We all know that having a car look its best can get you a better price when you go to sell it. This is why, as detailers, For Sale Prep details are so popular. However, what are the main things to do? What areas should you focus on? What may look nice but wouldn’t increase value? Let’s discuss.
- The first, and main, thing is for the car to be clean. This doesn’t just mean a good wash either. Often times buyers will look in certain areas to get an idea of how the car was cared for. The gas tank door, underside of the hood, hood and trunk struts, wheel wells, etc. Seeing these clean portrays that this car was well maintained and cared for enough to keep these things in mind that you would not normally see day to day, or that wouldn’t get cleaned at a drive through car wash. Also make sure to do a thorough vacuum and remove all pet hair. Clean the steering wheel, turn signal knob, vents, etc. Clean the engine bay and dress the rubbers. Just clean everything.
- Make sure all the exterior rubbers and plastics are properly cleaned and protected so that are nice and black. Nothing screams a neglected vehicle more that grey, oxidized plastics. You can clean with Meguiar’s D101 and a Boar’s Hair Brush and an All Purpose Microfiber then protect with Poorboy’s Trim Restorer for a non-greasy finish.
- Make sure to polish the exhaust tips, if applicable. With Poorboy’s Metal Polish and some #0000 steel wool it takes just a few minutes an make a huge difference.
- Clay and decontaminate the vehicle. Using CarPro PolyShave Block and Iron-X, if needed. Again its quick and will not only make the car look better, but feel better as it will be smooth, which will go a very long way.
- If necessary polish the headlights. This is a little more involved but will give you a huge return on investment as it will greatly improve the look of the vehicle.
- Take good pictures. With how good phone cameras are these days, there’s almost no reason you can’t get some good pictures of your car. Crouch down a bit to be at the car’s level, move things out of the shot and don’t have your shadow or reflection in the shot. You would be amazed at the kind of pictures people take when listing a car. See this example.
- Remove swirls. This comes with a caveat as it really depends on the kind of vehicle. For example, if you are selling a 2008 Prius with 150K miles, the amount of money or time you would spend to polish it would not get you a return on investment. The market for this vehicle doesn’t care as much as the mileage is so high that the total value of the car is too low. However, if you are selling a Ferrari Stradale, yeah that better look perfect.
- Protection. It is important to put some wax or sealant on to not only look better, but make the paint feel smoother as well. Don’t put a ceramic coating on it and expect to get more money for it. Adding a ceramic coating is still pretty niche and having the person who wants your specific car, in your area and also happening to want to pay to have it ceramic coated, is very low. Even if they were, they would pay what you paid if you have it done by a detailer. So just put a good sealant on it like my favorite, HydrO2 and you’ll be good to go.
Now see this, of the same car, but taking a couple extra minutes to get a good shot.
Which are you more inclined to buy?
Good luck with your sale!