How to See How Much a Car Is Worth When Selling Privately

Price your car according to its current market value to ensure it sells quickly.

If you are planning on selling your car, taking the initiative to sell it privately rather than to a dealership can lead to receiving more money for the vehicle. To see how much your car is worth when selling privately, you will need to research your car's estimated value both on- and offline. While sites such as Kelley Blue Book can tell you what your car should be worth in theory, local classifieds will give you a better understanding of your vehicle's local market value.

Instructions

1. Review your vehicle's current condition and take note of any damage to the body, paint or interior. Vehicle damage will negatively affect your vehicle's worth. Make a list of existing damage and repair minor damage, if possible.

2. Gather paperwork or other documents that reflect recent repair work or upgrades that you have done to the car. If you recently put new tires on, replaced the brakes or had a paint job done, you can recoup a partial amount of the cost when selling your car. If you put new tires on the car for $600 within the past six months, for example, you can raise your asking price by $300 to $400 to reflect the semi-new tires the buyer will receive.

3. Determine your vehicle's Kelley Blue Book value by going to the Kelley Blue Book website (see Resources) and entering your vehicle's information. Use the list of damages you created in Step 1 to accurately estimate your car's condition. View the private party and trade-in values to get a rough idea of the average value of your car. Remember the trade-in value may be significantly lower than the private party value because dealerships will try to resell your vehicle for a profit.

4. Look in your local newspaper's classifieds sections to determine how much vehicles like yours are selling for in your area. Look at listings that are the same make and model as your vehicle and within a year or two of your car's year. Use the asking prices to get an idea of what your vehicle is worth locally.

5. Check Craigslist for vehicle sales in your area (see Resources). Select your city from the right-hand side of the page and search for your car's make and model using the search toolbar on the left-hand side of the page. Compare the prices online with the prices you saw in your local newspaper to understand your vehicle's current local market value.

References

• MSN

Resources

• Determine Your Car's Value on Kelley Blue Book
• Search Craigslist for Vehicle Sales