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    How to sell your Hyundai – the ultimate guide

    Hyundai is a multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. Founded in 1967, Hyundai owns the luxury car subsidiary, Genesis Motors, the electric vehicle sub-brand, Ioniq, and one-third of Kia Corporation. 

    The Korean word ‘Hyundai’ translates as ‘modern’; and the company prides itself as being progressive. The company’s Ulsan factory is the largest vehicle manufacturer production plant in the world, with a potential to manufacture more than 1.6 million cars per year. As of 2022, Hyundai vehicles are sold in 193 countries around the world.

    Read on for key information you’ll need when you come to sell your Hyundai.

    Value my Hyundai
    How long do Hyundais last?
    How to sell my Hyundai?
    Part-exchanging your Hyundai
    Selling your Hyundai to a dealer
    Selling your Hyundai privately
    Selling your Hyundai to an instant car buyer
    The best way to sell your Hyundai

    Hyundai has been growing in popularity in the UK in recent years, achieving its highest UK car market share in 2021.

    Value my Hyundai

    The Hyundai brand was once known for turning out low-budget, low spec vehicles. An image it has taken considerable time over recent decades to shake off – with, it has to be said, considerable success.  

    In recent years, Hyundai has reinvented itself and become a favourite with consumers, largely because it now offers quality vehicles for competitive prices, with long warranties, and lots of additional spec. 

    The ever-popular Hyundai Sonata, for example, recently won awards for safety, design, and value by US automotive institutions like the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, and in the famous Kelley Blue Book.

    Hyundai’s bestsellers, such as the pioneering SUV, Tucson, and Hyundai I10 city car have become hugely popular, due to their great value, high safety, and long-lasting reliability. 

    Hyundai is also surging forward into the electric car market with models such as the Ioniq, which is available both as a hybrid and pure electric vehicle. And the innovative, Tesla-rivalling Kona Electric.

    Hyundai models selling through Motorway have very varying depreciation rates. According to Motorway data, Tucsons drop a significant amount in value in the first two years – more than 41% on average. Whereas the median price of Hyundai I10 cars sold on Motorway only dropped around 20% in value in the same period. 

    Valuation from Motorway.

    Between five and ten years of ownership, all three models drop close to another 50% of their respective values. After 10 years of ownership, the Hyundai i10 sold on Motorway for approx. 23% of the original ticket price, whereas the i20 and Tucson both have median selling prices dropping below the 20% mark, at 18% and 15% respectively. 

    Hyundai does not seem to experience comparative depreciation rates between models, which could be explained by the differences in car class and how they are driven. The small, city car i10 is likely to accrue lower mileage than the bigger, family-sized i20 and Tucson, which could account for better value conservation. 

    This is based on Motorway’s internal data, and may not be indicative of the value of your Hyundai vehicle. 

    The best way to retain the value of any car is to keep it in great condition. Read our guide to learn more about how best to care for your car, to keep its resale value as high as possible.

    To value your Hyundai for free now, enter your reg and mileage on the Motorway valuation tool.

    How long do Hyundais last?

    Hyundai is known for producing reliable, affordable vehicles. They recently made the Number 1 spot in the Telegraph newspaper’s top 20 car brands for reliability. 

    The average lifespan of a Hyundai is about 100,000 to 250,000 miles, which is a fairly average longevity for a car brand. Though, with proper maintenance, 300,000 miles is not unheard of. However, Hyundai also offers the best warranty in the UK car market. New models come with:

    • 5 years/60,000 miles comprehensive coverage
    • 10 years/100,000 miles powertrain coverage
    • 7 years /unlimited miles corrosion coverage
    • 5 years/unlimited miles roadside assistance

    Hyundai’s long warranty, as standard, clearly indicates the brand’s confidence in their own build-quality. As well as producing budget alternatives to bestselling models in every market segment, Hyundai show best-in-class results when it comes to factors around quality and reliability. With Hyundai – and their sister brand, Kia – both in the top 3 in the Telegraph’s top 20, it is becoming clear that the world’s best automotive products no longer hail from Germany. 

    Similar to Kia, Hyundai is extremely strong when it comes to reliability and there is currently very little differentiating the two brands when it comes to repair costs. However, in most bench tests, Hyundai’s overall reliability rating is typically higher than Kia’s. 

    The Hyundai Tucson is a highly regarded SUV, selling nearly 13,000 in the UK in 2021.

    How to sell my Hyundai?

    Hyundais are well-known as practical, reliable vehicles, and so it should be fairly easy to find a buyer for your car on the second-hand market. 

    There are several main routes to selling your Hyundai. You can trade it in at a dealership for a newer model, sell to a dealer, or sell privately. There are pros and cons to all these options, but it really depends on what your priorities are.

    Part-exchanging your Hyundai

    One very quick way to get an unwanted Hyundai off your hands is to part exchange, or trade-in with a dealer. This is a way of getting a discount on your next vehicle and trading up to a newer model. Part-exchanging used vehicles at a dealership has been popular for a long time because it is so easy and convenient. You can drive your Hyundai into a dealership and then leave soon afterwards with a newer car. However, part exchange rarely nets the owner the kind of price that you would get in a separate transaction.

    In many cases, when you part exchange with a dealer, they are not necessarily planning to sell it on their own forecourt. They might have plans to auction the car instead. Whatever the case might be, the dealer is likely to turn a profit on your old car, so they will need to keep the price down to offset it. It’s also difficult to gauge how the offered discount on the new car actually lines up with the value of your outgoing car . Furthermore, because this is not a normal sale transaction, it can be difficult to negotiate on price. 

    Selling your Hyundai to a dealer

    You can sell your Hyundai outright to either a manufacturer-specific dealership, or a dealership that sells a wide variety of car brands. Going directly to dealers is a long-standing method of selling cars, but not necessarily the most rewarding for the seller.

    The process is typically quite easy, however. All you have to do is to phone some local dealerships, find one that is suitable, and willing to take a look at your car, then drive over to negotiate a final sale price.

    However, it’s notoriously hard to negotiate a good price in this situation, as the dealers are the experts – and they will typically want to dictate your car’s sale price. Even if you have a good idea of your car’s value, the dealer’s price will reflect many things outside of your control, such as their audience of buyers and local market trends.

    Some sellers report dealers trying to ‘chip down’ prices of cars by actively looking for faults with them. However, most dealers are responsible with their price assessments, and will only cut prices in order that they turn a decent profit.

    To avoid having your Hyundai price-chipped, make sure it’s in excellent condition on the outside, inside, and under the bonnet when you take it to dealerships for an inspection.

    Hyundai’s wide appeal and reliability will often have car dealers interested, but make sure you know your car’s value before taking offers.

    Selling your Hyundai privately

    Some car owners find they can get a high price by selling privately to an enthusiastic buyer. However, this can quickly start to seem more trouble than it’s worth. 

    Unless you are approached with a good price or know someone in the market for a car like yours, you’ll have to take out some advertisements – either online or locally. To list your car on a specialist platform, listing site, or notice board usually costs money. You’re required to take lots of pictures and compile all of the key information buyers will need to assess. Then you’ll be responsible for organising viewings and test drives. You have no guarantee that the people who try out your car will make a decent offer. Finally, you have to handle all of the paperwork, logistics, and payment if they do!

    Even if you do get a higher price this way, you may end up regretting the amount of time and energy it takes to sell your Hyundai.

    Selling your Hyundai to an instant car buyer

    Part of the reason for the huge rise in the number of instant car buyers over the last few decades is no doubt due to the simplicity of the model. 

    If you’re pushed for time, this is the ultimate method for selling your Hyundai quickly. It may not always net you the most money, but it is fast.

    Whilst you are unlikely to receive as much for your car as if you sold it privately, the process is designed to be easy and hassle-free. Normally, you just value your car online and then arrange a drop-off appointment. 

    There will then typically be an inspection, followed by a final price negotiation, and the sale is concluded – with the cash transferred to your bank account. 

    However, in most cases, online car buyers will resell your car at an auction and will therefore give you a lower price than your car’s actual value in order to turn a profit. If you sell your Hyundai this way, you should be aware that you will usually be sacrificing price for convenience. 

    Find out more about how to sell a car to a car-buying website here.

    Don’t over compromise on price for a quick and easy sale. There’s a way to get a great price right from your phone.

    The best way to sell your Hyundai

    If you’re thinking about selling your Hyundai quickly and easily, at Motorway we offer a simple – and completely free – method of getting the best price when selling.

    Just enter your reg on the homepage and you will be provided with an instant estimated sale price based on up-to-the-minute market data. We’ll then ask you a few easy questions about your car and guide you through the photos you need to take to complete your vehicle profile. It can be done right from your phone – in a matter of minutes.

    An accurate profile will help your car sell quickly and easily.

    If you choose to enter your car into a daily sale, it will be shown to our nationwide network of more than 5,000 verified dealers looking to add to their stock of used cars. Interested dealers will then compete to buy your car, offering you their best price.

    In as little as 24 hours you will receive your best offer – and, if you choose to go ahead with the sale, your car will be collected for free by the dealer and the money will be quickly and securely transferred to your bank account. It’s really that easy to sell your car.

    Thinking of selling?

    Want to learn more about selling your car? Check out more of our guides here, covering the most popular cars on the road, from Ford to Ferrari, Audi to Mercedes, and everything in-between.

    Sell your car the Motorway way

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