How To Sell Your Classic Car – The ULTIMATE Guide

At the time our fingers are tip-tapping these words, there are 29,367 classified adverts here on Car & Classic. And that is, well, that’s a lot. This is course why this site is the biggest and best when it comes to finding the classic or specialist car of you dreams. But what if you’re on the other end of the transaction? What if you want to sell your classic car? How do you make your car shine amongst everything else that is for sale? Well, that’s why we’re here, writing this guide. Buying a classic is one thing, but selling it is quite another. And we want you to be armed with the best tips to ensure it’s your phone that rings.

Placing an advert is easy. Making it stand out, however, takes a bit more work. But not a lot. Sure, you could upload a couple of pictures and write a few lines, but is this going to sell your classic car? Maybe, but a lazy advert is going to make it a more difficult job. You don’t need to be a sales whizz, nor do you need to lay it on as thick as Swiss Toni. You just need to take your time and list your car well. A bit of prep, a bit of planning and a bit of thought will ensure your car stands out amongst the rest.

Preparing The Car

We have covered this in detail in a previous article, but it’s still worth mentioning here. Cars, like anything else, need to look their best if you’re planning to sell them. You wouldn’t have the estate agent around to photograph your house if your kitchen was half finished and your pants were drying on the radiator, would you? Clean the car inside and out. If you don’t want to, take it down to the local hand wash place and have them do it for £20. You will make that money back by virtue of first spending it. Selling your classic car is different to selling your Ford Focus. This is an emotive sale. The buyer doesn’t need it. They want it. But only if seeing it excites them in the first place.

Paperwork

When you’re buying a Passat, history carries importance as it serves to show a car has been maintained to the letter, hopefully. And this is the case when you want to sell your classic, too. People will want to know it’s been looked after. However, it’s not as crucial as it would be with a modern car, as most classics are enthusiast owned and often maintained at home. So why does the paperwork still matter? Because it tells a story, that’s why. It is a tenable, physical collection of documents pertaining to the car’s life. People like that. So get what you have, put it in a nice folder and put it in date order. It could be the final nudge the potential buyer needs to pull the trigger.

Pre-empt What Buyers Will Ask

You know your car better than anyone else, so have a think. Is there something in the pictures that might bring about questions? Imperfections, upgraded parts etc? If so, mention them in the copy you write. Does it have any idiosyncrasies that might pop up on a test drive? Make sure you can explain them. The trick here is to include what you can in the advert, and be prepared for further questions when the buyer is in front of you. You want to be confident and informed, as this builds trust. And trust gets a sale.

Photography

Again, this is something we have covered in great detail in this article, which you should most definitely have a read of. Long story short; take a bit of time and care with your pictures. You don’t need to be David Bailey, nor do you need a £10,000 camera. A good, modern mobile phone will be good enough. Take the car somewhere nice for the pictures, a big empty car park, a common, a (safe) side road in the country or even just against a big, plain wall of a local business. Keep the car in the light, and move the car around to do so. If you don’t, one half will be in the light, the other in shadow. Take pictures of any defects, take pictures of the outside, the inside and the engine. This is your ‘shop window’. Give the potential buyer as much visual information as possible. A picture is, as they say, worth a thousand words. And you can upload 12 to your Car & Classic advert, so that’s 12,000 words right there!

Price Appropriately

When selling your classic car, you want to get the most money possible. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. But be sure to do some research and have a look at previous examples that have sold. Look at them and be honest with yourself when comparing. You obviously want to price it with enough meat on the bone to allow a bit of haggling. But don’t price it based on what you have spent on it. It can be painful to sell a car you’ve pumped £10k into for £7k, but that’s the way of it. What you’ve spent does not equate to what it’s worth. However, you can use what you’ve spent as a means to capture people’s interest in the advert, which leads us neatly to…

Wording Your Advert

Nobody is expecting you to be L. J. K. Setright. You don’t need to dazzle people with perfect prose and a selection of appealing adjectives. Instead, you need to be informative, accurate and open with a little bit of excitement thrown in when you want to sell your classic car. When you’re writing your advert, be ‘sectional’ about it. The history, then the exterior, the interior, the engine, the paperwork. Give the buyer plenty of information. Think about what you would like to see, what would motivate you to send that email or pick up the phone. Talk about the car in a way the reflects why you like it, or why you bought it. And don’t write paragraphs, as that might turn the casual browser off. Stick to key information, key facts and key points in its history. You can expand on, and be enthusiastic about, everything else when they come and view the car. And they will, because you will have written a cracking advert.

Sell at the Right Time

No, we don’t mean after your dinner but before Corrie starts. Instead, we’re referring to the season. Don’t sell a convertible in November. Don’t sell that fast-road 911 in February. Got an old Land Rover? Get it listed for sale in Autumn, so on and so forth. Seasons help sell classic cars, especially when it comes to fair-weather stuff. Nobody is going to buy a car only to stick into storage for another four months. Sell your classic car when buyers can use them.

Doing the Deal

So you have your ‘buyer’. Or do you? If you’re going to sell your classic, the transaction should be simple. If they start wanting to leave curious deposit amounts, be wary. If they want you to meet them somewhere you don’t know, be wary. And in 2022, if they want to pay with a significant amount of cash, be wary. A genuine buyer isn’t going to be offended if you ask for some sort of identification, so don’t be afraid to ask. Furthermore, a genuine buyer won’t mind waiting for you to see funds have cleared in your account before you sign any documentation. If the buyer questions anything that would otherwise be straightforward, or asks to do something in a peculiar way, be wary. In 2022 it should be no more complicated that the use of an app, or a call to the bank if it’s a large sum. Finally, meet at a mutual spot for the first viewing. Retail area, the local park, the local football club. Never do a first viewing at home – you don’t want the wrong people knowing where the car is.

Classified or Auction

Finally, you have the consideration to make of selling via a classified advert, or via auction. Our auction platform is often the perfect solution for sellers, as we do all the hard work for you. We can photograph the car, we write the listing of the car, we handle the payment via a secure ESCROW function, and you can of course have a reserve to ensure you get what you want when it comes time to sell your classic. We have a team of consignors, we have unrivalled reach and marketing outlets, and we are all passionate about classic cars. This isn’t just a job to us, this is our life! Just have a look through the reviews to see how happy people have been with our auction service.

If you don’t fancy going through an auction, then we are here for your classified adverts, too. With over 15 years in the game, we’re the biggest online marketplace for your classic. If you follow the steps above, you’ll no doubt have plenty of enquiries and interest. Plus, unlike other sites, we have actual humans monitoring the initial enquiries, to make sure you’re only ever in contact with genuine, honest buyers. Basically, when you want to sell your classic, Car & Classic is the undeniable one-stop-shop.