You can either rid yourself of it as quickly as possible, and accept you’re going to get the least amount of revenue, or give yourself some work but maximise your revenue.

THERE ARE THREE BASIC WAYS TO SELL

The three most common ways to sell a car are: privately to another individual; in part exchange with a trader against a replacement car; and at an auction.

1. With a private sale you have to advertise your car, be available to receive calls and show the car to interested parties, but as it’s the method that gains the most income, it’s the one we’re concentrating on.

2. Part-exchange only secures your car’s trade (rock-bottom) value, but driving in with the old and out with the new is appealingly convenient.

3. Selling at auction is good if you want a quick sale and cash in hand. Again don’t expect to get more than the trade value – maybe less – and be prepared to pay an auction-house fee for the privilege.

Whichever you choose, avoid selling in March and September, when the used-car market becomes flooded with part exchanges. Car values plummet, and so does the number of available buyers.

ADVERTISING YOUR CAR

If you’re selling privately, an obvious place to advertise your car is in the local paper or classifieds such as FreeAd Mart and Loot. While publications such as Auto Trader or Exchange & Mart are good outlets, they carry many ads directly competing with yours.

Advertising for free on www.autoweb.co.uk directly reaches those people who are most likely to want to come and have a look at it and provides the advantage of reaching a bigger audience. Anyone doing a web-search for your type of car will be led straight to it. That’s a fantastic opportunity, particularly as it’s FREE! Keep your advert brief and to the point, include colour, condition, mileage and equipment. Buyers will be looking for a year’s MoT and a full service history, ideally with a franchised dealer.

DECIDING THE VALUE

When deciding an asking price, look your car up in Parkers Used Car Prices, or on www.parkers.co.uk. These are only guide prices, and if you’re part-exchanging, traders won’t necessarily accept the quoted ‘trade’ price. The price they offer will be based on whether they want your car, and the value of the one you’re buying. To verify prices against the local market, scan the ads on Autoweb to see what similar models are going for. Your car’s value is affected by its condition, mileage, age, specification and any extras fitted. Guides break down values by condition – usually Excellent, Good and Fair. If your car is in a typical condition with no obvious faults, it’s Good. Average annual mileage is about 12,000; you can adjust its value according to the scale detailed in the price guides.

Work out the value of your car, then add 10% as a margin to give room for negotiation. Then decide on the absolute minimum you’re prepared to accept, and stick with it.

THE BUYER, THE SALE

First impressions make or break a sale, and affect the offer, so it’s vital your car impresses inside and out. If that means investing in cosmetic repairs, so be it.

Your buyer will want a test drive, so check your insurance or ensure the would-be buyer is covered by his own policy.

Never hand over your car keys or documents until you’ve received cleared funds. A cheque or banker’s draft is worthless until it has been cleared by your bank, which takes a few days. Cash is great, of course, but nobody likes to carry it, and there’s plenty of forged cash on the market, so be careful.