5 Reasons to Detail Your Car Before Selling It

Posted March 5, 2019 by Chris Blaisdell, Onsite Detail

Despite the recent snowy weather in our beautiful Utah state, we at Onsite Detail cannot deny an important time of the year is approaching.  March means spring is coming, daylight savings approaches once more, and Saint Patrick’s Day promises to give us a bit of luck and fun before the hot summer days are here.  However, while we look forward to all those events too, we Onsite Detail workers know another important time is coming: car sales time. Make sure you detail your car before selling it.

In the last week alone we received a ton of calls from people looking to sell their vehicles over the weekend, and it got me thinking about all the ways our company can help people make their sales a little easier.  So for this blog, I’m going to share five reasons to detail your car before selling it and why it is beneficial and can make your sale go smoother!

1. Makes Photos Look Better

It’s hardly a secret that posting photos of something you want to sell online makes it more appealing to people.  Some sites like KSL.com and Craigslist even suggest uploading pictures to increase sales while you’re making a post!  

If your car is cleaned and waxed for a nice shine, it can make your post stand out from the rest.  Having photos of a clean interior can also appeal to the viewer since they’ll be able to see they won’t have to worry about sticky cup holders or stains they would have to deal with.  Our services can help your online post catch the eye of a potential buyer and help make the sale with a like-new cleaning!

2. Helps Remove Trickier Things

Cars are very personal things and are often treated as such.  Pets are allowed to ride in them and those who enjoy smoking may do so in their vehicles.  This isn’t a bad thing, but it can make selling a vehicle a bit harder if someone has an allergy or there is a lingering smell in the car.  

However, pet hair and cigarette smoke are tricky things to remove.  Our Interior Detail, however, can help with both of those! We do shampoo and steam cleaning to get every surface of the interior and help flush out bad smells that hang around and can throw in an Odor Bomb to help with especially lasting scents.  Have a pet that sheds a lot? We can add Pet Hair Removal to your service and make it like new again. Buyers with allergies will thank you!

3. Shiny Engines Feel More Trustworthy

No matter how shiny the outside maybe, if the hood opens up to reveal a greasy, dirty engine, it can be off-putting to a potential buyer.  We psychologically associate dirt with disease and disrepair, so a dirty engine can cause someone to think twice about buying.

Our Engine Detail not only degreases and washes the engine but also shines it up and dresses plastic and rubber for added protection.  One client used our Engine Degrease service and found a leak in the engine that was quick to patch but would not have been seen without it!  Our popular Full Combo Detail comes with an Engine Detail as well as interior and exterior cleaning, so it’s worth considering to detail your car before selling it.

4. Decal Removal

I have had a few people call recently asking about removing decals from cars they just purchased, especially work vehicles.  Removing them on your own can mean leaving unwanted residue, ugly scuffs, incomplete decals, or time and frustration you really can’t afford to spend.  

At Onsite Detail, we can remove decals at an hourly rate, and since it often gets coupled with a Wash & Wax it will help make your car sales floor ready!  Save yourself some agitation and let us take care of the details, selling a car can be frustrating enough as is.

5. Restoration Can Make the Sale!

While the outside of a car can’t tell us everything, if it looks newer or at least well-kept we are more likely to trust its quality.  While we can’t do a new coat of paint, we can take care of the other things you may not have considered to make it appear well-kept. Plastic and rubber fading?  Try Plastic Restoration! Unwanted swirl marks or light scratches distracting your customers? We do Paint Correction or Buffing & Polishing. Headlights fogged up?  We can take care of that with Headlight Restoration. Our services aren’t just limited to washing and shining things, so feel free to call and ask for anything specific you’re looking for!

The bottom line is. If your car looks, feels, and smells better you’ll get more money out of it. That’s why you want to detail your car before selling it. If you want to know the approximate value of your car, check out Kelley Blue Book.

Don’t just depend on a lucky clover to make a good sale just detail your car before selling it!  If you’re looking to sell your car we can help, as reviewer Melissa stated:

“We recently had Onsite Detail detail our van as we are trying to sell it and I couldn’t believe the results. It looks like a brand new car!! These guys are the best! I will go nowhere else to have my cars detailed.”

Call or text us today if you’re want to detail your car before selling it. 801-412-9274. We are more than happy to help.