Advice for selling your car.

If you're thinking about selling your car when your current car insurance policy expires, car insurance company comparethemarket.com would like to offer you a few simple tips that could save you both time and money.
 
Selling your car can take longer than you might expect, if you fail to work out what you want before getting started. 
 
Firstly, you will need to choose a realistic price for the vehicle; take into account issues such as the vehicle's age, the number of previous owners and the mileage when calculating a figure. It is often helpful to browse through the prices of similar cars in classified internet sites or magazines, to make sure you accurately gauge the price. 
 
comparethemarket.com suggests that the next step is to take care of basic car maintenance, making sure that an extensive car repair programme will not be necessary before putting it up for sale.
 
Then you'll need to advertise your car, which might involve traditional techniques such as putting 'for-sale' signs in the vehicle's windows or taking out advertising space in the classified sections of local newspapers.
 
Alternatively, you could consider using internet classified sites such as Auto Trader, craigslist, My Area Trader and netTRADER. Recent research by the Future Foundation suggested that two per cent of new and used cars are sold online but this sector is expected to grow.
 
Finally, comparethemarket.com advises that you'll need to meet prospective buyers to negotiate a price for selling your car. Make sure that when pricing you have allowed some room for negotiation. That way the buyer will feel like they have got a good deal and you will not have lost out on any potential profit. It is also important that you make sure you have all the paperwork associated with the car - for example MOT certificates - and once sold issue a receipt, and ensure both you and the seller sign a contract.
 
One last tip is to remember that a cheap car insurance rate - for instance, if your car has a small engine - may encourage newly-qualified buyers so you could try highlighting a typical car insurance quote.
 
comparethemarket.com hopes that these simple tips will help you make a start on selling you car.