How do I meet a potential buyer for my car?

Location, location, location. It's not just an important factor for real estate vendors, it's also an important consideration for anyone selling a car.

When selling a car, vehicle preparation – roadworthy certificate and detailing, et cetera – is essential. And you should always list the car for sale with your mobile number rather than a landline. It will make it easier for the prospective buyer to contact you and arrange the inspection/test drive.

But it's also essential to establish for yourself where the car will be located for inspection and whether you'll be looking after your own negotiations. These two critical aspects of selling a car are frequently overlooked by owners.

If you are selling a car that's highly collectible – and a possible target for thieves and con artists – perhaps you'd better arrange the first inspection in a public place, at a time of day when there are plenty of witnesses around. Close to a police station would be ideal, we reckon.

For a vehicle that's much more mundane, a typical family hack or a shopping basket, like a Commodore Berlina or a Corolla Ascent, you want the car located as close as possible to the action. That means at home, if home is within 20km of a major population centre. If you live in Cranbourne or Campbelltown, why not ask a friend or family member living closer to the city to house your car for the period it's on sale?

But don't leave it to the custodian of your car to hand out the key to a prospective buyer or enter into negotiations. You really need to be on hand to meet the buyer, even if it means a 30km drive through peak-hour traffic.

When you meet the buyer for the first time, be pleasant and receptive, but don't be a push-over. You want to sell your car, not give it away.

It goes without saying that you should accompany the prospective buyer on the test drive. Answer legitimate questions to the best of your ability, but if the buyer begins to tell you everything that's wrong with the car, recognise that he or she is setting up a negotiating position. It's best to remain non-committal during the test drive, answering each point with 'uh-huh' or 'really?' or some other meaningless phrase.

Don't be drawn into defending the car on the spot. You'll just sound desperate and it will place you mentally on the back foot, handing the advantage to the buyer.

If the buyer insists you remain behind while the buyer and his or her mates take the car for a test drive, you insist right back that the buyer leaves his or her driving licence AND keys to his or her own car. Don't hand over the key to your car unless you are completely confident that the buyer is honest and has left something of value as a token of good faith.

Serious buyers will take the car for a drive, come back and tell you immediately that it has X, Y or Z problems, or it's not really what they were after. This is an opening gambit. They may expect you to drop the price right away. Whether you do lower the price or not, they'll tell you they need time to think about it and they'll get back to you.

This studied indifference is intended to make you, the seller, feel insecure and uncertain. You may be tempted to offer them an even lower price to keep them from driving away. Don't.

Tell them you're open to negotiation, but really need to hear a credible offer.

If they want the car, they'll stick around anyway. If they have truly decided against it after a test drive, no amount of begging will change their mind. The longer the buyer can drag out negotiations the closer they'll get to the price they want to pay for your car.

What you want, in contrast, is a sum of money that's close to the original asking price. Negotiations like these can literally drag out for weeks, if there's only one serious buyer for your car. So dig in for the long haul.

Buyers will rush to seal a deal if they think you can be quickly haggled down to a very good price (for them). Or they'll keep you dangling forever if the long game is more likely to wear you down. If they're practising the former tactic, slow them down.

If the car has only been listed for sale at carsales.com.au within the past week, you can always tell the prospective buyer that you want to wait a little while in case a better offer comes along. That will send a clear message to the buyer that you're not going to slash the price of your car at the first whiff of a genuine offer.

If the buyer seems indecisive and is taking an unreasonable length of time to commit to the sale, he or she may be waiting for you to cave in to their demand for an unrealistically low offer. If you don't have any other prospective buyers on the horizon you have to decide – are you desperate to sell the car, even at that price, or will you hold on weeks more for a better deal?

Whatever you decide, you can always inform the prospective buyer that others are interested in purchasing the car, provided that's true. There's no point telling the prospective buyer a lie if the car then remains listed for sale over another month or two.

Always set yourself the lowest price that's acceptable for your car... and don't go below that. You can walk away from an offer, just as the buyer can walk away if he or she thinks you're being unreasonable. Stay calm, don't become angry or scared, but be persistent, if you think you should stick to your guns.

Know your car well and question why someone is telling you it's not the right car for them when it is exactly as it was advertised online. On that point, ensure the relevant details for your car are as accurate as possible. Ask a knowledgeable friend to help with checking the listing and have it double-checked.

For owners who shrink with fear at the thought of negotiating a price for a car – either buying or selling – ask a friend to help if that friend is assertive, has some experience haggling and knows your car well enough to recognise when a prospective buyer is trying to pull the wool over your eyes.

Selling a car can be confronting for many people, but no one should complete a sale feeling like they would never willingly go through the process again. Preparation will help you sell your car easily, for the sort of money it's worth.

Don't defend your position to the point of fisticuffs though. Be friendly but assertive once the negotiations commence. Naked aggression will get you nowhere.

• Select the location for your car that best suits your needs,
• Check the bona fides of prospective buyers (a peek at their driver's licence),
• Ask friends or family members to help you with selling the car,
• Ask others for advice in regard to selling the car,
• Set a 'floor' price for your car,
• Don't be manoeuvred to accept a lower price than your 'floor',
• Be polite and friendly but firm when dealing with a prospective buyer,
• Be aware of negotiating tactics designed to put you off your game,
• The buyer is NOT doing you a favour by relieving you of your car,
• Take care not to appear aggressive or defensive,
• Always be true to your word; don't tell the buyer someone else is sniffing around if that's not the case,
• Walk away from any offer that doesn't suit you.