Blog Post
Selling your car privately sounds like a great idea, because you might score by getting more money for your car than what the dealership offered. But not so fast, there are some serious pitfalls that people fall into when selling their car privately. Most end up sitting with the car for months after posting that first Gumtree advert. Here we unpack the top 5 reasons why people struggle to sell a car privately.
1 - Price
a) Your car is simply overpriced for a private sale. Private sellers cannot realistically expect to get retail value for their car. The retail value of a car is reserved for car dealerships. This is how the car industry operates worldwide, so expecting to get close to retail value for your car is setting yourself up for disappointment. The reason why consumers pay retail price for a car at a dealership is the peace of mind and reassurance that they’ve made a sound purchase from a company that can also provide them with after-sales support if needed. The first step before advertising your car is an online car valuation. This will give you a good idea of where you stand with the trade and the retail values of your car. You can then take into account the overall condition and mileage of your car and then price your car accordingly. A good asking price for a private sale is slightly above trade value.
b) You’ve priced your car at the amount of your finance settlement. This pricing guide is fine if your settlement is in line with the trade value of your car. If your settlement is still very high, be prepared to take a knock and pay in the shortfall amount if the sale price of the car doesn’t cover your finance settlement.
2 - High Mileage
There is an often repeated myth that all BMW engines will blow up after 100 000 km. This of course is not true. People do fear high mileage cars though and have good reasons to do so, as with a higher mileage car maintenance costs can get expensive really quickly. Nobody wants to buy a car and replace shocks or a clutch after a couple of months. This unfortunately is a reality and potential buyers will think about these expenses while looking at your high mileage car. The average mileage in South Africa for a car is about 20 000 km’s a year. If the car you are selling has above average mileage for the age of the car you should consider advertising your car at a much lower price to attract buyers. This tactic also shows that you acknowledge that the car has high mileage.
3 - Overall Condition
When buying a car at full retail price you as the buyer expect the car to be in excellent condition. The same reasoning should apply when selling your car. It’s very important to be honest and take into account the true condition of your car when pricing your car. If you have curb rash on every wheel, a dent or two and the air-conditioning needs a regas you cannot expect to get a high price for your car. While viewing your car, potential buyers will notice these defects and lose interest if the condition of your car is not aligned with your asking price. Car dealerships also refer to these costs as “recons” and these “recons” are a big deciding factor when they make you a trade offer for your car.
4 - Location
Highly populated cities like Johannesburg yield more options for the used car buyer in South Africa and for this reason you might struggle to sell your car in your local area. A bigger city might have 10 options of the same car that you are selling, giving potential buyers a much bigger variety to choose from. Your car can also be a hard sell for the location. An expensive SUV will be tough to sell in a small town where the average car is a Volkswagen Polo.
5 - Demand
Supply and demand is the simple concept that drives every economy. South Africans are extremely loyal to specific cars and brands. If the car you are selling is not a crowd favourite, be prepared to sit a few months with the car for sale. Selling a limited edition car is the exception as car enthusiasts will always snap up a good condition rare car when they come up for sale. The current favourite cars in South Africa are Volkswagen Polo, Toyota Hilux bakkies and BMW 3-series, among others.
I personally think not
