Selling an older car with high kilometres can feel like an uphill battle. You might assume buyers will immediately focus on the odometer and write the car off before they even look at it.<\/p>\n
But high kilometres don\u2019t automatically mean a low-value car.<\/p>\n
If the car has been looked after, has a good service history and is presented honestly, there are still plenty of ways to put yourself in the best position to get a good price.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s how to get the most out of your car when it\u2019s time to sell.<\/p>\n
Before you list your car or accept the first offer, do some research.<\/p>\n
Look at what similar cars are currently being advertised for, paying attention to:<\/p>\n
Remember, an advertised price isn’t necessarily the price a car actually sells for. Private sellers may also price their cars optimistically, while dealer prices can include additional costs and margins.<\/p>\n
The goal is to get a realistic idea of where your car sits in the market.<\/p>\n
If your car has done 200,000km, there’s no point trying to distract buyers from it.<\/p>\n
High kilometres aren’t necessarily a dealbreaker. What matters is how the car has been treated over those kilometres<\/strong>.<\/p>\n A well-maintained car with 180,000km can be a more attractive proposition than a neglected car with 120,000km.<\/p>\n Be upfront about the odometer reading and use the rest of your listing to demonstrate that the car has been looked after.<\/p>\n This can be particularly important for an older, high-kilometre car.<\/p>\n If you have service records, receipts or logbooks, have them ready to show the buyer.<\/p>\n Things like:<\/p>\n can help demonstrate that the kilometres aren’t telling the whole story.<\/p>\n Documentation creates confidence.<\/strong> And confidence can make it easier for a buyer to justify paying more for your car.<\/p>\n You don’t need to spend thousands preparing an old car for sale.<\/p>\n In fact, spending $3,000 on repairs to make a $10,000 car worth $11,000 doesn’t make much sense.<\/p>\n Instead, look at the small things that can make the car feel neglected.<\/p>\n Replace a blown globe. Top up the fluids. Fix that loose trim. Remove old stickers. Make sure the air conditioning is working properly.<\/p>\n Think about the things a potential buyer will notice within the first five minutes.<\/p>\n This is one of the easiest wins.<\/p>\n A clean car simply feels better looked after.<\/p>\n You don’t necessarily need a professional detail, either. Give the exterior a thorough wash, clean the wheels and glass, vacuum the interior and remove the clutter you’ve accumulated over the years.<\/p>\n Pay particular attention to:<\/p>\n Inside:<\/strong> Outside:<\/strong> Boot:<\/strong> You aren’t trying to make a 10-year-old car look brand new. You’re showing the buyer that you’ve taken care of it.<\/p>\n Don’t try to disguise scratches, dents or wear.<\/p>\n If the driver’s seat has seen better days, the bumper has a few marks or there’s a scratch down the passenger door, it’s better to be upfront.<\/p>\n Honesty can actually work in your favour.<\/p>\n A buyer who arrives expecting a realistic older car is much more likely to feel comfortable proceeding than someone who arrives expecting a “perfect condition” car and finds a list of surprises.<\/p>\n Your photos are your first impression.<\/p>\n And if you’re selling an older car, they’re particularly important because you want to show the overall condition<\/strong>, rather than leaving buyers wondering what you’re hiding.<\/p>\n Take photos in good natural light and include:<\/p>\n Don’t just photograph the good side of the car.<\/p>\n Showing the imperfections can actually make the listing feel more trustworthy.<\/p>\n This is where you can turn high kilometres into a more complete story.<\/p>\n Instead of simply saying:<\/p>\n 210,000km”<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n you want the buyer to understand what they’ve got.<\/p>\n For example:<\/p>\n 210,000km, regularly serviced with new tyres fitted recently and major maintenance completed last year.<\/strong>“<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The kilometres haven’t changed, but the context has.<\/p>\n If you’ve recently spent money maintaining the car, make sure potential buyers know about it.<\/p>\n This is arguably the most important part.<\/p>\n Don’t assume the first offer you receive is the best one.<\/p>\n Different buyers can value the same car differently depending on what they’re looking for, their access to the wholesale market and what they believe they can do with the vehicle.<\/p>\n Getting multiple offers gives you something to compare.<\/p>\n And you don’t necessarily need to spend weeks advertising privately to do it.<\/p>\n A high-kilometre car will almost certainly attract lower offers than an equivalent low-kilometre example.<\/p>\n That’s normal.<\/p>\n But lower than another car doesn’t mean lower than it needs to be<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The best thing you can do is make the condition, history and maintenance of your car clear, understand its realistic market value and compare multiple offers.<\/p>\n You can’t change how many kilometres are on the clock.<\/p>\n You can<\/em> control how well you present the car and how you sell it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Selling an older car with high kilometres can feel like an uphill battle. You might assume buyers will immediately focus on the odometer and write the car off before they even look at it. But high kilometres don\u2019t automatically mean a low-value car. If the car has been looked after, has a good service history… Continue reading How to Get the Best Price for an Older, High-Kilometre Car<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4708,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"reading_time":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3526],"tags":[3534,3538,3536,3533],"car_type":[],"car_advice":[3516],"blog_section":[3503],"class_list":["post-4706","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-guide","tag-how-to-sell","tag-how-to-sell-my-car","tag-selling-my-car","tag-selling-your-car","car_advice-selling-a-car","blog_section-customer-success-stories","entry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.motorscout.com.au\/wp-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4706","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.motorscout.com.au\/wp-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.motorscout.com.au\/wp-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorscout.com.au\/wp-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorscout.com.au\/wp-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4706"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorscout.com.au\/wp-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4706\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4709,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorscout.com.au\/wp-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4706\/revisions\/4709"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorscout.com.au\/wp-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4708"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.motorscout.com.au\/wp-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorscout.com.au\/wp-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorscout.com.au\/wp-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4706"},{"taxonomy":"car_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorscout.com.au\/wp-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/car_type?post=4706"},{"taxonomy":"car_advice","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorscout.com.au\/wp-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/car_advice?post=4706"},{"taxonomy":"blog_section","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorscout.com.au\/wp-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog_section?post=4706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}3. Gather your service history<\/h2>\n
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4. Fix the small things that are worth fixing<\/h2>\n
5. Give it a proper clean<\/h2>\n
Vacuum the seats, carpets and boot. Clean the dashboard and wipe down high-touch areas.<\/p>\n
Wash the paintwork, clean the wheels and windows, and remove obvious dirt and grime.<\/p>\n
Empty it. Buyers will almost certainly look.<\/p>\n6. Be honest about the condition<\/h2>\n
7. Take better photos<\/h2>\n
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8. Highlight what’s been done recently<\/h2>\n
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9. Get more than one offer<\/h2>\n
10. Don’t let the odometer do all the negotiating<\/h2>\n