There are many ways to sell a car for free. Whether you go online or use traditional methods, selling a car doesn’t mean that you need to spend a lot to prep the car for sale. But it would also be wrong to think that you don’t need to spend a cent to sell a car for free. You need to clean the car, repair minor mechanical faults and then take pictures of the car after. You will also want to make photocopies of any service records and receipts you may have for the car.
Some ways to sell a car for free include putting for sale signs on the car, parking the vehicle in a public place, advertising in a free newspaper and using an online site that offers ads to sell a car for free. There are dozens of free online selling sites, but look at the terms and conditions before posting your free ad. Some of these sites allow only a single picture for the ad and will limit the descriptions to a couple of sentences or a specific number of characters. This is done in the hope that you will opt for the site’s paid service, which would allow you to upload more pictures, provides space for a more descriptive ad and keeps the ad indefinitely until the car is sold. Note that social networks and consumer and car forums are also online venues where you can sell a car for free.
Whatever venue you use, you must ensure that the vehicle’s major systems and components are in proper working order. Replace burned out lights and fuses, top off all fluids and remove any rattles that a prospective buyer may notice when he takes the car out for a test drive. Be prepared to make prospective buyers aware of any issues that can be a stumbling block towards closing a deal. Being transparent helps dispel doubts from the buyer. Offer to show the car’s history, sell used car maintenance records and receipts even before the buyer asks for it.
Don’t use only the well-known sites when looking to sell a car for free. Sometimes, smaller sites appear higher up in search engine results because of the way the search providers decide which sites should rank higher. Mixing the large and small sites should provide the optimum exposure for your ad. Since free sites normally limit the number sentences you can use, remember to employ words or phrases that best describe the car you are selling. Think of what a buyer looking for a car like yours would use when doing a search. Those relevant words or phrases will be very important in influencing the results that will make your car appear in the first few pages of the search engine.