Experts reckon that just by cleaning your car you can add $100's to your cars value; a days effort will certainly be a time well spent, and need not cost the earth.

• Outside
• Inside
• Mechanicals

Outside

Your first step should be to clean off all the road grime, using a good-quality car shampoo. NEVER use a washing-up liquid as it actually helps promote rust, unlike car products, which keep it at bay.Work from the roof down,rinse off well, and dry with a chamois.

Now you need to deal with the details:

• Stone chips are unsightly, can rust if not attended to,and usually put buyers off.Repair them with a touch-up stick.These are not expensive, and with a little patience, you can dramatically improve your cars appearance.
• Wheels caked in brake dust look awful. On alloys if it's stubborn, buy an alloy wheel cleaner and treat them. If you have wheel trims that have hit the curb in the past replace them, they can be purchased very cheap at the speed shops.Damaged alloys can also be repaired but they can be quiet costly but still cheaper then replacing an alloy wheel.
• Missing trim or badges stand out like sore thumbs to used buyers, so buy replacements. Wrecking yards and parts replacement stores offer these at reasonable prices.
• Clean less obvious parts too, such as wheel arches, sills and inner panel of doors;this will impress buyers and help create a 'well looked-after' image.

Finally, a good polish will create that 'new car' shine that used buyers are looking for. Don't worry if the paint residue appears on the cloth; this is just a layer of 'dead paint' you are removing-there will still be plenty left on the car!

Inside

Cleaning the interior requires a little more work. Starting with a vacuum is always best-treat carpets,seats,dusty crevices, even the dashboard it self as it will make later jobs a little easier. you are then ready to start with the details.

• Dashboard should be cleaned with a low-gloss dashboard cleaner; don't use household polish, as that will give it a cheap appearance. Clean the door trims too and be careful not to spray fabric.
• Windows should be cleaned after the dashboard, to make sure you don't spoil your hard work. Use a glass cleaner or a damp chamois. When cleaning the rear screen be sure you go side to side action, thus you don't damage the demister elements.
• Replace any non standard items such as racy gear knobs or alloy pedal covers. They will not impress buyers, who'll think your car has been thrashed. Standard is always the best.
• Holes, usually from mobile phone cradles can be filled in by specialists. they can also repair door trims and damaged dash boards, and it doesn't cost the earth.
• Avoid dousing the car with air fresheners, unless you have smoked in it-in which case, buy an udour neutraliser. Spray the ashtray too after giving it a good clean.

Lift tatty old mats out; clean carpet underneath will look much more attractive.

Mechanicals

Buyers love looking under the bonnet, even though they don't know what they are looking for.You should therefore make sure they like what they see.

• Steam-cleaning is much-loved by car dealers, but can arouse suspicion; are you trying to hide oil leaks? by all means clean the engine bay, but don't go overboard. Don't bother with older cars, though, as steam cleaners can sometime damaged fragile parts or connections.
• Oil changes are cheap, and clean oil looks a lot better then sludgy old oil.Make sure your oil levels are correct too.
• Tidy up generally, clean out the leaves from air intakes, and generally make the engine bay appear cared-for.

This is your first point of contact with your potential buyer, it is important that the advert conveys a right message. It's amazing how many people get this wrong, and wonder why the phone is not ringing....had they only put a little more information, their car would have sold in no time.

The Ideal Ad

the perfect cartrade's ad will include the following:

• Exact type of car: If it is a Holden Calais with a 5.0litre V8 state that not-Holden Calais.
• Year of Car: Year off your registration label, as if you state the car is 1999, yet it was first registered in 2000, state-2000 as it may be an update of that year, stating 1999 may be built date but it is not when the car first hit the road.
• Kilometers: If your car has low kilometers, say how low.
• Color: Be helpful-'metallic blue' means far more to most buyers then "nautical".
• Registration Expiry: Provide your exact expiry date.
• Service History:Don't lie. If it has proper recorded history, mention it, if it's complete, state full service history. If you only have few scrappy receipts for wiper blades, leave it out.
• Number of owners:Include if there aren't too many for the age of the car.
• Features: Sell the great features on your car, if it has air conditioning, power windows, abs brakes,and so on-to entice buyers and set your car apart from others.
• Price: Buyers always like to negotiate, therefore if you want $7000 for your car advertise it for a little more like $7500, be realistic, check out similar cars on cartrade's other ads, to gain an idea of right asking price.
• Photo: At cartrade.com.au you can place up to 10 photos of your car, it is always better to provide even 5, buyers like to see the photos, it will stand out and you will get a better response.

Things not to say...

Here's list of favorites that tell the buyer nothing.Lovely driver,good condition for age, lady owner, no time wasters, first to see will buy, leave them out.

For many owners the worst part of selling the car is dealing with potential buyers.It may feel as if they have all the power, but it doesn't have to be like this. Know what to expect, and how to deal with it, and you shouldn't be caught with experienced hagglers, time wasters and criminals.

Test drives

First of all, never let the buyer go alone, there's a potential risk that they may not come back. they may leave you their car keys as security, but how can you be sure that it is not stolen? Also check your insurance policy to make sure that someone else can drive your car as you may not be covered if they have an accident.

Let the buyers follow their own route, as many are suspicious if you dictate which roads to take. Be prepared for buyers to drive you car hard-but if it's a performance model and they are abusing it, politely ask them to calm down, or demand they stop. It's your call-it's your car.

Never leave the keys in the ignition when swapping seats. Thieves may try to engineer such situations, so you should be especially aware.

Inspections

Increasingly complicated cars mean the buyers are far more willing to pay for the used car inspections. If you're serious about selling your car, you shouldn't have any objections, but remember-they often take a few days to organise, so you may have to put other buyers 'on-hold' until the inspection has taken place. a deposit from the buyer will prove their interest, as should be the fact they are spending the money on checking your car.

Haggling

Buyers inevitably haggle about the price; it's all part of buying a car. so you need to be firm, without being unreasonable. Set a price beforehand and keep it in your head during the negotiations. This will mean you are well- prepared to remain firm.

Don't, however, refuse to take offers-this will see buyers walking away-and don't decline a sale for the matter of $50-$100 or so. It'll cost you far more in re-advertising fee, time and hassle.

Handling the money

If you are lucky you will be paid in cash. As long as you look out for forgeries, and make sure you count it all out, you should be okay. If you feel insecure you can take the buyer to the bank and have them give you cash there. You can safely deposit it, and the cashier will ensure there are no forgeries.

Cheques are a little more trouble. NEVER let the car go till the cheque has cleared through your account, even if the buyer is desperate to get hold of your car. Why the rush? If they're genuine, they wont mind waiting a few days-or coming back with cash. Even the bank cheques are suspicious these days as there are a number of frauds going in with bank cheques, plus people have got the ways to stop them. The only guarantee these days is cash in your bank.

Finally write a receipt for both you and the buyer, stating that the car is being sold, sign a disposal and give it to you buyer. Once the buyer has signed an acquisition you need to send this to your local department of motor registry with the date of sale, so if there are any speeding or parking fines incurred you don't get caught with them.

To Place an ad Click here

Used car extended warranty is now available through cartrade.com.au, you can use this as a negotiating tool when you are selling your car. The warranty acts as an insurance policy on the mechanical components of the car. You can either provide your buyer with a 1 year or a 5 year warranty depending on how much you are willing to discount your car.How do you negotiate this into the deal? If a buyer wants to offer you $1500 less for your car then your advertised price, you may choose to include a 3 year warranty for an example in stead of giving them the discount, which will more then often keep the deal in place. The cost to you can vary anywhere from $325 to $725, in either case it is cheaper then discounting $1500. You don't need to purchase the warranty until you have a good deposit and your sale is confirmed. Just log on to www.cartrade.com.au and go to the warranty section, you can purchase the warranty with your credit card and you will receive it within 24 hours.

To view the warranty terms and conditions just click here