looked into posting it on http://www.autotrader.co.uk/, not sure of the costs but it will allow tons of people to see it online.

We are looking to buy a car and think its a great site. Check it out...it may be a good idea (depending on the costs, of course).

Best of luck!

Hiya

autotrader I think gets the most views. Check out the costs of their paper version as well - I think they do a deal where your car sits in print and on the web as well.

In addition have a little hunt around and list your car on

1. Exchange & Mart - online as well, also their deal is that it sits there till it's sold (I think!)

2. Loot.com - and online - check their deals out
3. Gumtree.com - your local one of course
4. List it on Subaru forums - plenty of enthusiasts of the brand visit those, so you might get a sale out of it
5. Ebay - relatively easy to do as well. (although was it yourself who hated ebay? I cant remember!)

6. Local freeby ads in the newspaper
7. Stick some well printed 'For Sale' bits of paper in the windows, with a prominent price and phone number of course
8. When it's parked, can it be in such a place that passing motorists can see its for sale?
9. P/ex it for a runabout/scooter/smart car or something?
10. dump it somewhere, say it got nicked and claim the insurance?! - not really! DONT do that!

hope this helps!

DtM! West London & Slough UK!

Autotrader or Adtrader, definitely!

Autotrader is good. We bought our Landrover from an add in Autotrader.

I didnt ask the question correctly, cos i didnt really mean 'wheres the best place to advertise it', but more like... what to do once i have advertised it!   I know that sounds daft... i dont even know what i mean!  Paperwork, etc, i guess.

However, those of you that pointed me to Autotrader,... thanks!
There is a whole section on the website about how to sell... from start to finish.  Lots of great info there.

Thanks!

Once you sell it, fill in the details on the V5 registration document. The buyer keeps the new keeper supplement, you post the rest off to the DVLA. Job done !

After you send in the V5 with the new keeper's details, you should receive a letter back from DVLA within a few weeks confirming the transfer.   They only started doing this a few years ago, after complaints about transfers not being properly registered.  It's important to chase this up if you don't receive the confirmation, because if the name/address change is not made you will be the one to receive the threatening letters if the new owner happens to get caught for speeding, illegal parking, etc.

Also, make sure you give the current MoT inspection certificate to the buyer, although he's bound to check that anyway.

With regard to the vehicle license (tax disc), you have two options.  The license is specific to the car and can stay with it for the sale, in which case you would probably want to allow for how much time it has left to run in the asking price (more significant for low-cost cars, of course).   

If you think the car is going to stand a while before it sells, then you can send the license back to DVLA with the appropriate form and get a refund for the unused portion.  The one drawback to doing this is that it would then be illegal to take it for a test drive without the license.  (Also, only legal if the car is parked on private property, not on a public road.)

If someone wants to test drive it, will they expect to be able to take it out on the road by themselves, or will they expect me to go along with them?

The test drives we have been on, the seller came along in the car with us.  There wasn't a question - they just did as if that's assumed.

i've always bought from dealers before, and they let me take the car off on the test drive by myself.
I wasnt sure how it worked in private sales, but i feel very uncomfortable about letting some stranger drive my car away, so i definitely want to accompany them!

Yes, on a private deal it would be normal for you to ride along with the potential buyer, unless it was a friend, neighbor, somebody else you already knew well enough, etc.

Be aware that even though the buyer will most likely be insured to drive your car under his own policy with regard to legally mandated liability cover, there won't be any comprehensive cover in place if he should happen to damage it during the trial (unless you have comprehensive cover for any driver yourself).