{"id":2158,"date":"2021-05-13T14:15:17","date_gmt":"2021-05-13T14:15:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onewomanowner.com\/?p=2158"},"modified":"2021-05-19T19:12:56","modified_gmt":"2021-05-19T19:12:56","slug":"how-to-buy-a-car-low-and-sell-high-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onewomanowner.com\/usedcars\/how-to-buy-a-car-low-and-sell-high-2\/","title":{"rendered":"How to buy a car low and sell high"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So you want to buy a car low and sell for a profit. These days, any chance we have to save money or even make a little is very welcome.\u00a0 How about when it comes to your wheels?\u00a0 Can you make money on your car?\u00a0 A car is something that we know loses value at an alarming rate as soon as it leaves the forecourt.\u00a0 So, as an ordinary motorist, can you really buy a banger and sell a Ferrari? With a little luck and a lot of preparation, you can; here\u2019s how.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Buy a car low<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The first thing that you need to remember is that you are going to make money when you buy, not when you sell. So, that means that you need to seek out a good deal for buying your wheels. Get this right and you will be well on your way to making a profit when you sell.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Where to look<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you are serious about doing this, it takes a bit of leg work. Check out classifieds, car auctions and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ebay.co.uk\/b\/Cars\/9801\/bn_1839037\">eBay for cars<\/a> being sold by the owner.\u00a0 The reason we say that is it\u2019s rare to be able to buy a car cheap enough from a dealer to make the profit from selling it worthwhile.\u00a0 Without the overheads of a showroom and staff, private sellers can be more flexible on price.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Get an idea of the price<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Check out the list prices for the car you have your eye on. Don\u2019t just check one source, get really familiar with the prices that are being offered from the highest to the lowest. That way, you know where to pitch your offer.\u00a0 You can use this knowledge when you are haggling with the seller. It shows that you have done your homework and know the value of the car. When you want to buy a car low and sell high, you really need to know your stuff.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Make sure you know the price a dealership would pay for the car. Often a seller will be happy to sell at this price knowing it\u2019s less hassle to sell privately than to a dealer.\u00a0 Use this to your advantage when you negotiate to buy a car.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Looks are everything<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sellers are naturally going to ask for the highest price car value sites to rate their car at. You\u2019ll need to check some things carefully before making your offer. Look at things like:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Does the mileage look right for the age of the car?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Are there a lot of scrapes, dents and other damage?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How do the tyres look?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Does the car have a full service history?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How long is the MOT on the vehicle?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Checking the car over<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When you check the car, always start it yourself. It\u2019s not a good sign if the car is already running.\u00a0 The car uses the most energy to start from a cold engine. If there are any problems, they\u2019ll most likely show when you turn the engine over. Trouble turning the engine over, loud noises, clunks, clicks or other odd noises do not bode well.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Check levels of oil and water too. Pop the bonnet as the engine is running to look and listen for anything that doesn\u2019t seem right.\u00a0 Watch out for frayed or stained pipes, worn cables and question the owner if you notice anything like this.\u00a0 At the very least the seller will recognise you\u2019re someone who knows what they\u2019re doing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Always take a car you intend to buy for a test drive. You need to be sure it runs smoothly and cleanly, the gears are not grinding and the brakes are responsive. Brake hard at some point, so that you can assess how well the brakes work.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>Check check check!<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Check all the buttons and knobs. That includes window electrics, air conditioning (if it has it), interior lights, radio and wing mirror adjustments. Make sure everything electrical inside the car works.\u00a0 If it all checks out, haggle!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have bought a car at an advantageous price, you can use our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.onewomanowner.com\/tips-to-get-high-price-and-quick-sale\/\">selling guide to get the best price<\/a>. Follow the suggestions in our \u2018selling your car\u2019 article, to see your newly bought car driving away with its new owner at the wheel, and a tidy profit in your pocket.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>So you want to buy a car low and sell for a profit. These days, any chance we have to save money or even make a little is very welcome.\u00a0 How about when it comes to your wheels?\u00a0 Can you make money on your car?\u00a0 A car is something that we know loses value at [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":1522,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2158","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buying","category-selling"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onewomanowner.com\/usedcars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2158"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onewomanowner.com\/usedcars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onewomanowner.com\/usedcars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onewomanowner.com\/usedcars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onewomanowner.com\/usedcars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2158"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onewomanowner.com\/usedcars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2158\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onewomanowner.com\/usedcars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1522"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onewomanowner.com\/usedcars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onewomanowner.com\/usedcars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onewomanowner.com\/usedcars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}