Whether you should sell your used car privately or to a dealer depends mainly on three things:
- What type of car you are selling
- Whether you need to buy another used car
- How involved you want to be in the sales process
Because dealers in many countries are required to provide a warranty on used cars, they are often not keen on taking in older or unusual cars with high mileage. So if you have an unusual car or one with a lot of kilometres on the clock, you will likely get a higher price by selling it privately. It also matters whether you are selling the car in order to buy another used car — dealers will typically offer more for your car if you are also buying a (used) car from them at the same time.
If you decide to sell privately, you will be responsible for advertising, viewings, paperwork, and arranging payment yourself, which can be time-consuming.
Get a valuation before you sell
AutoUncle's recommendation
Sell privately if you have an unusual car or an older car with high mileage (e.g. over 150,000 miles).
Sell to a dealer if you want to avoid the hassle of selling, have a relatively new and mainstream used car with under 150,000 miles, and are buying another used car at the same time.
Bill of sale and paperwork
When selling privately, write up a receipt that includes both parties' names and addresses, the agreed price, the date of sale, and the vehicle's registration number and mileage. Both parties should sign and keep a copy.
You must notify the DVLA of the sale using the V5C logbook. Tear out the V5C/2 "new keeper" slip and hand it to the buyer at the point of sale. Post the remaining V5C sections to the DVLA. Until the DVLA processes the change, you remain the registered keeper — so do this promptly.