Photo by Jeffry B

1. Give yourself only a few days to sell it

A car can be sold in a few hours. Or a few weeks. You can assume you’ll get lucky and put it up for sale right before your departure date. Or you can be realistic. If you sell your car quickly, you’ll still have a few days to enjoy your trip.

2. Leave mechanical inspections to the last minute

Older cars in New Zealand must undergo an inspection every six months called a Warrant of Fitness. This ensures a car won’t spontaneously fall apart on the road.

A sticker on the windshield shows when the next inspection is due. The longer left on the W.O.F. sticker, the more confidence it gives buyers.

If your W.O.F. is running close to the end, and you want to renew it, it’s best to do it within many days before your departure. A W.O.F. inspection can reveal mechanical or structural flaws that can take several days to fix.

3. Don’t clean your car

On the car market where we sold our car, we saw nice vans that were filthy inside: strewn with dirty socks, full of dirt and grass, the windows nearly opaque with dust. As if buyers would simply overlook this.

4. Ignore the market cycles

If you bought a car in the beginning of the high season (November) and try to sell it at the end (March-April) you can’t expect to recoup your costs. Lots of people will be selling their cars and few travelers will be shopping.

You’ll have to lower your price.

5. Don’t be a salesman

A used car will sell itself, right? You don’t need to promote its strengths, play down its weaknesses and instil desire in the buyer. Just hang out in the market lounge and people will beat a path to you.

6. Use only one sales channel

There are car markets, internet classifieds, flyers that can be posted at hostels, and the good ol’ for sale sign taped to the window. Why bother with them all when one will do?