by George Platanitis

Created on: September 23, 2008   Last Updated: October 07, 2008

After many years of service to you, you have decided to part with your old automobile in favour of a new one. Naturally, if you bought the vehicle outright and you want to offer it as a trade-in at the dealership or try to get more value for it by selling it in private, there are many things you can do to ensure that you get the most value for it.

The first place you can look to determine the expected value of your particular model is Kelley Blue book (www.kbb.com) if you live in the US, or Canada Black Book if you live in Canada (also available are Canada Green Book for private sales, and Canada Red Book for used retail value). The values given are based on the age and condition of your car. Kelley Blue Book gives three price levels which can be used as a guide for trade-in and wholesale:

Excellent - vehicle needs to be like new, excellent working order, and hardly a scratch should be present.
Good - the odd scratch may be present, but the car needs to be mechanically fit (only minor repairs needed).
Fair - vehicle needs some level of maintenance to ensure mechanical fitness; may have scratches and dings, but should not have been in a serious accident.

Based on these facts, what can you do to ensure maximum value for your vehicle? First, make sure you are up-to-date on all required maintenance and servicing. Second, replace worn out components such as seatbelts, wipers, etc. inside the car. Third, replace tires if tread is close to or below legal limit, and make sure items such as brakes have a lot of wear to go. Fourth, verify that all other safety components are functional, and any other components as well, replacing/repairing as needed. Finally, give your car a good cleaning and touch up any scratches where feasible. After all, you would like your car to be in the best condition possible when you go to put it up on the market.

The above tips should provide one with a good starting point for bringing the vehicle into salable condition.

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