How do I sell my car for the best price?

Negotiating is frequently the toughest part of selling a car.

Some people are born negotiators, but if you’re not one of them, ask someone you trust to ensure the buyer doesn’t take advantage of your inexperience or reticence.

But if you are ready to have a crack at it, advertise the car at a price allowing room to haggle, but not so high that buyers won’t even enquire. Research the market first.

A seasoned buyer will tell you everything wrong with your car. Be prepared for this. The buyer will adopt a bargaining position exploiting every advantage, whether it’s the car’s condition, colour, specification or features that aren’t fitted.

Slow the buyer down. Defend your car, but do so with a smile. The last thing you want is to antagonise the buyer. Remember though that it’s a good car; otherwise the buyer wouldn’t be negotiating with you to buy it.

Address the buyer’s objections with your own answers before you begin to discuss price. Here are some replies for neutralising objections from buyers if the car looks a bit rough, is the wrong colour, has a high odometer reading or doesn’t have all the options the buyer wants:

• ‘It’s very straight’,
• ‘It’s in [very] good condition for its age’,
• ‘It’s tip-top mechanically and has been serviced regularly’,
• ‘It’s an honest family car’,
• ‘It’s a good colour for visibility/safety/low maintenance/heat-reflecting properties’,
• ‘It’s a country car that has led an easy life’,
• ‘It would cost a lot more with all of those features fitted’.

If talks stall at that point, mention to the buyer that you could ‘move a little bit’ on price, but ‘not too much’. Hopefully that will prompt him or her to make an offer. Always leave it to the buyer to make the first counter offer.

If the buyer threatens to walk away from the haggling, this is where you have to make a decision. Are there plenty of other fish in the sea, or do you need to keep this particular fish on the hook? Also, just how urgently do you need to sell the car?

You can justifiably tell the buyer that the car has only been listed a few days and you’d like time for other buyers to inspect the vehicle as well.

But if the car has been listed much longer and you’ve had no other bites, you can tell them that you can’t afford to let the car go at that price, but you’re still open to a lower price. If you’re too far apart on price, that’s where the discussion may end – without a sale.

You need to signal to the buyer when you are near the end of your negotiations and cannot afford to go any lower on price. That’s when you tell them that your latest price offer is ‘firm’ and/or ‘final’. Once you’ve used those words, stick with that price.

And finish the job with a handshake (or some covid-approved gesture). Good fishing...