Sell My Car

Why Sell Your Car to a Dealership?

When you’re ready to sell your car, it might be tempting to list it on a site like Craigslist and see what you can get for it. But you’ll likely find that going this route opens you up to plenty of fake offers and even scams. There’s a reason so many people trust us when they’re ready to sell their car. Going through a dealership comes with certain safeties and a reliable process that going it alone simply doesn’t offer.

For starters, you won’t need to wait until a buyer comes along. Listing your car on your own could mean waiting weeks or months before somebody makes you an offer. Most dealerships are eager to get more used cars on their lot and are ready to make you an offer at any time. Selling your car solo is also a lot of work. Between listing it on several sites, fielding phone calls, making sure the details are correct, and offering test drives, you’ll give up a lot of time to sell it, and your time is valuable. Selling to a dealership is a quick process that lets you get back to your life sooner.

Another benefit of going through a dealership is that they’ll handle the difficult paperwork for you. Transferring ownership of a car is a tricky business, and you want to be sure to get it right. Dealerships know just how to handle this part of the process and will take it on for you. There are also certain protections in place at a dealership. Once they’ve taken you through the steps of verifying that your car is ready for sale, you’re free and clear of it. However, when you sell to an individual, you don’t get such a clean break. If they think there’s a problem with the car after they buy it, they could come after you for money or even involve you in a legal battle.

All in all, there is a level of professionalism and a dependable system in place when you go through a dealership. This can offer great peace of mind during a typically stressful process.

What Do You Need to Do Before You Sell Your Car?

There are some tips for selling your car that are important if you’re doing it alone, like being careful about protecting your personal information, only meeting potential buyers at reputable mechanics and looking into ways to advertise your vehicle. Luckily, if you go through a dealership, a lot of those more gray areas aren’t your problem. Selling a car on your own requires great attention to detail and being on high alert. Going through a dealership is a calmer process. However, there are still some things you’ll want to do before selling your car, even to a dealership.

If you hope to get top dollar for your car, it’s a good idea to fix any small issues before putting it up for sale. So things like cracked windshields, small dents, broken door levers, or malfunctioning windshield wipers should be fixed in advance. If you don’t want to do those things or can’t afford to, you can sell the car “as is,” but know you won’t get as much money for it as you would if you’d fixed it.

Finally, you’ll want to get a pre-purchase inspection. Many dealerships can do this for you. And while it might cost you a bit extra, it’s a good idea because it gives you, the seller, and a potential buyer a recent look at the car’s health. Almost any buyer will want to see a pre-purchase inspection report before purchasing a used vehicle.

What Paperwork Do You Need?

When you’re ready to sell your car, you’ll need a paper trail you can show potential buyers. This involves the title (to prove that it’s yours), information on the current loan if you still owe money on it, service records (which will show things like oil changes, services, and regular maintenance), and the vehicle report history. That last piece of paperwork is so that potential buyers can know if the car has been in any accidents. If it has been, be prepared to answer any questions buyers might have about how the accident impacted the health of the vehicle.

It’s a good idea to get a CARFAX report. It doesn't cost much, and once you have it, you can show it to any potential buyer. CARFAX is one of the more trusted names in vehicle report companies, so showing one of these reports to buyers can give them peace of mind. However, there are other companies that can do accident reports as well.

Really, you don't need a lot of paperwork when bringing in your car to sell to a dealership like us. The paperwork is a little more involved if you are selling the vehicle privately because you will have to create things like a bill of sale, which is why selling to a dealership is ideal. Likewise, when you sell, be sure to get paperwork surrounding the sale, too. Whether you take cash, check, or use it as a trade-in, be sure to create a receipt to document the sale.

Sell Your Car to Raceway Chevrolet