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    Top 11 tips for advertising your car

    When you’re selling your car on a free advertising site or a classifieds site to private buyers, you need to write as compelling a description as possible. For certain models like popular superminis Ford Fiesta, Vauxhall Corsa, and Renault Clio, there’s a lot of competition out there, and it’s important to stand out. If you want to get your best price, you’ll need to think about marketing your car like a pro and making your ad compelling and trustworthy.

    For our top eleven tips for putting together an unbeatable ad for your car, read on.

    Superminis are a competitive car class to sell
    Superminis are the UK’s most popular cars to buy new and used, so there are plenty of buyers – but you need to stand out.

    1: Specify your make, model, trim level, and year
    2: Take good photos
    3: Base your price on a reliable valuation
    4: Be upfront about service history
    5: Don’t try to hide damage
    6: Fuel type and emission zone rating
    7: Owner history
    8: Add-ons and extras
    9: Anticipate perceptive buyers
    10: Writing to sell
    11: Sell the Motorway way

    1: Specify your make, model, trim level, and year

    If not in the title of your ad, make sure these bits of info are shared extremely prominently – e.g. in the first sentence. These are terms people will be searching and scanning for on social media marketplaces, classifieds, and other listing sites. 

    Using these specific terms to refer to your car sounds professional and official, increasing the trust people will place in your ad. Consider the difference when scrolling through generic Renault Clio listings, and seeing an ad for a ‘2020 Renault Clio E-Tech Hybrid Play’.

    When you profile your car with Motorway, our smart system will automatically generate these details from your reg, and all you’ll have to do is confirm them.

    2: Take good photos

    You know what they say: a picture is worth a thousand words. It sounds simple, but you’d be surprised at how many car ads get published with bad photos – and they’re the first bit of info your buyer takes in about your car. Your picture carousel might even allow for short videos, which provide you with a great opportunity to show your car at its best. 

    We’re not saying you need to be a pro photographer by any means, but there are some obvious things to avoid when you take your photos:

    • Bad weather/lighting. Wait for a clear day.
    • Getting close-up, or too far away. Have your car fill most of the frame, from a few different angles, including on the diagonal, so you can show the front and side effectively.
    • Having your camera or phone at a wonky angle. And, similarly, uploading photos upside-down or sideways! 
    • Clutter. It will pay to clean out your car and position it on a spacious driveway area or a quiet corner of the road, so the frame of the photo isn’t filled with distractions, and the car isn’t obscured.
    • Fingers over the lens! 

    When you profile your car on the Motorway app, you’ll see we have smart filters to guide you in hitting your car’s very best angles.

    Motorway’s app, available on the App Store and Google Play Store, makes profiling your car easy.
    Motorway’s app, available on the App Store and Google Play Store, makes profiling your car easy.

    3: Base your price on a reliable valuation

    Along with the ad title and the pictures, the price is a key factor for selling your car online. When you’re creating an ad to sell your car, don’t forget to take the time to get a proper valuation, from a trusted source, to use as a starting point for your price. 

    Car values don’t really follow rules of averages; all cars depreciate very differently, based on lots of variables. Read more about depreciation and car values in our ultimate guide. 

    Motorway's Car Value Tracker
    A reliable valuation, like this one from our Car Value Tracker, will show you what your car could achieve based on the current market, and its age and mileage.

    However, the condition of your car will normally determine how much money you should think about taking away from that initial valuation when setting your price. If your car has quite a bit of wear and tear, it will be hard to finalise a sale at a high price, especially if it’s a popular model with lots of competition. 

    To get started with a free, instant valuation for your car, simply enter your reg on our homepage. Our valuations are based on live market data, including from our own marketplace, for cars just like yours.

    4: Be upfront about service history

    This is another factor in your car ad that will show you’re a trustworthy seller, with a valuable car. Having at least six months left on your MOT, as well as a stamped service history book, proves that you’re a reliable car owner. You can share pictures of these in your ad (you may want to cover any personal details on the paperwork, for privacy). If you’re aiming high with your selling price, proving official maintenance with service history and the MOT will back you up.

    When you sell your car with Motorway, you answer a few questions about service history before your car enters the daily online sale. This means that dealers offer their best price, based on the condition of your car.

    5: Don’t try to hide damage

    It’s counterproductive to try to keep any damage or wear-and-tear a secret. If you’re selling to a private buyer online, your aim should always be to provide an accurate ad to avoid nasty surprises. Even hiding small things, like a paint chip, could leave your buyers feeling disappointed when they come to see and test-drive your car.

    It’s worth either fixing any imperfections before you sell, or making them clear in your ad. If you go with the latter, you can also share some quotes you’ve had for repair work. It’s worth getting this info somewhere in the first two paragraphs of your ad.

    6: Fuel type and emission zone rating

    These days, it’s important that people understand any implications that their fuel type and engine classification might have on their car’s running costs.

    Although the pricing of electricity versus fuel has fluctuated over 2022 and 2023, it’s generally accepted that hybrid cars and electric vehicles (EVs) are the way forward. But what does that mean if you’re selling a petrol or diesel vehicle? And, what does it mean for your buyers?

    If your petrol or diesel engine is compliant with the national standards for pollution, that are regulated in Clean Air Zones (CAZ) such as ULEZ, it’s worth sharing this information very prominently within the first two paragraphs of your ad, maybe as a standalone line. If your petrol engine is compliant with Euro 4 regulations, or your diesel engine is compliant with Euro 6, then you’re automatically in the clear for ULEZ and most other CAZ.

    If you need to check your compliance, use our ULEZ Checker tool. 

    7: Owner history

    Make sure you include the number of previous owners as key information. It’s another factor that shows your trustworthiness and helps your buyers know what to expect. If you are the first or second owner, it gives you grounds to fetch a good price. If your car has had several owners, your buyers will appreciate knowing this in advance – being upfront can work in your favour.

    If your car is financed and you’re trying to sell to a private buyer online, you legally need to disclose this information, since your lender is the owner and you are the keeper. It’s typically much easier for professional dealers to clear finance with the sale of your car, but that’s not to say it can’t be done in a private sale.

    8: Add-ons and extras

    People generally don’t shop for a car based on the spec of the audio equipment, massaging seats, or temperature-controlling cup holders. However, special features are definitely compelling for your buyers, and they are something to show off once you’ve got the fundamentals out of the way. 

    You can round off your ad (third paragraph onwards) with a list of any special features, and even better – you can categorise them between safety, comfort, and entertainment. Separating these categories out will help your buyers take in this info – long lists in written ads can be hard to read and overwhelming.

    When you profile your car with Motorway, you can simply check boxes to list your factory-fitted extras, making it quick and easy to share all the details of your car that dealers need to know.

    9: Anticipate perceptive buyers

    Prospective buyers can background-check your car for any criminal history or insurance write-off status through HPI. If you had a category write-off vehicle repaired to roadworthy status, it’s important to flag this. It goes without saying that if your car has been stolen or is involved in any criminal investigations, you shouldn’t be trying to sell it online.

    10: Writing to sell

    When you’re writing an ad, you need to do so with the buyer in mind. There’s a lot of info to get into a one-minute read, sure, but you also want to make your expectations clear. Are you interested in having discussions with interested parties, or do you want offers upfront? Is your price negotiable? Are you looking to sell very locally, or are you willing to travel a bit? You can help your buyers help you, so you all get a good experience, by making your expectations clear in the writing of your ad.

    When you sell your car the Motorway way, there’s no need to write out an advert – our smart profiling system puts your vehicle profile together for you, saving you time and hassle.

    Make sure you’re setting reasonable expectations for your own sake as well as that of your prospective buyers.
    Make sure you’re setting reasonable expectations for your own sake as well as that of your prospective buyers.

    11: Sell the Motorway way

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

    Just enter your reg and you will be provided with an instant, free valuation based on up-to-the-minute market data. To profile your car on our app or website, all you need to do is answer a few questions by clicking on the correct answer. There’s no need to write out an ad for your car when you sell with Motorway. We’ll also guide you through the photos you need to take to complete your vehicle profile. It can all be done right from your phone – in a matter of minutes.

    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.

    Is it time to sell your car?

    Want to learn more about owning, maintaining, and selling your car? Check out more of our guides here, covering everything from finding buyers, to negotiating a good price, and completing payment safely. 

    Sell your car the Motorway way

    Find your best offer from 7,500+ dealers