Tips For Selling Cars As A Motor Trader

If you’re a motor trader, knowing how to make as much money as possible when buying and selling cars is important. 

This handy guide can help you identify the things you’re doing that could cost you valuable sales and illustrate what methods you could use to maximise profits.

How To Sell A Car As A Motor Trader From Home?

If you’re selling cars from your home address, you’ll need to contact your local council to find out how many vehicles you can park on the road simultaneously.

Find and contact your local council before you start selling cars.

Know The Value Of A Vehicle.

Knowing the value of the cars you plan to buy and sell is a key factor in making a profit as a motor trader. 

The best way to begin researching prices is to use websites like Auto Trader, eBay and Gumtree to monitor the prices of some specific makes and models. Start by researching the market to determine the highest and lowest prices for vehicles and what prevents them from selling for the maximum price.

Before you buy a car, always research whether you’re getting a good deal. It’s easy to be misled into spending more than a car is worth. One thing that catches unsuspecting buyers out is not performing a full HPI check on a car. Vehicles involved in collisions can be repaired but then listed as category S, for example, which dramatically decreases the car’s value.  You should always perform an HPI check before buying a car, as it will show up if the vehicle is stolen, has outstanding finances, or has been involved in a collision. 

You can use www.hpicheck.com to get the vehicle’s complete history and prevent any nasty surprises. If you want an instant valuation, you could use www.motorway.co.uk to get a vehicle value from several online car buyers.

Another helpful tool for getting accurate car valuations is www.glassbusiness.co.uk. They analyse data throughout a vehicle’s life to provide the best and most accurate valuation, helping give people an edge in buying and selling cars.

Buy From Various Sources

Many car traders visit auctions to pick up cheap vehicles. Still, it’s becoming more challenging to do this as everybody else has the same idea of making the profit margins of auction vehicles tiny. 

Instead of buying from auctions, many traders have turned to social media platforms. Many car buying/selling groups on Facebook have thousands of members. Many people in a group are trying to make a quick sale on cars, creating a perfect opportunity to buy cheap and make a good profit.

You can search for local car buying/selling groups via Facebook. If you don’t have an account, you can quickly sign up and create one for free.

Consider The Differences Between A Quick Sale And A Maximum Profit.

After buying a car, you should decide whether your goal is to make a quick sale or maximise profit.

When deciding on this, you should consider how much time you’ll spend repairing and cleaning the car, advertising, and meeting buyers. Is it worth investing this time to make marginally more money?

A quick sale can mean less profit but also less work, giving you more time to search for new cars to buy and sell. If you don’t have somewhere to store/sell the vehicles, a quick sale may be your best option, as you don’t want to be stuck with a car taking up valuable space.

Think About What Type Of Motor Trader You Are.

One of the best ways to sell more cars is to have a secondary car-related business, such as car repairs, servicing, or valeting.

By offering these services, your business will get more exposure to potential buyers who will see the cars advertised every time they come for a valet or a repair. This is also a perfect opportunity to try and sell the vehicle to the customer, offering a test drive or explaining the benefits and the price you’re willing to sell for.

As specialist providers of motor trade insurance, many of our policyholders have another occupation and here are some of the most popular:

• Valeter
• Mechanic
• Bodywork repairs

If you have one of the above occupations, you could also be covered under one motor trade policy.

Many people in these professions opt to take out liability insurance, which can protect them from claims made by the public in the event of damage or injury.

If you wash cars and the water or car shampoo causes someone to slip and injure themselves as they walk by, you’d be protected through liability insurance.

Learn To Negotiate.

The art of negotiation is crucial when buying and selling cars. You must practice your sales techniques and deliver fantastic customer service.

Some of the strategies used by current car dealers are:

Offering a valet instead of reducing the asking price of a car – this is also used by traders when buying cars from people who are selling due to getting a new car.

Making sure all the cars they sell come with a full service and 12 months MOT—Many people buying new cars don’t want the hassle of getting the car serviced and MOT, so they may look to avoid vehicles that need this.

Offering a free full tank of petrol or diesel which can be a better option than reducing the price of the vehicle.

Presenting a 12-month free car service can also be an effective way to close a sale.

Embrace Forecourt Optimisation.

If you sell cars, having a forecourt is essential when your business begins to expand. With a forecourt, you can sell more cars simultaneously, meaning fewer forced or quick sales, maximising your profits.

When deciding on a good forecourt, you should consider how much traffic your business will get in the location. You want your forecourt to get as much visibility as possible, so choosing somewhere busy is essential. More people will see the cars, meaning a more comprehensive range of people will buy from you.

Is it on the side of a road where people will constantly drive past and see your cars, or is it down an industrial estate where very few people come?

By having the vehicles off the road and on a forecourt instead, there’s less chance they will be damaged by passing cars, pedestrians, or cyclists.

However, you must factor in rent prices when pricing your cars. If your rent is expensive, you could end up overpricing your stock and making less profit than somewhere with less traffic but better prices.

One way to maximise your profit on a forecourt is by optimising it.

In the same way a supermarket entices customers to come inside by offering deals on products, you should get people to come inside by displaying your best-priced cars in the area that gives them the most traffic/visibility.

This will take some trial and error, but you will begin to notice that placing cars in certain positions on your forecourt can lead to quicker sales. By finding this position, you can put your best stock in and around it.

Market Your Vehicles’ Best Offers And Selling Points

Well-established car-selling businesses don’t rely on the gift of the gab to make a sale. They use marketing tactics such as clear signage and standout car prices to make more people notice.

Without this information on cars, customers can easily mistake a pitch for a car park. Having transparent prices on vehicles, along with other USP details like “low mileage” and “one owner from new,” can help attract people to look at the cars on the forecourt.

Work Unsociable Hours.

Unsurprisingly, working and being available during the more unsociable hours can lead to more sales. If you’re willing to work weekends and after 5 p.m. during the week, that’ll help increase your opportunities to gain those all-important sales.

Many customers are only available to collect cars during the weekend or after they finish work, so being open during these times is a huge benefit.

This also shows you’re willing to go the extra mile for the customer and creates a more trusting relationship for future dealings.

Focus On Facebook Ads And Groups.

As mentioned earlier on in the blog, Facebook is becoming a more popular method of buying and selling cars.

As a trader, Facebook can help you quickly sell cars at a minimal price. Unlike eBay’s and Auto Trader’s listing fees, there are no posting fees in selling groups.

Commenting on posts also allows people interested in the car to ask any necessary questions and enables you to respond quickly. For valuable tips, check out our handy guide on what to avoid when promoting your motor trade on social media.

If you’re familiar with Facebook advertising, you could use it to your advantage.

Facebook advertising can specifically target people in a local area who are members of car-buying groups or show interest in vehicles. This allows sellers to promote the cars they’re selling to potential buyers for a small cost, and they can decide how much they’d like to spend on the advert.

Remember, Repair And Maintenance.

To maximise your profit when selling cars, it’s essential to ensure the car is presentable and appealing. Nobody wants to buy a car covered in dents and scratches and with a filthy interior. As the saying goes, first impressions count!

Giving the car a good clean and polish will help it stand out and instantly increase its value. Valeting it with freshly cleaned seats will make the car feel newer and more attractive to prospective buyers. Buying a car is an emotional purchase, so a fresh and clean-smelling vehicle is better at being sold.

You can also make some money on the side from offering valeting and repairs as a service, but you need to take out motor trade insurance before you start.

Think About What Other Insurance Products Motor Traders Need.

If you’re dealing with cars as part of your business, you need the right insurance in place.

So, if you buy and sell cars, fix and service them, provide a valeting service, or offer breakdown cover, you’ll need to have a suitable motor trade insurance policy.

As providers of motor trade insurance, we can provide a quick quote in just a few steps, and any of the above will cover you.

You may also want to consider taking out public liability insurance to protect your business from any costly claims made by the public. To get a quote for public liability insurance, call us on 0800 023 7210.

Use Alternative Sites To Sell Cars.

When buying a car, many people now search online first to see what is available in their local area. The sites people usually turn to are Autotrader, eBay and Gumtree.

Lots of car dealers use these sites to advertise vehicles because of their geographical reach, and they maximise their chances of selling by advertising the car on all 3 sites.

The best adverts on these sites have detailed and accurate descriptions along with high-quality pictures of the car. The pictures are extremely important, so many established businesses invest in a high-quality camera specifically for photographing vehicles they’re selling.

Looking for useful apps? Check out our blog on the top apps that every motor trader needs. Do you have any other tips for selling cars as a motor trader? Remember to take out motor trade insurance to protect your business, and get a quote with Staveley Head in just a few steps.