Ways to increase the resale value of your car

Every experienced car enthusiast with a long history who has resold not a few cars in his life knows perfectly well a few tricks and ways to get the highest price when selling his already used car. Here are the easy steps to get the highest resale value for your car.

First, let’s make sure that you have a used car in working order and on the go. This is the most important condition – because if the car is on the go and does not have any serious breakdowns, only such a car you can sell at the highest possible price.

If you only plan to sell your car in a few years, it is in your best interest to start saving the value of your car now.

These tips will help you maximize the price of your car when reselling it:

1. Vacuum and clean the salon thoroughly.

One of the most important (and often overlooked) aspects of your car is the overall condition and cleanliness of the interior. The appearance of the interior is crucial when it comes to a favorable first impression on potential buyers.

Here are the 4 steps to follow:

• Get all the things that belong to you out of the car. Including any garbage on the floor and in the trunk, air fresheners, anything that hangs from the rearview mirror, etc.
• Vacuum all fabric or carpeting, and even under the mats. Remove the nozzle from the vacuum cleaner and use only the pipe.
• Wipe all surfaces with a rag. If you want to do this correctly, use some interior cleaner from your local car dealership. Most of these cleaners will make all of your plastic surfaces look as good as new.
• Clean the windows from the inside and outside. Use a glass cleaner and glass cleaning cloth to get rid of fingerprints or stains that accumulate on the inside of windows.

Once you have completed the above steps, your car interior should look and smell much better than before.

2. Full external car wash and parts

Once you have cleaned the interior, it makes sense to move on and wash your car completely outside. This may seem obvious, but there is a difference between a bucket of rags and a thorough and detailed wash.

• First, before closing the doors, wipe the painted surfaces around the door openings. These areas that the outside sink does not reach and are often overlooked, but are very visible when the door is open.
• Pour a hose over your car to soften any dried up dirt on the paint.
• Wash your car with car wash solution and a good sponge. Car wash solution is radically different from dishwashing liquid, so use the right solution for the best results.
• Wipe the car with a dry cloth, if possible, as this reduces the chance that the window glass and paintwork will dry out.
• If your car has been polished recently, do it again anyway. Even if your car’s paintwork looks good at this stage, you can always benefit from the extra shine.
• Open the hood and clean everything there. Many cars these days use plastic covers and components in the engine compartment.

3. Give the wheels and tires of your car some love

Wheels and tyres are major factors when it comes to how good a car looks. Cars that are not careful will often have dirty wheels with lots of dust, brake wear particles, missing valve caps and the like.

• Start by washing the wheels. Thoroughly wash the front (visible) tyre surface. Make sure you remove as much dirt and dust as possible, even in small, inaccessible areas.
• Dry the wheels and wipe with a dry cloth and see how they look clean. If the wheels have minor scratches, you can try polishing them.
• Check the tire tread. If your tires have low tread, it may be worth replacing them to make your customers happy. After all, worn tires are another reason that buyers may use them to lower the selling price.
• Apply some tire ink. Buy a jar of cheap tire ink from your local car dealership and spray it on the sidewall of your tires.

4. Check for malfunctions

The goal here is to remove the reasons why a buyer can beat you at price. If your car has some obvious malfunction or problem, the buyer will use it to their advantage in an attempt to negotiate a lower selling price.

Likewise, if the appearance of your car is flawlessly clean, except for some damage to the front bumper, it may be worth getting it repaired by a workshop. Small dents can be repaired, missing exterior trim or faded rear lights can be replaced.

5. Contact a car dealer for service

If you know it’s time for your car to be serviced, find out how much it will cost. For just a few hundred rubles it will give potential buyers the peace of mind that you really care about the vehicle, and it will even help to fix some minor problems, such as rough engine idling.

6. Take good pictures for the announcement

After all, good quality photos sell cars, so it makes sense to make them many when your car is clean and looks almost new.

Make sure that you take pictures from all sides so that customers can get a good idea of the condition of the car, as well as some internal photos that show the dashboard, seats (front and back) and any other details that you would like to highlight.

It is also important to take your time and make as complete a description as possible about your car as possible, including remarkable features and give a detailed overview of the condition and be sure to write down why you are selling it.