Preparing Your Car for Sale

How to get the highest price for your used vehicle

Steve Temple / autoMedia.com

As Neil Sedaka once crooned (remember him—), breaking up is hard to do, but when it comes car ownership, nothing lasts forever. Sentimentality aside, you may be dying to get rid of that old beast anyway, and want to get as much money as possible for it. What sort of things should you do before slapping on a "For Sale" sign and running an ad in the "Auto Trader"?

Looks Matter

Spiffing up the appearance is an obvious step. Put yourself in the shoes of the buyer: Who would want to buy an old, ugly car when they could get one that looks fresh and (relatively) new? Impress yourself by giving the vehicle a real shine, inside and out. We'll give you a few specific tips below.

Once it's looking sharp again, don't get attached to your "good as new" car. You've got to stay calm and detached about your decision to sell. "De-personalizing" the vehicle can help. You'll need to remove all bumper stickers, plush toys and bobble-heads, and anything else that might clutter up the look. In most cases the car should look as close to factory-stock as possible (unless it's a sports car or 4x4 for off-road driving, in which case the performance and appearance parts obviously enhance the value).

Mechanically, the vehicle should be as sound as possible. You may have to fix it to sell it, but don't go overboard trying to make everything perfect. Just good running condition should be sufficient, with a tune-up, new filters and an oil change. Here's a quick checklist to help you remember what to do:

Exterior

Wash and wax the finish. You may need to use a paint restorer that puts back some color and/or removes oxidation (that chalky look). Clean the wheels thoroughly and use a dressing on the tires.