How to Prepare Your Car for Sale

Get the Most Value With These Simple Steps.

How to Prepare Your Car for Sale
in Eugene, OR

If you’re ready to sell your current ride, bring it to Volvo Cars Eugene — we’re always interested in purchasing pre-loved vehicles. Our team will give you a great price for the car, and you can take our offer in cash or place it toward a new or pre-owned vehicle purchase. Equip yourself with vital information to prepare before bringing your vehicle to us, such as discovering the Kelley Blue Book® value of your ride. If you’re interested in enhancing the value of your vehicle, give your car some TLC to prepare it for sale. Continue reading our guide to learn the best way to go about transforming your ride to be picture-perfect.

Minor Repairs and Replacements

If your ride is due for a routine oil change or needs new windshield wipers, we recommend that you get these components taken care of. Fixing small issues can make the biggest difference once your vehicle gets appraised. Ensure that minor maintenance is taken care of, but don’t worry about major repairs, such as an engine or transmission replacement. In such cases,we recommend selling the vehicle as-is.

Removing Customizations

While exterior customizations, like car decals, can be a fun way to express your personality on the open road, accessories aren’t favorable when you’re trying to sell your vehicle. We highly recommend removing these customizations and restoring your ride back to its original state as much as possible. However, like we’ve mentioned before, don’t go out of your way to revert the paint color, components under the hood or any other major modifications you may have. Our team just asks you to be transparent about any alterations you’ve made to your vehicle when you bring it in to us.

Preparing your car for sale

Certain aspects like age, mileage, trim, features, popularity and condition play a role in determining the final payout on your car. Since most of these factors are not within your control, focus on improving your vehicle’s overall condition. This will help enhance its appeal to prospective buyers. By following some of the steps outlined below, you can ensure your ride takes center stage and captures the attention of an interested customer.

Interior Cleaning and Detailing

Hire a professional or do it yourself — either way, cleaning and detailing your car is a necessity before selling your vehicle. You can save a fair bit of money if you go the DIY route, but just make sure you hone in on a few key areas:

  • Remove all personal items and trash from the car.
  • Vacuum the carpet and upholstery thoroughly.
  • If the floor mats are stained, you can wash them with carpet shampoo.
  • Wash the windows and windshield inside and out.
  • Pull twigs and leaves out from the area where the wipers sit.
  • Check the trunk for any belongings.
  • Ensure that the spare tire, car jack and tools are all in their proper places.
  • Want to take it to the next level? Polish your tires and rims for extra sparkle and shine.

Exterior Refurbishments

It’s easy to overlook small scratches and dents when you use your car daily. However, these imperfections can negatively impact the value of your vehicle, no matter how small they seem. If they’re minor enough, you can grab a DIY kit from a car repair shop and fix them yourself, or hire a professional to take care of it. Keep in mind that you don’t want to go out of your way to invest in repairing extensive damage — we recommend collecting quotes from various mechanics. If you start to notice a pattern of hefty quotes, you may want to keep the car in its original state. After all, you’re looking to make money on the sale and not break even in the process.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us. Our team will be happy to help, and we can’t wait to give you a great offer for your car. Volvo Cars Eugene is located at 89320 N Game Farm Rd, Eugene, OR 97408 , serving the automotive needs of our neighbors from Roseburg, Springfield, Coos Bay and Florence.