Sell My Car
Why Sell to a Dealership?
First, we should address the main reason you might not want to sell to a dealership: money. It is true that you may be able to get more for your car when selling it to a private individual than you can when selling it to a dealership. We want to buy your vehicle so we can sell it as a pre-owned model to a customer who will enjoy it for a long time; this means we need to pay a price that allows us to still make a profit. But there are numerous downsides to the higher price a private buyer might be willing to pay for your car.
For starters, if you sell your vehicle to a private buyer, you must be very careful to make sure everything is handled properly to make it a legal transfer of ownership. When you bring your car to us, we will take care of everything for you, and the process is much simpler. You also need to own your vehicle outright and not have a loan for most private buyers to purchase it from you. Even if you still have an auto loan on your vehicle, we are happy to finish paying what you owe and buy your car from you at a fair price.
One of the biggest reasons to choose a dealership over a private buyer is the security that you have when selling it to a reputable dealer like us. You only need to spend a few minutes reading websites that cover scams to see how prevalent scams involving car-buying have become. When you try to sell to a private buyer, you are taking a tremendous risk and opening yourself up to a wide range of potential scams. Even worse, there is always the possibility that a potential buyer is a dangerous criminal looking for an opportunity to attack you when you meet; you have to be very careful when meeting a stranger with the promise of selling them your car.
What to Do Before Selling Your Car
Before bringing your vehicle to us to sell it, you should do some research to get a realistic sense of what your car is worth. You may also want to have it inspected by a mechanic or service center that you trust since they can find issues you might not realize your car has, which could impact the selling price. This gives you a good idea of what we will likely offer you. However, we suggest not bothering with any repairs or other services before selling to us since we can handle those things at a lower cost than you. The difference in price will typically not justify you getting the work done.
Before you bring it to us, it is a great idea to clean your vehicle thoroughly, inside and out, to ensure your car looks its best. Make sure you remove anything you need from inside––you would be surprised how often someone leaves a phone charger, set of keys, or garage opener in a vehicle they sell to us. Get together anything that came with your vehicle, including any original accessories and documentation like the owner’s manual. You should also gather any service records and receipts to show how well you have cared for your vehicle to get the most money for it.
What You Need When Selling Your Vehicle
When you come to us to sell your car, you do not need to have much with you, though a few things are very important. First and foremost, you need to have proof of ownership––typically in the form of your bill of sale from when you bought the car and a copy of your registration here in Alberta. In order for us to buy your vehicle, we need to know we are buying it from the legal owner. You should also bring your photo ID and any of the documentation we mentioned above, such as service records, to streamline the selling process.
You do not need to worry about drafting a new bill of sale or other paperwork because we can handle all of that for you, and we will provide you with copies of all the documents you sign throughout the transaction. We will do a brief inspection of your vehicle and make you an offer––once everything sounds good, we will go over some quick paperwork with you, and everything will be done. When you deal with a private buyer, there is a lot of uncertainty and you have to be very careful that things are done correctly. We buy and sell cars every day, so all of this is very familiar to us, and you never have to worry about the process being handled correctly.
Once all is said and done, you will walk away with your copy of the bill of sale and the money for your vehicle. We will remove the license plate for you––you can transfer it to your next vehicle or cancel and return it. You should also notify your insurance provider of the sale and cancel coverage or transfer it to another car, depending on your situation. If you are looking for a new vehicle, we will be happy to show you our fantastic inventory. In fact, you might prefer using your car as a vehicle trade-in toward your next ride rather than selling it outright.