how do you market a used car

Advertise Effectively

• Word-of-mouth is very effective. ...
• Online classified ads may be the easiest and most effective way to sell your car. ...
• Daily newspaper ads can work but aren't as effective as they used to be. ...
• Ads in weekly shoppers and free newspapers can work, but they may have a lot of competition.
• There's always the traditional way. ...

Full Answer

How do I sell a used car?

We have created this guide to help you through the process, so you don't miss any critical steps, and get the most for your used car while making it an efficient process along the way. The first thing to do when selling a used car is to research the market and find out what your car or truck is worth.

How do I find a used car near me?

One easy place to start building your target list is the Edmunds used car inventory page. To find exactly the car you want, you can filter your search by many factors, including the miles on the car's odometer, its price and features, and the dealer's distance from you. Most other websites will have similar methods to find the vehicle nearest you.

How can I promote my Car Sales Marketing?

It promotes the dealership as an integral part of the community. If you’re looking to add more community outreach to your car sales marketing ideas, here are a few strategies to get started: Partner up: double-team a promotional event with other local businesses. Utilize your inventory as shuttle transportation to and from the event.

How do I find the fair market value of my car?

Article SummaryX. To determine the fair market value of a vehicle, use a website like Edmunds or Kelley Blue Book. Navigate to the main page, then click the tab or icon that says "Price My Car" or something similar. Next, enter the year and model of your vehicle, the car's mileage, and your zip code or city name.

What is the best way to advertise your used car?

Autotrader: Great for getting eyes on your listing.CarGurus: Great for a quick offer.Facebook Marketplace: Great for selling to a private party.eBay Motors: Great for marketing your vehicle to a large audience.Carvana: Great for no-hassle selling.Ask an expert about selling a car online.

How can I attract a car to buyers?

How Do Auto Dealerships Attract Customers?Be creative with incentives.Offer more than car sales.Invest in your sales team.Keep up with the trends.Have an online presence.Publish testimonials on your website.

How do I write a good description to sell a car?

Tips for Writing Vehicle DescriptionsAlways be 100% honest.Know your target market. ... Use verbiage that describes the target market.Highlight important details about the car's condition, citing the vehicle's history report ‍Describe how the vehicle looks and runs.Prioritize the features.More items...•

How do I get more customers to sell my car?

How to Get More Customers as a Car SalespersonFocus on personalization. ... Support car buyers' independent research. ... Turn your dealership website into a conversion powerhouse. ... Engage past customers with targeted promotions.

What features do car buyers want?

They compiled market research from 90,000 new-car buyers and lessees, measuring demand for over 100 specific vehicle features. Demand is high for features like heated front seats, blind-spot monitoring, and parking sensors.

What do car buyers want?

Car buyers want to complete most or all of their research and paperwork online as well as guide their own financing process. They also want to evaluate extras like extended warranties in a more transparent way and at their own pace.

What are 5 characteristics of a car?

The top five vehicle characteristics are: The vehicles maximum payload capacity. The tires load rating. Tire pressure. The vehicles Statics Stability Factor – SSF (difficult to find)

What skills do you need to sell a car?

What Are The Most Valuable Skills For A Car Sales CV?What are the most valuable skills for a car sales CV? ... Relationship building. ... Product knowledge. ... Persuasion. ... Negotiation. ... Motivation.

How do you write a good selling description?

Focus on your ideal buyer. Understanding how to write product descriptions requires putting yourself in the shoes of your audience. ... Entice with benefits. ... Avoid “yeah, yeah” phrases. ... Appeal to your readers' imagination. ... Seduce with sensory words. ... Tempt with social proof. ... Make your description scannable.

How do you greet customer sales on a car?

Better Ways to GreetFirst, always smile. Positivity is key.Say hello, state your name, and ask for theirs. ... If they only offer a first name, ask for their last name, too. ... Refer to the customer by their first name.Don't offer your business card.

What would a good salesperson do when selling a car?

The salesperson helps the customer select their vehicle by answering questions about any model's features and benefits. Other responsibilities generally include organizing the test drive, negotiating price, and helping the customer with trade-in and finance application paperwork.

What is the best description of personal selling?

Description: Personal selling is a face-to-face selling technique by which a salesperson uses his or her interpersonal skills to persuade a customer in buying a particular product. The salesperson tries to highlight various features of the product to convince the customer that it will only add value.

What do you say when selling a car ad?

That's why you should aim to write punchy, honest and compelling ad copy that makes your car stand out....Put your specs all in one locationOverview.Condition.Make.Model.Year.Trim.Kilometres.Body type.More items...•

Utilize Traditional and Digital Marketing Together

TV, radio, and print advertising is not dead. You can still use a well-placed, incentive-based TV or radio ad to bring local audiences into the mar...

Get Creative With Referral Incentives

Brainstorm ways to make your referral and loyalty programs more desirable. What can you offer customers that will be valuable and cost-effective?Re...

Create A Strong Brand Message

If you want to separate yourself from competition, transform your dealership into a brand and unify your services. What’s the brand message, and ho...

Drive Traffic to Your Website

Once you have a high-functioning, visually-appealing website, you need to attract the right customers to it. SEO marketing is a strategy worth inve...

Turn Your Car Sales Marketing Ideas Into Executable Plans

Before you begin implementing different marketing strategies, it’s best to draft a foolproof plan. Take time to research your audience and budget p...

How to separate yourself from the competition?

If you want to separate yourself from competition, transform your dealership into a brand and unify your services. What’s the brand message, and how can it inform your marketing? Branding can be a powerful way to communicate with customers. It keeps your dealership on the top of their minds.

What is organic search?

Organic search: optimize content and implement targeted keywords into blog content and web pages for less competitive phrases that will drive search traffic for the long term.

What is a pay it forward?

Pay it forward: market your referral program as a way to help a friend.

What are the two methods of digital marketing?

If you want to drive targeted web traffic and convert them into leads, it’s time to consider two digital marketing methods: pay per click (PPC) and organic search.

What is the strongest digital tool for a dealership?

In today’s world, a dealership’s website is its strongest digital tool. Web leads should be arriving at your website in several ways (more on this topic below) and be driven through a well-oiled conversion funnel.

Is print advertising dead?

TV, radio, and print advertising is not dead. You can still use a well-placed, incentive-based TV or radio ad to bring local audiences into the market. As a standalone strategy, traditional methods may not be as effective as they used to be. The argument was stemming from their lack of “targeting.”.

When will used car prices begin to normalize?

However, barring an outbreak of a new and deadly COVID variant resulting in more work and travel restrictions, most experts agree that prices will begin to normalize from the beginning of 2023 until 2025 . This is due to more new cars being available on the market, thus reducing the demand for used vehicles.

Is it a good time to buy or sell a used vehicle?

With prices at an all-time high for used cars, now is certainly not a good time to be buying a used car. At the moment, it’s still very much a seller’s market and won’t be likely to change in the next year. The used car market prices have increased by 13% since 2021 and a staggering 41% since 2019, so unless you are really in need of a vehicle, it’s not a buyer’s market at the moment.

Is used car price rising?

Although used-car prices are rising faster than new car prices, experts say the spike is a double-edged sword. Dealers are trying to snap up as many used cars as they can to satisfy customer demand, and that means you can get top dollar if you’re looking to sell or trade in.

Is Consumer Reports a commercial video?

Consumer Reports' videos are for your personal, non-commercial use only. To license CR videos, click here.

Why is FMV important?

This is important because the FMV of a vehicle can shift according to supply and demand. If the demand for your type of car is high in your area, then your FMV will reflect this. For example, if you live in a city area, then smaller vehicles may be in demand and could end up with high FMVs.

What does FMV mean for cars?

Before you donate or sell your car, it’s important to calculate its fair market value (FMV). The FMV will tell you how much your car is worth on the private market or for tax purposes. While it’s not an exact science, entering your car’s details in an automobile industry website, such as Edmunds, will give you the most accurate valuation. You can also browse the local car ads to see what similar cars are selling for in your area.

What is the difference between FMV and trade in value?

In contrast, a trade-in value is what a dealership would offer.

How to find out if a car is worth more than a lot of miles?

Provide your car’s mileage. Look at the odometer on your car and you’ll see a series of numbers that shows the car’s mileage. You may need to turn on your car to see this display on newer vehicles. Then, enter in this number where prompted on the FMV website. Put simply, cars with fewer miles are almost always worth more than those with many miles.

Why are trade in values for used cars often altered?

Trade-in values for used cars are also often altered by dealers to boost vehicle sales. An FMV estimate is more consistent.

How to find the fair market value of a car?

To determine the fair market value of a vehicle, use a website like Edmunds or Kelley Blue Book. Navigate to the main page, then click the tab or icon that says "Price My Car" or something similar. Next, enter the year and model of your vehicle, the car's mileage, and your zip code or city name. Then, list your car’s amenities, such as power windows and locks, sunroof, or leather interior. Lastly, input your car's overall condition, then print out a copy of your final report. For tips on adjusting your FMV when you're trying to sell your car, read on!

How to find similar cars in your area?

Or, go to a used auto sales website such as www.autotrader.com, enter in your zipcode, and search for similar cars in your area. Make note of the asking prices for cars that are similar to your own.

What is a CPO car?

If you're planning to buy a vehicle that is less than 5 years old, consider one that's certified pre-owned (CPO). CPO vehicles have long-term warranties that are backed by the carmaker, not just the dealership selling it to you. Franchised dealerships that sell that same brand new are the only ones that can sell a CPO car of the same brand. So if you want a CPO Chevy Equinox, for example, you'll need to buy it from a Chevy dealer.

How much does a prepurchase inspection cost?

A prepurchase inspection costs $100-$200 and can alert you to problems you may not find yourself. It's a smart investment. A private-party seller will probably allow you to do this without much resistance. Most dealerships will let you borrow a car for an outside mechanic to inspect.

What are the advantages of buying from a private car dealership?

A dealership provides a number of advantages over buying from a private seller. There's often some reconditioning on the vehicle, access to auto loans, and a chain of command if anything goes wrong with the deal. On the other hand, buying from a private seller can give you greater insight on how the vehicle was maintained, and it may be easier to negotiate a lower price. Learn more

What is the best source for car history?

AutoCheck and Carfax are the best-known sources for vehicle history reports. These reports can reveal vital information about the car, including whether the odometer has been rolled back or if it has a salvage title, which means it has been declared a total loss by an insurance company.

What does it mean when a seller says you are in good shape?

If you and the seller arrive at a price that sounds good to you and is near the average price paid, you're probably in good shape.

How to know if a car is still in stock?

This step is an excellent way to establish a relationship with the seller and verify the information about the car. You can ask private-party sellers why they're parting with a car or whether it has any mechanical problems. And if you're buying from a dealer, a phone call or text is the best way to ensure the car is still in stock.

What to do if car is out of warranty?

If the car you're planning to buy is out of warranty, it might be a good idea to set aside a "just-in-case" fund to cover any unexpected repairs.

What to do if you don't have a copier?

If you don't have a copier available, make sure you both sign a copy of the documentation so you can each keep one. Early in the process, you dug out your maintenance records, automobile manuals, and emissions paperwork. Hand all of this over to the new owner as a part of the final transaction.

What to say in a used car ad?

Some common shorthand included in used car ads can sometimes generate interest with buyers. Words that might pique extra interest for your vehicle are:#N#● Must Sell - this shows the buyer you are eager to sell and may considering bargaining on the price.#N#● OBO - which stands for "or best offer." This tells your buyers that you are willing to negotiate.#N#● Asking Price - this also indicates that you are hoping to get the amount specified, but you are willing to work with the right buyer and come down some.#N#● Firm – this tells the buyer that there is no wiggle room with the price, so they either buy it at that price or move on.

How to get rid of a car smell?

Car Cleaning. Clean the car out thoroughly and use a nice finishing product like Meguiar's to give the vehicle a clean smell. Vacuum all the carpets and seats and use a stain remover to clean off any permanent spills on the fabric. Wash the windows and all interior vinyl, metal, and plastic surfaces.

What to do when selling a used car?

The first thing to do when selling a used car is to research the market and find out what your car or truck is worth. Keep in mind that flashy sports cars and collectibles may yield more money in the end, but they also may be harder to sell during certain times of the year.

When you transfer a title to a used car, do you have to record the mileage?

When you transfer the title of a used vehicle, you must record the exact mileage at the time of the sale. You should also put the current mileage on the bill-of-sale and other state-required paperwork. It doesn't hurt to take a picture of the odometer with your camera and print it out to include everything.

When selling a used car, do you always want to think about your liability?

When selling anything, you always want to think about your liability. You don 't want to be blindsided down the road by a lawsuit. Review your state's laws regarding the sale of a used car and follow them to the letter. Don't deviate in any way. Always operate fairly but from a position of protection.

Do you have to remove license plates before you drive away?

Many states require you to also remove your license plates off the car before the buyer drives away. This is a good idea anyway, so when arranging the final transfer of the vehicle, be sure to tell your buyer to bring a set of temporary plates so they can drive it home legally. You don't want anyone driving around with license plates issued to you. This is also an excellent time to remind them to call their insurance agent and have it insured because as soon as they sign, it's their liability.