Your Guide to Sell Your Car Online

How to sell a car online quickly and maximizing the transaction price in the same time is the question every seller wants answered.

It's really not a mystery; following a few basics will get your phone ringing and your e-mail box filling with inquiries and offers.

Selling a car online is a different technique than selling it through the classified ads. Most classified sales are local, allowing the buyer to personally see the vehicle, test drive it and more importantly take it to a mechanic for an inspection.

In this guide you will find 7 tips that will help you to get your vehicle noticed and to make a successful deal:

1) Commitment.

Approach selling your car the same way you would a project at work. For a quick, successful sale, you must fully engage in every step of the process. Here's the little secret about selling a car online: The less effort you make, the less successful you will be. Successful selling is a process and every part of that process must receive your best effort.

2) Research.

The "right" price isn't the amount you want out of the sale of the car, but the amount the average buyer thinks is fair and is willing to pay. Sure, if you have some rare collector car, you may not need worry as much about the market price.

Chances are, though, your car will be listed against tens or hundreds of similar vehicles on multiple online sites. That means your vehicle must be priced competitively.

You have to do the research to determine not only how much others are asking for similar cars, but the average transaction price of those recently sold. Be honest with yourself and objective about the vehicle's condition when setting a price. An unrealistically high price will scare potential buyers, sending them away from your listing.

Sites like AutoTrader.com and Kelly Blue Book (KBB.com) are reliable sources in determining a vehicle's market value and can help you in estimating your car's value.

3) Write a compelling description.

Spend some writing your car's description, don't be in a hurry to write it; take your time and be creative. Look at the online ads today; nearly every vehicle has power windows, power door locks and air conditioning.

Such routine features should never be the lead in your description. Instead, think about the benefits you love that attracted you to the car.

If it's a convertible, describe how effortlessly the top operates and the joy of driving with the top down on a Saturday afternoon. If it's a minivan, enthuse over the convenience and room. Write about being able to bring a ping-pong table home from a yard sale. Itemize the cup holders and storage cubbies. Describe keeping the kids entertained on a long trip.

Try to personalize the vehicle through your own experiences. What has it meant to you? On some level most vehicle purchases are emotional; play to that.

4) Load the headline with key words.

When advertising on a site that allows you to write your own ad headline or title, your primary goal is to get noticed among the thousands of ads out there. Key words are, well, the key.

When you can, use words in the headline, such as "great fuel economy," "super-low mileage," "kicking audio system," and so on.

5) Use lots of photos.

Because so many vehicles purchased online are bought sight unseen, good photos, and plenty of them, offer potential buyers their only look at the vehicle. Photos are really an online seller's primary marketing tool. There is no such thing as too many photos.

Don't be lazy when shooting photos. The vehicle should be clean inside and out. Don't take the photos in your apartment parking lot or your home's driveway. On a clear day, drive the vehicle to a well-lighted spot with an attractive background. Position it so the sun is behind you, and take the time to reposition the vehicle as you photograph its various sides.

Be honest with your photos. Don't try to hide the blemishes or damage, and don't Photo Shop them. A car doesn't need to be perfect to sell, but being honest about its warts will save you some grief later on.

6) Be responsive.

Whether you have potential buyers respond by phone, e-mail or some other device, take the call and answer the e-mail. Potential buyers have thousands of ads to which they can respond. Allowing a caller to go to voicemail or letting an e-mail sit, unopened for a day, can be all it takes for that interested buyer to move on.

7) Communicate with the buyer.

This step won't help you sell, but may well help you avoid buyer issues after the sale.

Vehicles are big-ticket items and buying one online can be stressful. Establishing communication with a buyer can ease his anxiety and reduce the chances he will be unhappy once the vehicle is in his hands.