Top tips for selling luxury used cars

Top tips for selling luxury used cars

Posted on December 3, 2021

Looking to change up your car? Sell your weekend runabout? Need to upsize or downsize? Selling a luxury used car is like selling any other type of car, just with a few differences.

It’s those differences we’ll talk about today.

You could sell your car to a dealership for cash within a couple of hours and get paid into your bank. Or you could sell privately, your call.

This post deals with the latter.

Get the car valeted

We always recommend cleaning the car when you’re planning to sell it. But, at the higher end, you’ll need more than that. A full detail or valet to make sure the car looks amazing both inside and out.

When people are paying more, they expect more too and that’s true even for something a simple as a car clean.

A new buyer will want no trace of the former keeper and a valet or full detail will deliver that.

Have the car serviced

Selling a car is all about making lifer as easy for the buyer as possible. That means giving them nothing to do when they buy your car except enjoy the experience.

So, have your car serviced before you list it. This reassures buyers that anything major will have been taken care of and it’s another stamp in the book. Any potential issues may have been identified too, removing some of the risk.

Have the car valued

We tend to suggest valuing your car using like for like comparisons at Carfax, Kelley Blue Book, Auto Trader, eBay, Craigslist and Kijiji. That may not work for luxury models or something exotic.

It will work if there are enough examples of your car on those marketplaces to come up with an accurate figure. Otherwise, get your car valued professionally before you list it.

List it appropriately

Be conscious of where you list your car and select marketplaces where the target market would naturally look for a car like yours.

For example, you don’t see many Ferraris on eBay or Lamborghinis on Craigslist. Advertise where your type of car is advertised so you stand a much higher chance of getting a sale.

Make sure any test driver is fully insured

Test drives are an essential part of the car buying process. A car may look amazing on paper but if it doesn’t feel good when driving, the decision is made for you.

As you’re probably dealing in a lot of money, make sure anyone wanting a test drive has adequate insurance. Otherwise, they are going to have to test drive as the passenger!

Be willing to negotiate

Even though money may be less of an issue at your end of the car market, buyers will want a good deal. Once you have a valuation for your car, don’t take that as the price you’ll get.

Values are fluid and subject to market forces. A car is only worth what someone will pay for it, so never take that value as concrete and be willing to negotiate.

That doesn’t mean automatically accepting a low offer, but be willing to enter into negotiations in good faith. There is always a middle ground to be found, so it’s your job to help find it.

Alternatively, sell your luxury car to our dealership and we’ll pay direct into your bank in cash!

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