Sell used cars
The market for used cars is flourishing in Germany, and private sellers have several sales options at their disposal. If, for various reasons, you do not want to sell the old vehicle directly to a private individual, you can still choose from online portals and car dealerships/dealers.
As a rule, the sales prices that can be achieved here are not as high as would be the case with direct sales from private to private, but the seller has less work and more security with these variants.
But which way can the used car be sold more lucratively and what should be considered when presenting and selling it? In the following, the sales variants, online portal and car dealership, are compared with each other and what the seller has to consider is shown.
Sale through online portal
With both variants, the most important thing is the correct presentation of the vehicle, especially with the online portal, a small additional effort and small tricks can push the sales price up.
To make it as easy as possible for potential buyers to find the vehicle on offer using the online portal’s search function, all the filters on offer must be used, which means that a detailed data sheet must be created for the car. Because the more frequently the vehicle appears after a search query, the more purchase inquiries will follow. Since online brokers have a very large range of used cars, many potential buyers lose interest in a vehicle if the vehicle data is incomplete.
Accordingly, the seller should take all vehicle-related information from the vehicle registration document, equipment features can be found in the original purchase contract. Information such as the mileage, color and price are also given here by the seller.
Information about additional services such as “Winter tires included” can also be listed. But defects and accidental damage must also be declared by the seller.
In order to set a realistic price, the sales price should be compared to comparable cars. In addition, it is advisable to set the price in the portal a little higher in order to leave room for negotiations. In addition, most sales portals charge a fee that is based on a percentage of the sales price.
Anyone who sells privately via an online platform must also draw up a purchase contract in order to be able to protect themselves against unlawful claims, for example. Various sample contracts are available for printing on the ADAC website.
So if you don’t shy away from a little extra effort and follow all these steps, you can achieve very good sales prices in the online portal. It can also be worthwhile if you can sell independently of time. Anyone who is not dependent on quick money can usually achieve better sales prices with a little patience.
Sale to a car dealer
Anyone who turns to a car dealer to sell their own used car usually saves a lot of work. Vehicle information does not have to be entered and the car is also presented on site. In addition, the car can also be sold much faster this way than via online portals. Many dealers buy the vehicle directly.
But with a professional car dealer, the seller has significantly less room for negotiation and determination than with sales via online portals. The dealer inspects the vehicle on the spot and quotes a price he is willing to pay. Although the retailer also leaves room here to make negotiations possible, as a rule no price is achieved here that would correspond to the level of online sales to private individuals.
Accordingly, selling to a dealer is less worthwhile in terms of price. On the other hand, the trade involves less effort for the seller, he does not have to advertise the car himself and does not have to arrange an appointment with an unknown private person to complete the purchase. The car dealership thus offers more security and a professional contractual partner. Accordingly, the dealer also draws up the purchase contract and thus saves the seller additional effort.
Therefore, selling to a dealer is worthwhile for those who can accept cuts in the sales price and want to save themselves a certain amount of effort. The sale to a car dealership can also be completed within a few days.
Henry Ely / Editor finanzen.net
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