Don’t miss out on the money you should get for your trade-in at Audi Chantilly!
Posted by:
AudiChantilly
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Date: September 30, 2010 11:21AM
Selling your car and simply don’t know what to do? Follow our guide! Though the market may be beyond your control, there are actions you can take to increase the value of your used car. It won’t even take you a full day, which gives you plenty of time to stop by your Chantilly new car dealership and get yourself an upgraded vehicle.
First, clean your car. Wash the outside, pick up dirt from the hard surfaces on the inside, and vacuum everything, including under the seats and in the door pockets. Use a microfiber towel and a glass cleaning product to get all the film off the inside of the windows. If you’ve got leather seats, break out the Lexol (or equivalent product) to condition the leather. Take out anything that didn’t come in the car. Use an odor neutralizer like Febreeze (which now comes in a formula specially for cars) if you have to.
You’ll also need to wax your car by hand (for lessons on how to do this, see: The Karate Kid). Remove any dried bugs, tar or tree sap with a bug and tar remover. If your car has light scratches around the door handle or keyhole, consider using a scratch remover like Scratch X before you wax.
And don’t forget about the trim. If you have black plastic trim that’s faded in the sun over time, get a heat gun and work it over the black trim until the color starts to return, but beware of turning it too high and melting the trim and body work. Check out your headlights as well with a headlight restoration kit. Wheels and tires tend to be the most neglected part of your cars; that can be taken care of with a commercial wheel cleaner. When you clean the tires, make sure you don’t overlook the bottom of the tire’s sidewall.
If you need to replace anything (tires, brakes, rotors, lights, windshield) do that now. If your car was in an accident, be up front about it if the buyer asks. Likewise, if your car has a salvage title, be sure to list that in the description. And be realistic about your pricing (Edmunds and Kelley Blue Book are great resources).
And then, take it to your Chantilly used car dealer. Sold!