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Handling Inquiries

One of the toughest techniques that you’ll need to learn to sell that used car is the art of taking phone calls and dealing with people you don’t know. Although it’s possible to sell the car by word of mouth to a friend or family member, most of us that will sell a used car will need to deal with someone we aren’t familiar with. If handled correctly, the whole process can be profitable for both parties and even pleasant, but there are certain things that you’ll need to protect yourself in what might be a tricky process.

Remember that people who call you after they see the ad that you’ve placed will generally want a little more information before they go to the bother of coming to see the car in person. They will be interested so what you’ll need to do here is supply that little extra push by presenting the vehicle in the best possible light over the phone. A cautionary note here—there’s no reason to waste their time and present the car in a false light or tell them a few white lies to get them to come and see the car when they’re going to find out the truth anyway. Be honest. The experts suggest that it’s better if you think of yourself as an information provider rather than a salesman.

You should always lead off with a little pitch though. Maybe something about what a great car the one you’re selling has been or how you really wouldn’t be selling it at all if it weren’t for getting a new one. The people who phone might want you to take the lead—if that’s the case, make sure to go over the vital statistics again even if you’ve listed them in your ad. If they’ve got their own set of questions, then by all means let them run the show. Basically, there are five areas that anyone buying a used car will be most interested in.
• Make, model, year
• Mileage
• Color
• Price
• Options
• Condition

Once these have been established, you can move up to the next level but always be cautious about staying away from a direct sales pitch. For example, you can mention the options the car has but try to remember not to go on too long or list all of them so that you start to sound desperate or needy. Make sure to have a positive reason ready to go about why you’re selling the vehicle as well. Needing a bigger trunk for the samples that you need to fit there as a traveling salesman is a much better reason than wanting something with a better ride.

When the caller is interested, the time is right to tell them about any complications that might arise form the sale. For instance, if the air conditioner doesn’t work and you didn’t get it fixed, here is the time to tell them, but make sure to tell the prospect that you’ve made allowances in the sale price for the defect.

Areas of Concern
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While you're in the process of tweaking your used car so that it sells, there are several areas of concern that you want to take a look at because these are the areas that the consumer or potential buyer will gravitate towards. Understandably, one of the first is the acceleration. If a prospect finds that the car is sluggish in any way, they might be suspicious that there’s something wrong with the engine.

Potential customers will want to see if the car is powerful enough for them and will take their own driving habits into consideration when testing your car. If they do a lot of highway driving, they will want an engine that will bring him to cruising speed quickly and let them pass trucks on the highway in a hurry. Good acceleration also helps any driver’s ability to merge into lanes quickly.
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As well they will want to really test the brakes. This means they’ll want to do a little more than just slow down at stop signs so you might want to ride alongside them on any test drive while they stomp on the brakes to see what they’re really made of. Really that’s only fair. If someone is really considering your car, they’ll want to know how it handles in emergencies.

Let them accelerate to their normal driving speed and then stomp on the brakes hard. They might also want to test out the steering in emergency situations as well by turning hard on the wheel. One of the best features that your brakes can show off is ABS—anti-lock brakes. This is a software program in the computer of your car that instructs the brakes to pump even if you stomp on them.


Of course, the suspension is another important part of the car buying process. The suspension determines how the car rides, and how your back will feel when you go to bed. Some of the factors that a prospect will want to look at are how the car handles when driving through a parking lot’s speed bumps. You might even want to give this a try on your own to see if this could be a potential problem area. As well, you can really test out the suspension by going over a railway track to see how the car handles before you go out on any test drive with a prospect in the car with you.

Used cars also have various unique characteristics that the person considering the vehicle will want to test. You want to take the car out by yourself and turn the radio down and roll the windows up so that you can hear how well the car shifts gears and how the transmission sounds. In some cases where there might be extensive problems, it’s best to get a mechanic to have a look at the areas before you put the car on the market. Often, you’ll need to decide if the issue is worth fixing or if the car should just be sold ‘as is.’

Making That Counter Offer
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Once you've got a prospective car buyer to the point where they’ve made an offer, it’s time to either accept the offer, reject it, or make a counteroffer. One of the first things that you want to do is show some restraint and not answer right away. In the moment or two that you take to think about the offer, go over the reasons for the original price in your head. It's a good idea to be a bit of an actor here, maybe even lapse into silence for a moment pretending you are thinking about the offer. You might even want to say something like,

“Gee that’s a good offer and all, but I checked with a few dealers that told me this was what the car was really worth.”

It may appear to the prospect that you are deeply thinking about their offer but in reality what you are doing is waiting for them to up their price .In the end it’s really all about the barter system. You might go a few hundred under your original asking price, but you want to be sure to go as close as possible to it. One of the things you need to do before the negotiation is set a rock bottom price. Then drop the highest price slowly to make the buyer think they are getting a great deal.

Once you’ve finally arrived at an agreement, one of the last things to do is get paid. In most cases, people are prepared to pay with cash or cashier’s check and you should be well aware that it is a little risky to take a personal check from someone that you don't know very well. It's important here to eliminate any misunderstandings if the buyer wants to pay with cash. Remind yourself to watch them as they count the bills, or count the money out loudly if they hand you a wad of money. If there is a discrepancy at all let them count the money to be sure or if they've done it, count the money yourself in front of them.

And as the saying goes, the job is never done until the paperwork is finished. Once you've got the money in your possession, you’ll to transfer ownership to the buyer and because the information varies from state to state you should check with the department of motor vehicles in your area to get the particulars. Things can get complicated if an out-of-state bank holds the title. In this case, you and the buyer should go to the department of motor vehicles in your area and get a temporary operating permit. Later on the new owner will have to apply for a permit in their own name.

Handling Inquiries

One of the toughest techniques that you’ll need to learn to sell that used car is the art of taking phone calls and dealing with people you don’t know. Although it’s possible to sell the car by word of mouth to a friend or family member, most of us that will sell a used car will need to deal with someone we aren’t familiar with. If handled correctly, the whole process can be profitable for both parties and even pleasant, but there are certain things that you’ll need to protect yourself in what might be a tricky process.

Remember that people who call you after they see the ad that you’ve placed will generally want a little more information before they go to the bother of coming to see the car in person. They will be interested so what you’ll need to do here is supply that little extra push by presenting the vehicle in the best possible light over the phone. A cautionary note here—there’s no reason to waste their time and present the car in a false light or tell them a few white lies to get them to come and see the car when they’re going to find out the truth anyway. Be honest. The experts suggest that it’s better if you think of yourself as an information provider rather than a salesman.

You should always lead off with a little pitch though. Maybe something about what a great car the one you’re selling has been or how you really wouldn’t be selling it at all if it weren’t for getting a new one. The people who phone might want you to take the lead—if that’s the case, make sure to go over the vital statistics again even if you’ve listed them in your ad. If they’ve got their own set of questions, then by all means let them run the show. Basically, there are five areas that anyone buying a used car will be most interested in.
• Make, model, year
• Mileage
• Color
• Price
• Options
• Condition

Once these have been established, you can move up to the next level but always be cautious about staying away from a direct sales pitch. For example, you can mention the options the car has but try to remember not to go on too long or list all of them so that you start to sound desperate or needy. Make sure to have a positive reason ready to go about why you’re selling the vehicle as well. Needing a bigger trunk for the samples that you need to fit there as a traveling salesman is a much better reason than wanting something with a better ride.

When the caller is interested, the time is right to tell them about any complications that might arise form the sale. For instance, if the air conditioner doesn’t work and you didn’t get it fixed, here is the time to tell them, but make sure to tell the prospect that you’ve made allowances in the sale price for the defect.