How to Sell a Used Car on AutoTrader

Selling your used vehicle has never been easier! By choosing to sell your used car with AutoTrader, you have expounded your market in both print and online ads to all over the United States. Someone out there is looking for a vehicle exactly like the one you have to sell. With AutoTrader, it takes approximately 7 and 1/2 minutes to place an ad for your used car. You get more bang for your buck at AutoTrader: with millions of listings for used cars and millions of people searching for used cars every day using AutoTrader online and AutoTrader in print, you are accessing a very large market of customers that want to purchase your vehicle. There are 3 ad packages to choose from—standard, enhanced and deluxe. The enhanced and deluxe packages include both print and online ads that will run until your vehicle sells and up to 9 photos of your vehicle. The deluxe package includes a double size photo. The standard package allows you to run one photo and your ad, online only, for a duration of 3 weeks.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Ownership papers and other documents relating to your car
• Internet access
• Contact details such as e-mail address or telephone number
• Credit card to pay for your advertisement

1. Click on Sell Your Car on the AutoTrader Web site and enter your zip code to get started (see Resources).
2. Choose the ad package that you want to use to sell your vehicle.
3. Fill in the information about your vehicle. You will need to know the year, make and model of your vehicle as well as the mileage and VIN. When you have checked over how the ad will look printed, click Next.
4. Upload a photo of your vehicle, if you want to include one.
5. Verify your vehicle information and enter a credit card number to pay for the ad.
6. Wait for phone calls and e-mails from interested buyers.

Tips & Warnings

• If you are selling your car privately, you must not have any liens or loans outstanding on your vehicle.
• The buyer reserves the right to ask for a safety check to be done on your vehicle before they purchase it.
• Many buyers will use CarFax to check the history of your vehicle (see Resources). CarFax will report any loans or liens held on your car as well as its collision history. If your vehicle has been written off from a collision, you will need to have a certificate stating that the vehicle has been inspected and is road worthy again.
• It’s a good idea to be completely honest about your vehicle in the listing.
• Be aware that people may be searching for your vehicle from all over the United States. Unless you are willing to pay for shipping, when someone contacts you for your vehicle, ensure that you let them know that they will be responsible to pick up or have the vehicle delivered to them.