LAST WEEK WE gave you some key tips on getting your car ready for sale and increasing its value.
This week, we are going to take up where we left off and share some advice for taking perfect photos of your car with your phone – and how to create a cracker of a used car advert to get the buyers’ attention.
How to get the perfect shot
A picture is worth a thousand words, and a great photo of your car will really help your ad stand out from the crowd.
First off, your car should be clean both inside and out – a grotty car won’t look attractive in photos.
Make sure the lens on your camera or phone is clean and free from dirt, dust and smudges.
Timing is key
Photograph the car during early morning or before sunset as the sun’s light is redder and softer and the light is fairly even, which helps avoid harsh shadows.
Location
The car is the star so keep distractions to a minimum. Make sure the photos don’t have any people or other cars in them and there are no distracting lines on the ground. Shooting in your driveway is fine, but try not to have the bins in shot.
Filters
No. No. No.
Don’t use your phone’s filters or Instagram filters or anything like that as you will distort the colour of your car. If you must edit your photos, use software to brighten them and not much else.
Perspective
Cars look more aggressive when shot from down low. Crouch down and point the camera up towards the car to make the car look bigger and meaner.
You can also try shooting the car from above looking down on the roof for a more interesting shot. Try getting one photo of the car from out of a top floor window.
Framing
Use different angles. Get one from the side, from behind and from the front. Get them straight on and then from off centre.
The three-quarter angle from the front of the car with the wheels slightly turned inward is a great angle to show off your motor.
Details
Get up close and personal with some of the internal and external features of the car. Shoot the dials, the vents, the grille, the empty boot, the wheels and the back seats.
Craft your advert
Now that you have a super set of shots, it’s time to write the advert.
The idea of the advert is to give the buyer as much information as possible so you aren’t getting phone calls / emails asking the basics about your car – and so that your car is more likely to pop up when buyers are inputting their search criteria.
Title
Full make and model with trim level and year – eg “Ford Focus Zetec, 2010″.
Basics
Mention the engine size, fuel type, transmission type, body type, number of doors, number of seats, colour, mileage, NCT due date, tax band and date, warranty info and service history.
Description
What are your car’s unique features and selling points? Does it have low mileage? (You can search adverts for similar cars to see how your mileage compares).
How many owners has it had? What is the interior condition like? What type of fabric covers the seats and are there any marks or rips? Are there any dents or scratches on the outside? It is better to be honest and mention these in the advert, as an accurate description will help build trust with potential buyers.
Mention why you are selling the car. Buyers always want to know this.
Presentation
Try to use bullet points to help your advert stand out and make it easy to read. Use proper grammar and punctuation and put the advert through a spell checker before you post it.
Price
Don’t put up POA. It’s a PITA. To find out how much your car is worth, you can search for cars similar to yours for sale and look at the asking prices – or use a free online car valuation tool. But just remember, buyers can use these tools too to see how much your car is worth!
You don’t want to price your car too high and put off buyers. However, the price will always be seen as negotiable.
If you don’t have an exact price in mind put in a ballpark figure as people need to know if the car is within their budget – and again, it will help avoid wasting your time and theirs.
If you are open to negotiations, going ONO, or swapping vehicles then say so in the advert.
Contact
Make it personal. Add your name, an email address and a phone number.
Listings
Select the best six or so photos, add them to your perfectly accurate and detailed advert, and put the whole thing online.
DoneDeal is the online platform of choice when it comes to buying and selling cars in Ireland, with more than 260,000 motor ads published in the first quarter of 2016. But you can also print out a photo and the advert and post them on local noticeboards, or even try the local newspaper.
The more places you advertise your car the better chance you have of selling it!
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