Every route charges you something
Sell it to a dealer, or find a buyer yourself. Twelve questions — and none of them are about your car. They're about your month, because that's what really decides this.
Answer honestly and the balance below will show you which way you lean. There's no right answer. If it lands in the middle, that's fine too — it just means both routes suit you.
AYour time
1Do you need to sell by a certain date?
Relocating, a new car arriving, money needed for something specific. A date changes everything, because only one of these routes can promise you one.
2Where does the car sit while you wait?
3Do you have time for calls, messages and viewings?
Private selling runs on other people's spare time — evenings, weekends, and whenever somebody decides to ring. Many of them will never buy.
BYour effort
4Are you comfortable bargaining face to face?
Selling privately means strangers at your door, the same questions over and over, and standing firm on your price. Many people don't enjoy this — and that's a good enough reason to pick a dealer.
5Who will do the paperwork?
Ownership transfer and insurance, done properly, so the car stops being yours in the eyes of the law. Get this wrong and you can be paying somebody else's fines years later.
6Are you confident handling the payment?
Cheques that bounce after the car's gone. Transfers that show pending and never arrive. Part payments with the rest promised next week.
CYour money
7Do you want one firm number, or several to compare?
Whichever you pick, ask anyone quoting you whether their figure is final or an estimate that gets revisited after inspection. Both exist, and they're very different things to plan around.
8Do you need the money quickly?
9Are you buying another car at the same time?
DYour car
10Is there still a loan on it?
The money, the lender's release and the transfer all have to happen in the right order. A dealer does that every week. You'd be doing it once.
11Does the car have a clean, documented story?
Private buyers pay properly for a car they can satisfy themselves about. Absorbing uncertainty is literally a dealer's business.
12How common is your car?
Where you stand
Nothing here is about the car. It's about your month — your time, your patience, and what a finished sale is worth to you.
Not one of those twelve questions can be answered properly without knowing what the car is actually worth. Until then you're not deciding — you're guessing, and hoping the person opposite is being kind.
Get the fair value →