How to sell a car through a classifieds site

Thanks to affordable and convenient classifieds sites, selling a car today is not so difficult. But to do this with maximum benefit, you need to know some subtleties. Auto 24 has prepared a small instruction on this matter.

Online car sales sites make it much easier to buy and sell a car. But the great popularity of ad sites in Ukraine creates certain difficulties for the seller – a lot of cars are sold (for example, on one of the most popular resources among buyers, OLX.ua, there are more than 100,000 car offers at the same time). Therefore, the ad must be presented in such a way that the potential buyer pays attention to your car.

By successfully choosing an ad site and correctly compiling the text and photo selection, you can significantly increase your chance to sell the car for a good price.

Prepare the car

Wash the car and clean the interior. Wipe all components under the hood, restore the level of working fluids. It often makes sense to spend money on replacing parts that have signs of aging – pipes, hoses, wires. Chips and deep scratches on the body are very desirable to tint with a thin brush or even a toothpick. Yes, traces of such a repair will be noticeable, but it is better to let them be visible than bare metal at the bottom of the “through” damage to the paintwork.

Washing a used car engine with a high-pressure jet is risky, but you can bring beauty to the engine with rags and cosmetic preparations.

Professional (so-called deep) polishing noticeably “updates” the car, but it is cost-effective only for expensive cars. Instead, a simple model can be rubbed with wax polish yourself, and the effect will be no worse, albeit not as long.

Of course, the less faulty systems under the hood and servos in the cabin are in the car, the more buyers will like it. Therefore, it will often be reasonable to eliminate those problems that do not require large expenditures, but are immediately noticeable: “loose” chassis, squeaking brakes, clicks and hum of the transmission, etc.

Private dealers and business users can post up to five free publications on the OLX Auto bulletin board. OLX Ukraine is part of a large multinational holding Naspers | Prosus. These are the largest private and business classifieds sites in their countries. The Ukrainian site is already 15 years old.

Consider negotiating with buyers

It is very important to immediately position your car in one of the images acceptable to buyers. A person must understand what role the car played in your family, and why you decided to sell it. It is not necessary to present it as a textbook car, in which “the old woman only went to church on Sundays.” Feel free to show it as a tireless workhorse (this will still become clear upon inspection) – but emphasize that the car was taken care of and carefully looked after.

To sell a car at a good price, you should think over the main provisions of your “presentation” in front of potential buyers in advance.

The reason for the sale, which is often asked over the phone, must be real, because if the buyer suspects falseness here, then they will no longer believe your other statements. And this will at least affect the result of the auction and the final price, otherwise it will disrupt the deal altogether.

To emphasize your careful attitude to the car, you can show receipts from a reputable service station and the store where you bought high-quality spare parts. Even if the buyer does not read them thoroughly, the very fact of the presence of these papers often makes an impression.

Prepare your ad text

Imagine a generalized portrait of your buyer and, accordingly, emphasize certain advantages of your product – both in text and in a photo. For example, young people often pay attention to engine power, “titanium” wheels and audio system. Respectable middle-aged motorists want a car after a careful owner, and wealthy, business people will not waste time reading your verbose revelations in an ad.

Fill out the standard questionnaire of car characteristics on the classifieds website without any gaps. In the text part, add details that are important for the buyer: repairs, accidents, operating conditions, etc.

If a costly repair has recently been made, mention it. In any case, the text should be clear, consistent, not confusing. If this is a problem for you, focus on the standard “questionnaire” on the car, which some classifieds sites offer to fill out. For example, on the same OLX, it is so detailed that it allows you to get an impression of the car without reading the “Description”.

Organize a photo session

By what gets in the photo, the buyer can understand a lot, including subconsciously – for example, not only important nuances of the car’s condition, but also your attitude towards it. The car should be clean on the outside and not cluttered on the inside; it’s better to choose a background not in old garages or a car wash, but in a neat neutral location. To emphasize the good condition, add frames of weak points for this model, which you have preserved “ideally”.

A real buyer will definitely inspect the car “in real life”, but meaningful photos from favorable angles will help to lure him to view and negotiate.

You should not mask the damage, but it is also not necessary to expose them immediately on the first photos: you should first attract the buyer with a positive, and then tell him about some shortcomings.

Keep in mind that excessive marathon can work against you. Tires glossy with silicone, an engine rubbed with polishes, a dashboard and a steering wheel under a layer of wax, experienced buyers often give the impression that the car was “decorated” intentionally for sale, but in real life it was treated in the opposite way – that is, carelessly. The quality of the photo on the leading ad sites allows you to notice these nuances. That is, everything in moderation.

Place an ad

To place your ad, you need to create your own account on the leading Internet sites. This takes literally two or three minutes, but promises the buyer and seller more security and protection against fraudulent activities.

Also, your own page on the ad site adds convenience to you when correcting the ad in the future and expands the circle of site users who are guaranteed to see your ad.

It’s good when the ad site allows you to make the title long enough: you can enter an advertising element into it. The first photo matters a lot.

Be honest with a potential buyer – it will be better if you sell your car to him, and if you do not get a deal with him. Let us remind ourselves that one’s own good name is more valuable than any currency plus to the price. And if the car has flaws that significantly affect its market attractiveness, then try to eliminate them – if not completely, then partially.