Perhaps you've not yet realised it, but selling your own car puts you in something of a predicament. It's made even worse if you've already fallen in love with the new one. It takes quite a bit of special effort to come out of this in one piece. By coming out in one piece, we mean, that not only do you have your new one and the old one is gone, but that you're satisfied with the result, the selling procedure, and in particular, the selling price.

The situation becomes even more difficult if you've already bought the new one. Ok, you won't be letting that on to the potential buyer. Indeed, woe betide you, if he or she notices that you're a little too eager to make a compromise as far as price negotiations are concerned. That means, they know that the old car must go and you can't simply let the impertinent buyer off the hook once he or she has taken the bait.

Now, that's enough of the daunting introduction. One thing should however be clear, you should do (or have done) any important repairs beforehand. Not that you should bring forward an inspection. You might e.g., find out what it would cost, then during the sales negotiations either reduce the price or offer to have an inspection carried out. This of course, depends on whether or not the sale is hanging on a silver thread.

So, we'll now assume a technically flawless vehicle. A somewhat shabby looking car can be put into good shape by an expert car valet service. Ask around beforehand, you'll be surprised. I was amazed at how little it costs to have a somewhat battered car, or one that stinks to high heaven of tobacco smoke, converted into a really desirable object. Should your car be well looked after and virtually dent-free, then doing a thorough cleaning yourself will be sufficient. Have a good look into all the corners and check that every bit of space is well cleaned.

I am assuming that your car has been photographed, of course in the sunshine, showing it from its best side for its internet appearance or for other advertisements and, that you yourself, put on a good appearance when it comes to meeting the prospective buyer. The opinions and experiences of friends may also help in your preparations. The asking price and your limit should be well thought out before the sale, otherwise, you could also have an internet estimation done. You can either do the test-drive yourself or you can let the potential buyer drive, the latter carries a certain amount of risk.

There is one more important point, if you've not thought about it yet, then I'm afraid it's now too late. Since you either have a comprehensively filled out service book or you don't. Of course, some sort of file with all the documents pertaining to the car wouldn't be a bad idea. You should also make it clear, what accessories there are or even provide them. When it then comes to an actual meeting, you can concentrate all your attention on your customer, to fathom out, just how far you are prepared to compromise. As mentioned above: If the new one has already been bought, you may have to go very far indeed ...