You are tired of your existing car and want to replace it with a new one, or you need some cash and want to sell the old one. Whatever the reasons, as a car owner, maximizing your profit from selling a used car is your aim. But without a car agent’s help, you may have to spend more effort on the process.
How do you identify a potential buyer? Are they serious or just curious? How to deal with the Government if you sell your car? Finally, how to do a smooth deal.
Before you begin to sell your car, you must admit you are not a professional car dealer. Therefore, you must be careful to avoid any mistakes which may cause you unnecessary losses and liabilities. Let’s review one by one.
Tag a price on your car
A sale price, indicating your intention to a potential buyer, is your first step to a selling process. However, the technique of setting a price is an art and also a science. The measures may help.
Research: You should find a price range based on the same model, manufacture year, and mileage similar to your car in the market. If you cannot locate one based on the criteria, automobiles from the same producer that do not deviate much in production year and mileage may provide a good reference in setting a price for your car.
Price determination: You can determine a price on the available data from the research and add a premium. The premium may provide you with the flexible bargain power in negotiating a final price if a buyer does it.
You may encounter difficulty extracting a price after research and adding a premium because fewer potential buyers are attentive to a high-price offer. At the same time, you may earn less than you should from a lower offer price.
Put up your car for a sale
Nowadays, you have more channels to sell your car online. All you can do is register your vehicle’s details through online car dealers like Carrousell and sgCarMart. You have a good chance of selling your vehicle earlier because numerous ready car buyers are looking for their favors. However, it still depends on many factors, including your luck.
You may have to provide the following information, and they are exhaustive:
- The car manufacturer, model, and related details
- Additional registration fee
- Information about any modifications made, if any
- First registration year
- Is your car using auto-transmission or a manual one?
- Is your car a special edition or not?
- Mileage
- The number of previous owners
- COE category and COE expiry
- The specifications
- Paid quota premium
- Road tax and expiry date
- Open market value – the import price
- The car maintenance condition, e.g., how often you clean and polish the car. Any evidence like receipt and photo is best for reference.
Set up a test drive with potential buyers
Before the test with a buyer, you should do the below:
- Clean your car.
- Schedule time slots with buyers for a test. The typical length is about 1.5 hours.
- Plan a test drive where it should be safe for others and you both.
- Prepare a “Test Drive Indemnity Form” to be signed by a potential buyer. It protects you from possible legal liabilities caused during the test.
- If a buyer likes your car after the test drive, you can send the car to an authorized service center for a check-up to speed up the sale process.
Sign a sales agreement and collect a deposit
Once both you and the buyer agree on a selling price, a formal sales agreement is necessary to bind and honor commitments from a seller and a buyer.
Besides the sale amount, you should know several items in the contract:
- The deposit: a buyer’s offer to your car;
- Date of transfer: the date you transfer the car ownership;
- A buyer’s valid motor insurance policy covers the new road tax period.
- The buyer’s responsibility is to pay up the fees and levies of LTA(the Land and Transport Authority) relating to the ownership change.
Finally, you should issue a deposit receipt after the collection.
Pay up any outstanding loan on the car
You should settle the outstanding loan and charges related to your car to speed up the sale process. Cash settlement is a convenient option, yet you may consider refinancing your car loan if cash flow is an issue. Talk to a financial institution for more alternatives.
Transfer the car ownership
You have 2 options for the transfer:
- Through the OneMotoring website, you input your identification number, name, cellphone number, email address, car details, and the buyer’s details for the transfer. Once you confirm, the buyer will receive text messages from the transfer.
- You can request for the transfer with the buyer at the LTA department in person if the buyer has no SingPass.
Moreover, the buyer should pay up an outstanding amount of the purchase price, and you should issue a receipt as before.
The Final Step: Handover
In the end, you sign up a vehicle handover form with the new owner to complete the process. Of course, you should let the pair, the new host and his car now, go by handing the keys despite probable hesitation.
More to Read
1. What fee should I pay for the sale of a car?
You will pay S$25 to the Land Transfer Authority for the transfer ownership.
2. What primary forms should I fill when I am selling a car?
Typically, you need 4 forms in the sale process: 1: a test drive indemnity form; 2. A sales agreement; 3. 2 two payment receipts; 4. a car handover form.
3. How much should I pay for listing on the car dealer websites like sgCarMart?
The listing prices for advertising your car vary for car dealers. They range from S$100 to S$150. You can review the fees through their websites before placing an ad.
4. Will I get a better value if I sell my car earlier?
Cars have high depreciation in Singapore. You will see a new car on the road has a 15% depreciation each for the first 4 years. Therefore, you have a value of only 40% left off a purchase price in the 5th year regardless of the mileage.
If you intend to sell or replace your car, you should do it in the first few years to avoid heavy price loss. Sometimes you may sell it as scrap and probably get a better price by saving time and costs.
Final Words
Facing the sell-car issue, you should do the research, make a reasonable price tag, calculate the best cost and benefit analysis, and follow the steps mentioned above to complete a quick and proper selling process.
Here are some takeaways:
- Determine a reasonable price for your car.
- Place on car trading websites for cost-saving.
- Sign a sales contract and collect a deposit.
- Following legal procedures to safeguard both sides’ interests.
- Collect the outstanding balance and hand over the car and its keys to complete the process.
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