Tips for Selling Your Used Car for Top Dollar

Over the next six months, gas prices in the United States are expected to rise to over five dollars per gallon, setting a new record for the cost of gas and making it more difficult for the average commuter to even afford to get to work. Because of these anticipated rises in gas prices, older used vehicles are now increasing in demand, because people want cars that can get more miles to the gallon.

Used cars are selling for rates that are well over blue book value, and not just in private sales. Even dealers are getting in on the action and paying out more for trade in value of used cars than they have in years.

If you are sitting on a used vehicle that you want to sell, you could be sitting on a gold mine!

Before you jump up and list your car for sale on craigslist, follow some of these tips to make sure that you get the very top dollar for your used vehicle.

Check out the blue book value of your vehicle. This can easily be done online. Simply have the information about the make, model, and year of your vehicle and find an online blue book estimator. Be honest about the condition of your vehicle when you plug the stats into the estimator to get the most accurate value of your vehicle.

Once you know how much your vehicle is valued at by the blue book standard, look online for vehicles that are similar to yours and see what they are selling for in your area. Consider contacting dealerships and see what they are selling your year, make, and model of vehicle for, and also what they are paying out for your year, make, and model.

Keep your maintenance current. The better you take care of your vehicle, the more likely that you will get a good amount of money for it on trade in. A routine oil change can potentially add thousands of dollars to the value of your car over time.

Fix the little things before you put it on the market. If your AC doesn’t work, fix it! If your windshield is cracked, replace it! If the tires are bad, change them! If you have body damage, find a Utah auto body shop and spruce it up! If the interior is dirty, clean it! If the cassette player doesn’t work…..well, upgrade to a CD player!