How To Sell A Car Privately In South Africa

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kingr
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How To Sell A Car Privately In South Africa

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When it’s time to sell your car, there are a number of options to choose from. For some who couldn’t be bothered with all the fuss, they’ll simply take it to a local dealer for a trade-in value or outright purchase price. Another option is to park and sell a car, typically in a local lot or at on consignment at a dealership. This isn’t a bad route for many who have time to wait for their price, but remember that those park and sell lots won’t take any active interest in keeping your car clean and presentable.

Savvy car owners can also sell their car through us, and we are posting great prices and turnaround times. The final option is to advertise and sell your car yourself. The route chosen often depends on whether you need to settle outstanding finance or need the money to buy another car. If you’re going to sell your car privately, follow these steps to make the process logical, thorough and pleasant too:

1. Know how much your car is worth
A good starting point when selling your car is to educate yourself on the real market value of your car. You need to know what people are willing to pay for your car in the market right now, given the mileage, condition, consumer demand and your location. Always start with acar valuation car valuation to get a legitimate value on your car to contextualise your own understanding and expectations. Your can also call a dealership and request the book value of your car, as most will share this over the phone. in our experience, a good guideline for selling a car privately is to set a price slightly above the trade-in value of your car, as this will make your price competitive enough to attract private car buyers. It also allows you to largely avoid competing with car dealerships on the price for your car. It’s very rare when selling a car privately that you’ll fetch the full retail value for your car.

Related: Understanding Vehicle Trade and Retail values

2. Have all your “car admin” in order
(a) Car registration certificate
Make sure you have the vehicle registration certificate in your possession, if the car is not currently financed with a bank. If you are selling a car that is still subject to a finance agreement, a “settlement letter” from the bank will be sufficient to prove that you are the owner of the car. The bank will be listed as the title holder on the registration certificate.
(b) Service book
You should also have the car’s service book ready for viewing by potential buyers. Check that all the services for your car have been stamped in the book. Some car manufacturers in South Africa, like Audi and BMW, have transitioned to digital records of service histories. In this case, giving a dealership your car’s VIN number can glean a swift electronic copy.
(c) Spare keys
Find the spare key(s) and have it present when showing your car to potential buyers. Car keys on particularly modern and luxury cars are expensive and not having one negatively affects your car’s value of your car.

3. Check that your licence disk is still valid
Ensure the licence disk hasn’t expired and, if any renewal costs are looming when selling a car, get that sorted before or together with placing an ad.

Should I roadworthy my car if I’m selling it?
Yes and no, as a roadworthy certificate is legally required when you’re selling a car. That said, however, many sales have been concluded in the absence of a roadworthy certificate. the buyer might well agree to take the car for the roadworthy test, often for a slight consideration. This often happens as it makes sense, knowing that any car being registered to a new owner is subject to a roadworthy test in any case.

If the buyer of your car is buying with finance, the bank will require the car to go for a roadworthy test and a multi-point check. You can negotiate with the buyer who will be paying for what test, but more usually the seller pays for the roadworthy test while the buyer pays for a multi-point check.

4. Clean and prepare your car for photos
(a) Wash your car!
When selling a car, presentation is imperative, and dusty and dirty just translate into lower prices. Valet the car if you can, but whatever you do remember that two things count a lot: the way a buyer feels approaching and looking at your car, and the way they feel when they sit in it for the first time. If you want selling your car to be as quick as possible, a good first impression is a must.
(b) Remove personal items
Before taking pictures and while showing the car, consider removing personal items that might clash with any prospective buyer that comes along. This is really just more housekeeping when selling a car, and an attempt to present the car as professionally as possible.

[b5. ]Take good, clear photos of your car[/b]
After your car is cleaned and ready for photos, a good time to take photos is either early morning or late afternoon, when the sun’s reflection off your car is minimal. Straighten the front wheels, close the doors and roll up the windows. Take photos from the front-left of your car, walking around the car to capture all other angles. Take photos of the wheels and any unique features of your car, like a sunroof, tow-bar or canopy. When selling a car and photographing the interior, focus on the driver seat, dashboard and rear seats. You can also snap a few photos of unique features, like electric seats, an automatic transmission, a digital instrument cluster or any extras that have been fitted.

Related: How to create an attractive car ad

6. Decide where to advertise your car
If you want to sell your car quickly, online advertising is the easiest way to reach a very big audience of potential car buyers in South Africa. You can upload your car to free advertising platforms, but be aware of potential scammers as they constantly lurk around these websites for new victims to scam out of their car, and money. When selling a car, you can also upload to paid advertising platforms like cars.co.za and autotrader.co.za. These websites have a large following and you car advert will definitely be viewed by potential buyers.

Another online option you can explore is uploading your car to a online forum. Even better if you can upload it to a forum specific to your car brand. These forums are for die-hard car enthusiasts, the best kind of people to notify when selling a car! Most of these forums will require a minimum post count as a member before you will be able to upload your car in the “for sale” section. Here’s a list of some of the more popular online car forums VW Club SA, BMW Fanatics, Audi Forum and Ford ST Owners.

7. Write a great description for your car advert
The photos of your car should say a 1000 words, but you still need to write a good and clear description when selling your car. Follow the list below to make sure you are describing your car correctly.
(a) List the make, year and model of your car accurately. Is your car model a C180 or a C200? State the correct model to avoid any confusion or the annoyance of answering phone calls from buyers asking what model and year your car might be.
(b) Clearly state the correct current mileage of your car
(c) Mention the service history in your description. FSH stands for “full service history” from a dealership. If you don’t have a full service history from a car dealership, you can still share any other maintenance work you have carried out on the car.
(d) If your car is still under a maintenance plan, mention this and state when the maintenance will expire, at what mileage.
(e) If your car has any warranty, clearly state the type of warranty (aftermarket or dealership) and also when it will expire.
(f) Manual or automatic? State the correct transmission type in your advert.
(g) List all the extras that have been fitted to your car. List factory and any other aftermarket extras you may have.


8. Arranging viewings with potential buyers
You’re selling your car, and you’ve had a few bites on your advert. After sifting through some chancers, you agree to meet a potential buyer of your car. We don’t recommend meeting buyers at your house, but you can do this if you feel comfortable. Preferably show your car when you’re not alone, and during daylight hours. Shopping malls and McDonald’s parking lots are perfectly acceptable venues to meet and show a car.

Never meet someone at a location you are not comfortable with. Unknown locations that make you nervous can be opportunities for someone to hijack your car., leaving you with no car and no money in the bank either. Crooks love to bend desperate sellers to line them up for a big, fat sucker punch. If you are only happy to show the car during certain hours for whatever reason, stick to that. Any compromise that flusters you should be killed right there and then.

Also, be honest when you showing car. No one wants peer to peer comebacks, dealing with two people’s versions of “reasonable”? Disclose everything, and talk about accidents and any other relevant information to the sale. A definite value-add is a car history check that includes valuations and a stolen car check, something any prospective buyer will value. If a major service like a 90,000km cam belt is due, mention this and whether or not you’ve factored that into the price.

9. Test driving with potential buyers
Before even considering the prospect of allowing someone to test drive your car, you have to first confirm that the potential buyer can actually afford to buy your car. If your potential buyer plans to get bank finance, then they can simply present you with their approved car finance offer from the bank. If it's a cash deal, it makes things more tricky. Electronic transactions are safer than cash-on-hand, but also be cautious when giving out your banking details. if you accept an EFT, log in and transact with the money a little to confirm legitimacy.

Also, when selling your car, check that the potential buyer has a valid driver’s licence and that they are who they say they are, leading up to your meeting. It’s critical that you go along for the test drive. This allows for two things: firstly that you ensure nothing untoward happens to your car while your buyer is behind the wheel and, secondly, you are on hand to answer any questions that may pop up as the drive unfolds. As an extra security measure, ask a friend or relative to come along for the test drive.

More Information: What to keep in mind for test drives

10. Getting paid for your sale car
It’s advisable to sign a basic sale agreement when selling your car privately, as this document can be used as a reference whenever in the future you might need it. The sale agreement can be basic and simply say that Part A hereby sells [car details] to Party B [with both party’s details listed - see below] for X amount. Both parties sign and a witness would ideally sign too. If at all possible, keep a copy of the buyer’s ID too.

Sale agreement details
- Name and surname
- Address [use proof of address]
- Email
- Contact number
- ID number [vakidated by viewing a legitimate card or document]
- Car description
- Car price
- Car VIN
- Any special sale conditions
- Signatures of the buyer and seller

11. Take payment for your car
Never part with your car until you (and the bank if needs be) have been paid in full, by either cash or an EFT. If the car you are selling is still financed, you can obtain the settlement letter from your bank. This letter will state the amount, bank account and reference number that should be used to settle your outstanding car finance. The potential buyer can settle the finance directly with the bank or pay you the settlement which you can then pay over to the bank. If there is a shortfall amount paid to settle the bank finance, you will be liable to settle this amount with the bank, failing which they won’t allow the sale.

More information: How can I sell a car with outstanding finance

After receiving the payment for your car, it is officially sold and you can hand it over along with your:
Registration document (if not financed)
Service book
Receipt of payment copy
Spare keys
Any other accessories that were included in the deal.

12. Cancel your car insurance
Don’t forget to cancel your car insurance. Just notify your insurance company that you’ve sold your car and they will remove it from your policy. It’s a bit of a fiddle at times, as there is normally a waiting period of 30 days and you won’t know when exactly you’ll sell the car, making premature cancellation difficult. ideally, since strangers will be driving your car, rather cancel insurance after the deal is done, and bite the bullet on an additional premium for peace of mind.

13. Submit your copy of the change of ownership yellow form at the traffic department
Yellow change of ownership forms must be filled out in duplicate and signed by both parties. both parties need to submit their copies at the department. The notification of change of ownership (NCO) is the official document used to transfer ownership of a car in South Africa. The “yellow form” is very important and will protect you when selling your car from any future traffic fines, while the buyer transfers the car to his/her name. The form must be submitted to the motor vehicle registering authority with a copy of the seller’s ID, the buyer’s ID and the buyer’s proof of address.

[b 14. ]Registration and licensing by the new owner[/b]
Now that your car is sold - congratulations! It’s the buyer’s responsibility to register the car in their name and obtain a new licence disk. They will complete the “blue form” (Application for Registration and Licensing of a Motor Vehicle) to do this, and will need a valid roadworthy certificate to get a new licence disk.
Kurt #3337

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