selling a car seems easy, right? you either take it down to the dealership and trade it in, or chuck it up on gumtree and wait for the money to roll in. in an ideal world, this is how it would go. but along the way, there are a whole bunch of pitfalls that we see people get caught in, all the time. the truth is, selling or trading-in a car isn’t as easy as it seems. you’ve got to navigate sneaky dealers and their tricks to get the price down on your car, and low-ballers on the internet who use similar tricks to grind you down on price. here are five common traps you need to avoid when selling a used car.

1. not knowing the value of the car

this is by far the biggest mistake that we see people make when selling their car. how can you sell something at the right price when you don’t know its value? this mistake can go one of two ways: you undervalue the car and give the dealer or buyer exactly what they want (a bargain), or you have an unrealistically high expectation of the value of the car, and it sits in your garage for months because nobody wants to pay that much for it. by talking to a car broker, you’ll be able to compare the price of your car against similar models on the market and set a fair price for it.

2. not crunching the numbers in a trade in

if you’re trading-in your car for an upgrade, there’s an old dealer trick you need to be aware of. the dealer will set a super low price for your new car, making you feel excited and positive. then, they’ll give you a super low price for your current car, to balance it out – or they’ll reverse this trick, starting with a high price for your current car followed by a high price for the new one. the dealer’s objective is to get your car for the lowest price, so you have to crunch the numbers separately and work out how much you’re actually receiving for your current car.

3. not cleaning the car

always present your car in a clean, respectable way, whether you’re taking photos of it for the internet, or taking it into a dealership. first impressions count, especially when there’s possibly hundreds of dollars on the line!

4. believing the dealer when he picks apart your car

dealers are expertly trained in picking apart cars and pointing out what’s ‘wrong’ with them. with some cars, they’ll genuinely need a bit of work before they can be resold, but most of the time, the dealer is just trying to screw you down on price. always get a second opinion from an expert – someone who’s in your corner!

5. not talking to an expert car broker like fingo

fingo are the team of car brokers who look after you when you’re selling your car. they work for you, not the dealership, and are driven to score you the best price for your car sale or trade-in. talk to the finance and brokerage specialists at fingo before you sell your car!

Fingo Finance