by Andrew Rohrlich
Knowing the private sale value of your car is vital before you embark on selling your vehicle. You can make hundreds, or even thousands, more if you're armed with this critical information.
Your car has different values depending on where you sell it. You’ll get the lowest price if you sell it for cash to a licensed motor vehicle dealer. You may do a little better trading it in for a new car; however, you’ll get the best price through a private sale.
No matter where you sell, you could lose money if you don’t know what your car is worth. You risk pricing your car too low or being unable to sell because your price is too high. However, by doing some simple homework, it's possible to end up with a couple extra thousand dollars. These easy-to-use tips will help you quickly determine your car's value ahead of a private sale.
Tips to Determine Your Car’s Value For a Private Sale
The first step in finding the private sale value of your car is to determine its condition. The second is to check its value in the Kelly Blue Book. The third is to check the sale prices of vehicles like yours. Next, check wholesale prices. Last, take a look at market conditions. Let’s go through each step in detail to help you see how easy it is to answer the question, “What is my car worth in a private party sale?”
1. Accurately Assess the Vehicle Condition
Kelley Blue Book, many car dealers’ Bible, lists four different conditions for used cars — Excellent, Very Good, Good, and Fair. The difference between Excellent and Fair can be several thousand dollars.
- Excellent means your car is in showroom condition without any work having been done on it.
- Very good means that there are no significant problems with paint, glass, interior, or mechanics. Very minor scratches and scuff marks are acceptable.
- Good means free of major defects and mechanical problems, and the tires are still serviceable.
- Fair means there are some repairable problems.
Inspecting your vehicle in bright sunlight after you’ve washed it thoroughly is best. Although you may be tempted to gloss over minor imperfections to place the car in a higher value category, buyers won’t be so generous as they try to find faults driving the purchase price down.
You’ll find an easy, five-question multiple-choice condition quiz here that will guide you through the inspection process. If you’re not feeling up to evaluating your car’s condition, you can have a vehicle inspection done by a garage that will give you an accurate appraisal for between $100 to $200.
2. Use a Valuation Tool Like Kelley Blue Book
Once you have evaluated your car’s condition, you’re ready to use an online valuation tool. Kelley Blue Book has been the go-to source for vehicle valuation since 1926. You can use Kelley’s simple calculator to get your Blue Book value. If a buyer asks, “What’s the Blue Book value?” you’ll be ready.
You’ll need to assemble some information about your car before using a valuation tool:
- Make, model, and year. An example is the 2020 Honda Accord Sport 2.0t. If you’re unsure, check the car’s manual.
- Color, interior, and trim. Check the car’s manual if you’re unsure.
- Features. Special features or custom equipment like custom rims and sound system, leather seats, or a heated steering wheel can add to your car’s value.
- Mileage. You’ll find the mileage on your car’s odometer on the dashboard. Mileage is critical in appraising used car value.
- Vehicle identification number. This 17-digit number is usually on a sticker inside the driver’s side door jamb or dashboard.
- License plate number, zip code, and state. Your location tells the valuation what weather conditions your car may have been driven in. The effects of New England winters are different than Southern California's sunshine.
- Condition: Read the description of each category on the valuation before inspecting your car and deciding if it’s Excellent, Very Good, Good, or Fair. Failure to be honest with yourself in estimating its condition can cause a large miscalculation.
There are other online valuation tools like Edmunds.com. On Edmunds, you can get a valuation in under a minute by entering basic information. You may notice a big difference if you compare the Kelley Blue Book value with the Edmunds value. Car valuation tools are only meant to give ballpark figures.
Your true car value will be determined by factors unique to the vehicle and by the negotiating skills that you and the buyer bring to the table. Knowing everything you can about your car will prepare you to get the best price.
3. Look at the Sale Prices of Comparable Vehicles
Checking listings for the prices that other owners and licensed dealers are asking for similar cars will tell you what to expect.
Craigslist will give you private sale prices in your local area. If you decide to make a private car sale on Craiglist, be aware of how to protect yourself by reading Craigslist’s advice.
eBay will inform you about nationwide prices. eBay Motors has excellent search criteria, so you can match your search closely to exactly what you are selling by specifying more than make and model.
If you want to sell on eBay, you can use the Buy Now function to set a price or the Auction function to take bids.
You can check several other online sites for prices, but most are dedicated to licensed dealer offerings. In addition to dealer listings, Autotrader does have private car sale ads you can check for vehicles like yours.
4. Be Aware of Wholesale Prices
The price licensed used car dealers currently pay at wholesale auctions is often rock bottom. You’ll be selling at dealer levels if you add between 25% to 40% extra to the used car wholesale price for cars like yours.
Knowing the wholesale price gives you a number you know you should never go below. You can find the used car wholesale price on the Central Car Auction site.
5. Look at Market Conditions
Automotive industry market conditions have a tremendous impact on used car prices. When new car costs rise quickly, many buyers shift to buying used vehicles. The increased demand causes used car prices to also grow.
Higher demand and increased prices can be good for sellers. However, these market conditions squeeze out buyers who can’t afford higher prices.
J.P. Morgan reports that the high demand and corresponding high prices in the used car market in 2022 began with slowdowns in new car factory production during COVID-19. The subsequent global supply chain issues, semiconductor shortage, and the Ukraine/Russian war that led to further raw material shortages all compounded the initial woes of the auto manufacturing industry.
Then the effects of inflation kicked in, causing demand to drop as consumers adopted a wait-and-see attitude. Timing market conditions to get the best price for your private car sale can be tricky, but you can plan and price accordingly if you keep yourself informed.
Factors That Affect How Much You Can Sell Your Car for Privately
The following factors outside of a car valuation tool can impact your vehicle's value.
- Fuel prices and fuel economy. Ridding yourself of a gas guzzler can be challenging when fuel prices are high.
- Cleanliness. Making an effort to clean your car thoroughly can pay off with a higher price and smoother sale.
- Pictures. Great pictures of the car’s interior and exterior give buyers the information they need to make a favorable buying decision quickly.
Sell Your Car at the Right Price
After you’ve determined a fair price for your car, add a little more so you’ll have room to come down in negotiations. Now, you’re finally ready to start advertising. Prepare a list of places you’ll run ads on and establish an ad budget. Here are some suggestions:
- Local newspapers
- Craigslist
- eBay
- Facebook Marketplace
- Autotrader
This article was written by Andrew Rohrlich. As a brand and product marketing expert, Andrew Rohrlich has crafted products, experiences and communications for household names like Gap and for multiple automotive technology businesses. For nearly a decade Andrew has studied automotive retail in depth from a customer point of view and aggregated the industry’s best research, thought leadership and know how to provide credible and important information to auto shoppers and sellers.
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