It is important to know how much you should set pricewise when selling your car. If I want someone to buy my car I look for as much information as I can on what the car is worth. Starting with a blue book to see what your car is worth is a good first step. Although car prices fluctuate greatly during the year they are valid and they are not the best way to accurately gauge how much it is worth. Taking it to a car dealer to get an estimate is also not the best idea. They will typically tell you a figure lower than what it is actually worth in the hope that you will sell it to them then and there. That is where online valuation services step in.
Getting an impartial estimate of what your car is worth is a great way to set the price reasonably. Nobody would buy my car if I set the price too high and the likelihood of someone buying it if I set it too low is also reduced because people will assume there is something wrong with it. A fair price is one that adequately reflects the value of what the car is actually worth. Setting it a little higher is acceptable as long as you don’t go crazy it is normally considered acceptable to go ten percent over your asking price to give people opportunity to negotiate with you. If someone wanted to buy my car and offered me the extra ten percent I would take it immediately. If you go much over that ten percent it might scare potential buyers away. It is generally safe to assume that haggling is going to take place when selling something privately.
A valuation service can also save you a lot of time. Rather than scouring the Internet or classifieds looking for what others are asking you can just shoot off an email or fill in an online form and get the information almost immediately. It can also save you the hassle of constantly repricing your car in order to find the sweet spot (proverbially) which is the price that actually does end up triggering an interested buyer. Never assume what your car is worth, get it appraised or valuated by a professional who knows the product. Make sure you know all of the details about the vehicle before you approach them for an appraisal as well.
It is too easy to take a guess at what the vehicle is worth. Go too high and you scare people away, go too low and you might be shooting yourself in the foot. If someone were to buy my car and I saw the same car advertised for a few thousand dollars more I would be livid. The potential to misjudge the value of the vehicle is massive. Always seek help before you set your price. Get the vehicle valuated or at the very least look up the blue book value before putting it on the market.