How To Sell A Car In Ontario? – The Comprehensive Guide

Selling a car in Ontario is not an easy task for anyone, especially inexperienced individuals. In case you don’t determine exactly what you need to prepare, it is possible that you can be cheated or led under the circumstance of loss. Therefore, how to sell a car in Ontario is always a topic of interest. Let’s follow this article for more beneficial information.

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What should I check before selling my car in Ontario?

Self-selling vehicles will help the owners to sell at a better price than selling to a salon. However, this is not simple, car owners need to know some of the following notes.

Discover about vehicle value

Unlike new cars, both sellers and buyers will have a hard time valuing a used car. However, comparing the transaction prices of cars of the same model, of the same age, of the same version on the market, can help car owners determine the range of price fluctuations. Then, along with the assessment of the current condition of the car, it will help to come up with the most reasonable price. Finding information about car prices can be through stores, showrooms, online websites, or automotive forums.

From the information sources collected, you can also understand how the car valuation formula works. Usually, the value of used cars will be valued based on specifications, brand, vehicle condition, number of years of use, etc. You base these characteristics on the car you own to have a level suitable selling price.

Vehicle refurbishment

According to the experience of inspecting old cars, defects in the body and interior of the car are the most recognizable things. Therefore, if there are no remedies, the value of the car you own will be significantly reduced. You will not be able to preserve the desired price when the body of the car has too many scratches, dents, or peeling paint. Buyers will certainly rely on those minus points to lower the price of your car.

Similarly, in case the interior of the car is old and damaged, it will also reduce the value of the car. Degradation will lead to inconvenience for users. Common damage to car interiors such as reduced sound quality, inflexible or damaged switches in the car, scratches on the leather interior, etc. Take your car to a reputable garage, where a team of mechanics will help you renew your car. The refurbishing process will help remove scratches on the body of the car and reduce the dents on the car.

One problem that few people pay attention to is the removal of unpleasant odors in the car. Over time, unpleasant musty odors can stay on the car and create an uncomfortable feeling when sitting in the car. The treatment of these types of odors will give a good impression to the buyer. With the car’s air conditioning system, it is advisable to clean and pump gas so that the car can cool quickly.

Vehicle maintenance

The defects in both the interior as well as the exterior of the car are easily noticed by buyers, however, for those who have experience in buying used cars, what they care most about is the car’s machinery and engine. Irregular maintenance is the cause of engine and engine deterioration. Therefore, in order to sell a car at a good price, car owners need to carry out car maintenance, especially the engine parts.

Change car oil

The maintenance of the car will be taken care of by the garage, but you should also know the relevant information and the parts that need to be focused on maintenance. For example, the first thing to think about when maintaining a car is changing the oil. Changing the car’s oil will ensure the smooth operation of the engine.

Air filter maintenance

In addition, to keep the engine running smoothly, it is advisable to clean or replace the car’s air filter if necessary, this action also helps the car to eat less gas. Your vehicle air filter is exactly the place where the air enters the combustion chamber of the vehicle, the air filter is blocked, which will prevent air from entering the combustion chamber and affect the operation of the engine and the capacity of the vehicle.

Water tank maintenance

Cleaning the car water tank and adding enough cooling water also helps the car run more stably and limits engine overheating. Basically, it is very limited to interfere with the car’s machinery and engine, however, with just such simple steps, you can also notice that the car engine runs much smoother.

Electrical system maintenance

The car’s electrical system also needs attention. In case the battery has been used for a long time, it should be replaced with a new one. If the battery is new, there should also be a battery maintenance operation. Considering the vehicle’s starting status, if the car is difficult to start or has to start many times to start the engine, it is necessary to ask the maintenance unit to fix this problem.

Control system maintenance

When using the car, you should also pay attention to the control buttons in the car, the automatic control buttons of the car so that if there is a problem, ask for immediate repair. For car buyers, they will check the car’s functions very meticulously and carefully. So if the buttons have problems, it will be easy to identify and reduce the value of the car.

Decide selling methods

The car owner needs to decide who will buy the car: dealer, direct buyer, or a third party? Usually, it is easier to sell cars to salons – dealers, but at the same time, the selling price will not be equal to the selling price to users. If you sell your own car through classified sites, it requires more steps.

You should take the time to write a specific and compelling description of the vehicle you want to sell. Start with a quick headline, clear photo, and detailed summary. In case you can not ensure where to start, let’s consider important issues that concern many buyers, such as condition or mileage, interior condition…

The most vital thing is that the car owners need to be honest in their introduction. If you don’t describe your car correctly, your credibility with the buyer will disappear, and then the car owner will have a hard time selling his or her car.

Prepare legal papers

Full, clear papers are also an important factor for buyers to choose your used car. Owner’s papers, vehicle registration, car insurance, registration book, warranty book (if any), previous sales contract, etc. help increase buyer confidence. In a nutshell, you need paperwork to show the buyer that the car is legally yours. Don’t forget to let customers see with their own eyes the original documents and warranty period (if any) as well as warranty invoices… Because those are essential elements to show customers that this is a vehicle of clear origin. 

Choose a proper timeline

Just like purchasing a new car, it’s also important for you to know when to sell your used car. While it may not be considered the most vital thing during the process of selling a used car, timing can make a difference. For example, the demand for cars to buy cars often increases during festivals. While SUVs/CUVs with high ground clearance with spacious and well-ventilated interior space is often quite expensive when sold in the summer.

Define transaction object

Usually, if your old car is in good condition, you will sell it for the best price to someone who has a real need. It could be a first-time car buyer, someone who wants to use your car for a specific purpose… You can also sell your car through dealers. However, when you sell cars through an intermediary, you have to pay a commission to the seller, from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars.

Selling a car through a dealer or through an intermediary (who will give a variety of reasons to lower the price of your car) will happen faster but not at a high price. The reason dealers always offer a price lower than the actual value of the car is that they want to gain profit from selling that car.

What paperwork do I need to sell my car in Ontario?

Documents to carry out the car buying-selling process:

• ID card: You also need to make multiple copies of your ID card to give to the car seller to complete the name transfer procedure.
• Vehicle title transfer fee: This is a fee you will have to pay to the state as required when making documents to change the name of the owner.
• Car registration certificate: This is an extremely important document to determine the most accurate legal information about the model and type of car you buy.
• Car registration book
• Auto insurance (if any)
• Some other documents as prescribed

Documents to give the buyer:

• The uVIP (stands for the Used Vehicle Information Package)
• Signed Bill of Sale which illustrates your name, the purchaser’s name/address, purchase price/date
• An Application for Ontario car ownership transfer which has side completed and signed on the back of an ownership permit
• A safety standards certification of your vehicle (if required)

Documents that you have the right to keep:

• Your license plates
• The plate portion within your ownership papers

How do I write a contract to sell a car?

Do you need to sign a contract for selling a car? The answer is yes. According to the law, a car is an asset that needs to be registered for ownership. Accordingly, the car sales contract needs to be established with the consent of both parties, and also needs to be notarized and authenticated in accordance with the law.

If the car purchase and sale contract is only made in handwritten documents without being notarized or authenticated, this contract will be considered invalid. Accordingly, when the car sales contract is invalidated, the parties must restore the original condition and return to each other what they’ve received. That is, the seller returns the buyer in full and the buyer returns the car to the seller and gets his money back.

Therefore, it is important when selling used cars in Ontario that you need to make a contract in accordance with the law and must have the confirmation of the competent authority. Your contract has to include the following information:

• Date of selling contract
• Vehicle information number
• Sale price
• Signatures of both parties
• Name and address of both parties
• Manufacturer, model, color, and year of the vehicle
• Other information is required such as vehicle odometer reading, payment terms, selling conditions, etc.

What factors affect used car prices?

Used cars are a tough market. Some used cars look the same, but the prices vary considerably as some are used a lot but carelessly while others are very well maintained or some have a very detailed maintenance schedule. details while others don’t… Here are the most important factors that affect the resale value of a car in Ontario.

The distance traveled 

The distance traveled (odometer – ODO) is one of the important factors affecting the price of a car, because it can partly tell the “war history” of the vehicle being sold. The ODO number and the car price will be inversely proportional: The higher the ODO number of the car, the lower the price of the car.

Experienced car sales consultants said that the general psychology of customers is the desire to own the least used car and the first factor that they care about is the number of kilometers traveled. If your used car has low mileage, it will cost more in the market.

Interior and exterior conditions

On the outside, if the old car looks dirty, rusty, scratched, the resale value will be low. Cracked windows and many cracks will greatly affect the value of the car and especially make a bad impression on customers. The same goes for the interior, if a car has cracked leather upholstery, damaged interior panels, or lights or features that don’t work, even the smell of smoke, all will negatively affect the value. resell. If you are planning to sell this car, it is best to clean the interior and make sure the features are running well.

Mechanical condition

Driving vehicles with smoke coming out of the exhaust system will have a low resale value. Because users can completely see the problem of the car through the color of the exhaust smoke and when the smoke appears, it means that your car is having problems. Besides, the suspension system creaking, leaking oil or other mechanical problems will also lower the value of the car.

Brand of the manufacturer

In fact, some brands will maintain value better than many others. It is easy to see that the most fuel efficient cars in Canada such as Toyota or Volkswagen take turns topping the list of brands with high resale value due to their reliability and quality that surpass their competitors. In contrast, most models from Korean car brands have very low liquidity and “drop-in price” after 5-10 years of use.

Vehicle technology

Imagine, a 2018 B-class car, when placed next to a 2008 car, even though it is brand new, surely the 2018 model will be more beautiful in both design and style, in addition, the technology and equipment on the car are also better. , the engine is also more fuel-efficient, quieter, and more environmentally friendly.

If you sell a 2008 car, even though it’s new at the time of 2018, the price of the car certainly cannot be equal to the time of 2008 when that car was released. This is mainly due to technology inflation. Because of this, brand new 2008 cars sold on the market usually cost 80% of 2018 cars of the same type. If the same car is used for 10 years, the depreciation will be even worse, only selling for 1/3 of the other 80%, which is about 25%.

Vehicle color

The psychology of choosing a car color for customers also has a significant impact on the selling price of used cars. According to the survey, in the North American market, car models with yellow, orange, green, red, and white colors are most interested by consumers, because most of these colors have lower depreciation rates compared to other models. different colors.

Accident risk

This risk stems from the vehicle being: accident, water damage, or major damage. This causes the quality of the safety system and the engine or the vehicle’s technical details to be degraded, causing great inconvenience and costly repair and maintenance for the car owner in the last years of the vehicle’s life. . Usually, the newer the car, the fewer defects, and the older the car, the more likely it is to have minor faults. So the buyer has to bear this cost, leading to the old car’s price also being depreciated.

In fact, there has been no exact formula for calculating the price of a used car when it is depreciated. However, normally a car will lose 10% of its value according to world law. A car is designed to run about 20,000 km/year and 300,000 km for its entire life, while each car’s lifespan falls between 11-13 years.

Supply and demand

Limited-edition models or special editions will receive a big plus in the used car market. In addition, some of the options that come with the car also affect the value of the car. Specifically, sports cars equipped with manual transmission will cost more than sports cars using an automatic transmission. However, automatic transmission cars are more attractive and more expensive in the mass market.

How to sell a car in Ontario?

Focus on the vehicle’s highlights

In fact, these are tips to help you buy and sell cars. This benefits both parties- the buyer and the seller. You should learn the highlights of your car, the information that helps your car have a quality advantage over other models of the same type on the market. Maybe it’s the power of the engine, the ability to save fuel, the time it’s been used, and maybe it’s the original appearance.

Take outstanding photos

Because customers cannot see the car you intend to sell with their own hands and eyes, the image is the only factor that helps them have a basis to compare and evaluate the quality of the car. The more photos of your vehicle, the more detail becomes better. And the photo needs to show the truth about the car. Experience is that you should take pictures that are related to the parts of the car that you want to emphasize, for example, interior photos, exterior photos, engine photos, dashboard photos… You should use this. Use good photographic equipment to take pictures of the vehicle immediately after washing and cleaning it dry and clean.

Determine posting place

It could be a “group” with hundreds of thousands of members on Facebook, or forums that are old and have a large number of people online. You can also post several types of advertisements for sale on some trending e-commerce websites. Note, you should post your ad in the correct manner and regulations. In some cases, it will cost you a fee to keep your listing on the front page of the website.

Share more information about your vehicle

The general psychology of consumers when buying a used car is to want to know as much information about your used car as possible and why do you want to sell the car? So, it is best that you clearly state the historical information of the car when you still use it. Viewers will be more interested if they read a “story” rather than just a car sale. 

How to sell a car in Ontario depends on numerous factors, and in case you want to sell a used car, let’s read the above article carefully to maximize your profit as well as avoid unnecessary problems during the selling process.