How to sell your car

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Expert Car Selling Guidance from Jamjar

If you haven’t done it before, it’s tricky to know how to sell your car. Given that your motor could represent a significant sum of money and all the legal issues that are wrapped up in car ownership, it’s important that you get it right.

Jamjar’s car selling guidance section has been written to cover everything you need to know if you’re thinking about selling your car. This page gives you a broad overview of the process to get you started.

Getting started

Should I sell my car?

Should you sell your car? Maybe – the only person that can decide is you. However, there are a all sorts of situations you could find yourself in where selling your car is the best option available. Read Jamjar’s helpful article to see the different factors you should be weighing up to make the best decision.

Starting out when selling your car

Selling your car can seem like a tricky process, but it really doesn’t have to cause a headache. Jamjar exists to make selling your car easy. Here you’ll find everything you need to think about before selling.

At what mileage should I sell my car?

How do you decide if the time is right to sell your car? The vehicle’s mileage is one of the best indicators of the work it’s likely to need in the future and the money you could get for it in a sale. See here for a breakdown of mileage brackets and what they mean for your prospects.

Can I sell my car if it’s on finance?

Having money left to pay on your finance deal can put a stumbling block in the way of a sale. In this article, you’ll find everything you need to know about selling a car if you’re still paying off your finance deal.

Exploring your options

When should I sell my car?

When should you sell your car? You might think that a car is worth more or less the same amount of money all year round, but various seasonal and industry factors can actually have a big impact on its value. Read Jamjar’s in-depth guide for more information on when the perfect time to sell your old motor could be.

Where can I sell my car?

Deciding where to sell your car is no easy choice in a world where multiple places, online and locally, will help you get some money back on your old motor. To help you weigh up your options and make the best decision for your car and situation, Jamjar has written a handy guide packed full of useful information.

Should I trade in my car or sell it?

There are a few different options available if you’re looking to offload your motor, including selling your car privately, to an online buying service or trading it into a dealer. Jamjar takes you through the options you should consider when making a decision. Read more here.

Is it worth repairing my car before selling it?

Is it worth repairing your car before selling it? There’s no easy answer to that question – everyone’s situation is different. Jamjar’s guide makes the question as easy to answer as possible by laying out the main things you should consider when thinking it through.

Should I sell my car and buy a cheaper one?

Is your current car a bit of a gas guzzler? Did that last repair bill make your eyes water? There are all sorts of reasons why we might want to sell our current motor to make room for something cheaper, but is it the right call?

How to sell your car with no MOT

An MOT certificate is required for a vehicle to be road legal. This can make it tricky to sell a car that doesn’t have one. However, there are ways to get money for your old motor. Read this article to find out more.

Getting ready for sale

What documents do I need to sell my car?

If you’re planning on selling your car, there are a few documents you’ll need to have to hand if you’re wanting everything to go smoothly. This guide from Jamjar takes you through all the documents you might need when you sell your car, covering all the bases for you.

Can I sell my car without a V5C (logbook)?

The V5C, also known as the registration document, logbook or simply just the V5, is one the most important documents to have if you’re trying to sell your car. The government recommends that nobody buys a car without one. However, there are things you can do in this case.

Should I take my license plate when I sell my car?

Do you need to remove your license plate before you sell up? In most cases, no, but things are a little different if you have a personalised plate. Read Jamjar’s article to find out more.

Informing the DVLA of a car sale

For ownership of a car to be transferred legally in a sale, the DVLA needs to be notified. Find out how to go about letting them know and the implications for car tax in this article from Jamjar.

More information

Private vs part-exchange vs online car buying service

When thinking about selling your car, you have a big decision to make off the bat: do you sell your car yourself (privately), sell it to a dealership as a part-exchange as a deal for another, normally more expensive car or sell it to an online car buying service for cash? No one option is clearly better than the other. Selling privately could get you more money, but it’s a much lengthier and riskier process than selling by another means.

If you sell privately, the onus is on you to advertise and prepare the vehicle for sale, legally handing over the vehicle correctly and ultimately making sure you’re getting the right price. If you sell to either a dealer or a used car buying service, you know you’ll be dealing with a business that has done this thousands of times before who can also offer additional help with any paperwork, road tax refunds, outstanding finance etc.

Read more about the pros and cons of selling and trading in.

Valuing my car

Whether you’re selling privately or to a commercial buyer (either online or a dealership), it’s important that you do your research to check the value of your car before you decide to sell it. To see how much you could get, checking used car sites or even local dealerships that are selling the same or similar models can be a good indication but bear in mind that prices do fluctuate and they may not be accurate when you decide the time is right to sell.

It’s even easier to see the kind of price you could get from an online buyer. Simply entering your registration number and a few details about the condition of the car into a trusted comparison site like Jamjar will give you the best current offers available from online car buying services. An advantage of these valuations is that they’re easy to find and always up to date. With multiple buyers in competition for your car, you can rest assured that the valuations will always be as high as possible.

Selling with outstanding finance privately vs. professional car buyers

If you still have money to pay on your hire purchase finance, it’s not quite as simple when selling the car privately. There are a few different considerations to bear in mind:

If you have outstanding finance, it must be paid off – this normally means paying the outstanding value in one go before you gain money from the sale of the vehicle.
Many private buyers won’t consider a car with outstanding finance – HPi or Experian data checks will show that a car has outstanding finance and most buyers won’t want to take on the murky legal implications of trying to buy it.
However, online car buying services can help – the businesses that work with Jamjar to buy your car will be able to help you shift a vehicle with outstanding finance. They do this by paying the company that you owe money to and then paying you whatever is left over, normally for no additional administration fee.

What documents do I need?

The most important document to have at the time of sales is a V5C. Anyone who’s buying your car, whether they’re a dealer, an online car buying website or a private buyer, should ask for this certificate to be transferred to their position. Depending on the arrangements made with the buyer, you may also need documentation of the car’s service history, mot and outstanding finance paperwork (if applicable).

Read more about the documents needed to sell a car.

Informing the DVLA

The only section of the V5C you’ll need to keep is a slip from section 6 of the V5C form. This is for you, as the previous owner, to complete and send to the DVLA to inform them that ownership of the vehicle has changed. This will also trigger any due refund from the DVLA for excess road fund licence previously paid.