Tips for Selling a Car

By CrystalTmpLight (Guest Post)

In the first response back... it states that "you lose sales tax savings" when you sell yourself. Can anyone explain what this means?

I'm trying to sell a car and thought that tax is included in my final, bottom line price - therefore, not really having to do two steps... Price A = price of my car and then Price B = 6% on top of that.

I'm just trying to sell the car for one price, that's it. Am I missing something? Is there a sales tax payable when you go to the DMV to register it or something?

Any insights would be helpful
Thanks
C

Editor's Note: Sales tax is different in different areas. In our state the buyer pays sales tax to the DMV when they license the car. Make sure you check your state for laws with respect to selling a vehicle. Usually your state's website will have information about it or call the State's Attorney or Attorney General's office.

By nicky (Guest Post)

Cancel your insurance and it will cost you dearly unless you are a listed driver on another car insurance policy. You can call your agent and suspend most coverage leaving only a very small premium. You will go into the high risk pool if you have gaps in your coverage. If you are a busy professional forget about selling it yourself. Try a local used car dealer that accepts consignments. Also remember that you lose sales tax savings when you sell it yourself.If you do sell it yourself you must price to sell. So many people have unrealistic expectations.

By (Guest Post)

We've sold several cars outright and have NEVER paid to have them detailed! Do this yourself - you can give it a good cleaning and hose it under the hood. Put big FOR SALE signs in the front and back windows - recommend poster board so that they can easily be moved when driving it. Be sure and make your phone number big so people can easily see it! What we've done was make a list of what all the car had on it as well as parts that were recently replaced and taped it on the back window behind the driver's seat so people can see what year it is, engine size, transmission info., recent work done to it, etc. We have often parked it in a vacant parking lot near busy intersections and got some great results that way! Be careful that no signs prohibit you from parking there and that the businesses are CLOSED. It may take a few months to sell it, so having patience is also important. BTW, we never had any luck putting an ad in the paper.

By Terri H. (Guest Post)

Be sure to get everything out of your trunk, glovebox, and console. If your car needs a good vacuuming, do it. If it needs a bath, do it. No one will want to buy one looking trashy. You wouldn't want to buy one looking filthy. Have it looking like you'd like to buy one looking. Be sure you have the title to the car to give to the new owners & you have to sign it. Also, I'm not sure on each state's license plate rules. In our state, we keep our plates, to put on a new car we'll be purchasing after the old car is sold. If we're not purchasing a new car, we turn the old plates back in at the DMV. Check to see what the rules are in your state. Also, keep your insurance on your car, till after you sell it, then cancel it. You might be able to get a refund back from the insurance company.

By (Guest Post)

Check out Edmunds on the internet. It lists prices for cars based on options, mileage, etc. It also tells the tradein and retail values...you could show this to prospective buyers to show them your pricing guide. There are some other web sites too that you could probably find by doing a search.