Reasons for selling.  

 
Ok so you've taken the rash decision to sell your classic car! Sometimes, the decision to sell a classic car is a quick and easy one to make. But many times putting up your classic car for sale is a painful and heart wrenching decision, regardless of whether you bought it years earlier and did nothing with it, Or maybe there’s anew car to take its place. Or may be you have inherited from a family member .For many, just owning interesting cars is reason enough to hang on to an old friend,  
Selling classic cars can be a tough business, and don’t expect it to happen quickly. but here are some tips on selling old cars anyway.  
 

Valuing a classic cars.  

 
I get quite a few questions from people asking for clues as to what their old car or truck may be worth, or pointers to where they might find out this kind of information. Putting a valuation on something requires many things to be considered before a judgement can be made. One of the best things to do if your car is quite a popular model, is have a read through recent vintage and classic car magazines and see what other people are listing your type of car for, although its important to compare apples with apples - Something to keep in mind is that despite a car being advertised for a set amount there's no guarantee that the car received any enquiries, or will get sold for that or any other amount. Another route to follow may be to get in touch with specialists have your car appraised it may cost a few  $ but confirmation of a cars value from a respected person in the trade could make you car more appealing than other similar examples for  
 

Where to advertise your car for sale.  

 
Once you've decided to sell, and have a price in mind, the next and biggest hurdle to cross is where to advertise the thing. Traditionally, the best way has been to list the car as a photo-advertisement in one of the many historic car magazines .Another established way of selling on your car is to enter it into a car auction, Also the thing to remember with auction sales is the auction house commission. Sometime its a buyers commission, whereby the successful bidder for your car will pay an additional sum to the auction house, whereas other companies operate a sellers commission, whereby its down to you to pay a set percentage, assuming your car sells and meets its reserve .Internet auctions are a fairly recent phenomenon, and one that I've used a few times myself. When listing the car on an internet auction site, such as ebay for instance probably the leading online auction site at the moment, take a quick look , be sure to explain the car and its good & bad points in great detail as the more comprehensive and honest the description is, the better chance you have of giving someone the confidence to bid on your car unseen. Same goes for images, ensure that you have a good selection of clear digital photos to hand that you can upload to the web so that people can have a virtual look around of your motor. Listing a car on ebay .The beauty of an internet auction on such a popular site, is that the potential audience is vast. You can select whether you are willing to accept bidders from outside your country, and if so the payment methods that you are willing to handle. All you need to do is register on ebay as a seller, which is in it self fairly painless, and off you go! If however selling at online auction is altogether too scary, or irritating (you can get lots of strange people contacting you ) you are left with the traditional methods already mentioned, or one of the newly launched specialist vintage & classic car sales sites
Another popular option, especially during summer months and the show season, is to book your car in for a show, take it along, and pop a for sale notice in the window. This can be a very effective way of selling your car quickly to someone local, without the hassle of going through an auction or hanging around for a magazine add.  
 

When is the best time to sell?  

 
Surprising as it may seem, the timing of your selling a car can play at large part of whether the car sells at all. When the first glimpses of sunshine hit our green and pleasant land, many thoughts turn to running a convertible car, visions of having to drive it when the weather turns bad being overwritten with wind in the hair images, bowling along a deserted country road on a bright sunny day. So this can be a very good time of year to sell an open topped motorcar, whereas the chances of selling a ragtop in the depths of winter are much reduced, unless you get a canny soul come along willing to buy the car off-season but hoping for a knock-down price!  
The lead up to Christmas, and immediately afterwards, can be a slow time to sell a car, simply because most peoples budgets will be assigned to buying presents and not on your next vintage automobile.  
 

Preparing your car.  

 
The amount of preparation that you car will require prior to a sale attempt will vary from car to car, much depending on how well its been maintained and the market that your selling to. the sale may be eased by you giving the trim a good scrub and a good dose of leather food, so make the best of the cars potentially best feature. On any car other than a project, its important to make the best of whatever you've got. It may sound obvious, but many people don't make the effort when it comes to presentation, and it can impact the successful sale of your classic car. At the very least give the car a good clean inside and out, including the trunk area and under the hood, attention to all these points makes the car all the more appealing to a potential purchaser. Give the wheels a good clean too, and if you have flaky paint, a quick rub down and a bit of fresh paint works wonders in improving the look of the whole car! Clean the glass inside and out using proper glass cleaner. The windows may have seemed clean originally, Give the tires a good cleaning too, and don't forget the mud flaps either as this attention to detail can make all the difference. If you've been smoking in your car, ensure that all the ashtrays are spotless, and that the  
Along with cosmetics, there are a number of other little jobs you can do to entice a buyer into thinking that your car is the one for them. Give it a service, change the oil and give it a greasing (if applicable) ... ok it may take you a morning, but people will be a little more encouraged if they think that they don't have to drive in servicing.  
Plan to take some photographs, say for an internet auction, give some thought as to where you photograph it. You might think that your driveway will do, but is that really the best image to present your car against? you could make a little extra effort and drive down to a nearby park or woodland area for example, and photograph the car in a nice setting, on a nice day that shows the colour of the paint at its best.
 

Doing the deal.  

 
Ok then, for the sake of argument lets say that the car is being sold from your home people are generally more comfortable with viewing a car at the sellers home. Try to be as honest as you can with the potential buyer don't hide anything but likewise don't feel obligated to explain in details every single flaw, after all the car IS old and unless its been subject to a 100 point concourse restoration, the buyer must accept that there’s every chance that there will be areas that could be improved, although of course anything that is safety related must of course be pointed out. Leave the viewer some time to look over the car without you breathing down their neck, although its probably wise not to leave them the keys in case they decide to take off in your pride & joy. They'll want a test drive, but don't just let them drive off in your car, take them for a spin first and only let them have a go if you're satisfied that they are serious, and still don't leave the keys in the ignition while you change seats, as they could zoom off while you're walking around to the passenger seat. Before letting them anywhere near the drivers seat, ask to see proof of their insurance  
 
Assuming that they are happy, they'll come in with a price they're willing to pay, often a fair bit less than you were asking for - negotiate and haggle, keep at it and with a bit of luck you'll reach an amicable agreement.

So then all that required is payment. Cash is favourite, but if they insist on paying by cheque then hang on to the car until the cheque has cleared, don't trust them simply because they have an honest face. Once you've got the payment, sign over the ownership and give them a receipt,