by Keith C. Milne

Created on: November 05, 2008   Last Updated: November 16, 2008

So, you've finally decided to sell your car, congratulations! I know how hard it is for some people to make this choice. After all, many car owners have a real emotional attachment to their cars. I get it. The first time I sold my car, it felt like I was selling off a family member!

Now that you've made this decision, it's time to conduct a little research and information gathering. Doing so will help your determine a price, and assist you in choosing whether to sell it yourself, privately, or take it down to a local dealer for trade-in. The main advantage to selling your car privately is traditionally a higher selling price than what a dealer will give you for a trade-in.The main advantage to taking your car for trade-in is the simplicity of being able to accomplish both the sale of one vehicle and the purchase of a replacement, all in one place, and often in one visit. The main disadvantage to either choice are having to negotiate with strangers who will attempt to talk you down on your asking price however they can, leaving you vulnerable to accepting too low a price. To level the playing field, a little, easy research is called for. Don't worry, this "research" isn't hard or too time consuming, and will provide you with the information you'll need to effectively sell or trade in your car.

Begin by gathering all the information you can about your car. Write down what year your car was manufactured, the make (Ford, Toyota, etc.), and the model (Escort, Camry, etc.). Next take inventory of all the features of your car. For example, is it a two-door or four-door model? Does it have power steering, power brakes, manual or automatic transmission, or a rear-window defogger? Make a note of all the features. If you bought the car new, perhaps you still may still have the sticker that was on the car when you bought it filed away. If so use it. After you make a list of the cars basic features, move on to the ones that are options. Does your car have features such as an in-dash CD player, air conditioning, leather seats, seat warmers, custom wheels, sun or moon roof, custom paint? These and other, similar, features will only help to add value and boost the potential sale price. Once your list is complete, take a really close look at the cars interior and exterior condition. Are there a lot of scratches or dings on the doors? Rust anywhere on the body? How much tread do the tires have? How about the interior? Are there any tears in the seats? How about that milk shake

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