Selling
Detail before you sell your car
A dealer's used-car manager will tell you the first thing they do with a trade is detail it, because clean cars sell for more. Do it yourself first and that money is yours.
People spend an afternoon writing the listing and ten minutes at the car wash. Buyers do the opposite: they decide in the first minute, standing next to the car, and the inside of the door, the smell and the shine of the paint do most of the deciding. A detail costs a few hundred dollars. On a private sale it moves the price by more than that; on a trade it moves the dealer's appraisal, which starts from "what will this cost us to recondition."
What a buyer actually looks at
- The smell. Smoke, dog or mildew ends the conversation, or takes a thousand dollars off. Odor treatment is the highest-return item on the list.
- The seats and carpet. Stains say "neglected," which the buyer reads as "neglected mechanically too."
- The paint in the sun. Swirls and haze make a five-year-old car look ten. A one-step correction with a sealant makes it look two.
- The wheels and tires. Brake dust and brown tires are what "tired" means.
- The engine bay. Clean means maintained. It is a cheap add-on and it is the one buyers remember.
- The door jambs, the trunk, the glass inside. Places a car wash never goes and a buyer always looks.
What to book
| Selling a | Book |
|---|---|
| Daily driver, average condition | Interior and exterior detail, with odor treatment if there was a dog or a smoker |
| Dark-coloured car with swirled paint | Add a one-step paint correction; it is the difference in the photos |
| Work truck | Interior at the "very dirty" level, exterior, engine bay |
| Lease return | Interior and exterior; the inspection fee for "excess wear" is usually more than the detail |
What not to bother with
A ceramic coating on a car you are selling next month. A coating is for the owner who keeps the car; the buyer will not pay for it. A sealant gives the same shine in the photos for a fraction of the cost.
Take the photos after, in the shade
Detail first, photograph the same day, in open shade or overcast light, with the wheels turned so the face of the front wheel shows. Include the interior, the trunk and the engine bay. The listing with twenty clean photos sells before the one with four.
Timing
Book the detail for two or three days before the listing goes up or the trade-in appointment, and do not drive the dog in it in between. We come to the house; the car does not leave. Interior detailing and exterior detailing.