If you want to get the most money for your used car don't trade it...SELL IT!

In order to sell your car you'll have to do things like running a classified ad either locally or on a High Traffic Classified Internet Site, field phone calls and have strangers come to your house so that you can go on test drives with them.  Then of course, you'll have to negotiate!

You'll also have to keep your vehicle spotless so that it makes a good first impression anytime someone comes to look at it!

If you don't feel comfortable doing these things then trade your vehicle in to a dealer and forget it.

Of course, if you do, you'll be losing $2000 or more!

• Get your vehicle professionally detailed.  It will cost you $75 to $100. Believe me, this will make your vehicle really stand out from the crowd! Then, all you have to do is try to keep it looking good until you sell it!

• Write a simple classified ad emphasizing all the strong points of the vehicle.  Don't lie, but don't go out of your way to point out what you may think are weak points!  In fact, the person considering your vehicle may not see them as weak points at all!

  Put a price in the ad, and a phone number.   Don't put your address in the ad unless you want people popping in on you unexpectedly all hours of the day and night.

  If you're at all concerned about being alone when someone comes to look at your vehicle. . . And You Should Be. . . set up appointments when a friend or family member can be there with you.  This cannot be over emphasized!

  Use Your Head, and Put Safety First!

  A sample classified ad to sell your car could read something like this:

  ---

  "1996 Ford Thunderbird LX. Exceptionally
  clean and very well cared for. Fully
  equipped including sun roof! Only
  39000 miles. $7,000. Call 123-4567."

  ---

  Emphasize any unusual good points and let people know how clean your vehicle is.  Keep it simple and positive.

• Go to Yahoo! Autos and look up the retail value of your vehicle. Now understand that this price is not carved in stone, and is probably high! You'll have to use your own judgment on how much to settle for, but it will be far more than a dealer will give you!

  To understand why the car dealer will never give you more than wholesale value for your car go to Car Trade Tactics!

  You can also check trade-in values at Yahoo! Autos but these figures may be higher than actual wholesale, which is what the dealer will give you, so take these figures with a grain of salt!

• If you owe money on your vehicle don't use your payoff to determine the car selling price.  It probably has no bearing on what your vehicle is actually worth. You'll either short-change yourself, or you'll be asking an unrealistically high price for your car and you'll never sell it!

• If you owe more on your vehicle than you could ever hope to get for it, you're going to have to make a decision to either keep your vehicle until it's paid off, or cut your loses and take what you can get and move on.

  You should arrange financing for your new vehicle in advance by going to Car Financing Tips. Tell your lender what you are doing, and that you may have a certain amount left over from your previous loan that you need to carry on the new loan.

  Dealers do this all the time when you trade your vehicle in and you are "upside down" in your trade.  Whatever is left over on your loan after the trade-in allowance, gets tacked on to your new loan.

• Before you try to sell your car to anyone make sure all the fluids are at their proper levels, especially the oil.  In fact, have your oil changed just before you sell your vehicle so that the oil is nice and clean.  People will look at the oil, rub it between their fingers, smell it and even taste it!

  I can recall on two different occasions when I was attempting to sell used vehicles that the prospective buyers actually tasted the oil!  They were both women who apparently knew a lot more about motor oil then I did!  So change your oil!  You want it to taste "clean!"

• When you sell your car you'll have to take your customer to your bank if you have an outstanding loan on the vehicle.

  Let the buyer pay the bank the balance of your loan so you can sign off on the title and transfer it to the new owner.  If you're lucky enough to have any money left over after the payoff is taken care of, get it from the buyer, and put it towards your new vehicle.

• A nice touch would be for you to get a Free CARFAX Record Check. Having this on hand will probably be very much appreciated by your potential buyer.
• One last thing . . . you may want to list your vehicle on high traffic, Internet classified web sites.  You'll have massive exposure to your vehicle and you just may find someone to buy it sight-unseen.  Click Here To Visit The Best Used Car Classified Web Sites!