Part exchange or sell privately?

When you're buying your next car, the old one has to go somewhere. On the island your choices are the same as anywhere: part exchange it with the dealer, sell it privately, or sell it to a car buying service. What changes here is the market. It's smaller, word travels, and a buyer is never more than half an hour away.

What each option is worth

How to value your car

1. Get two or three instant online valuationsCar buying sites give a free trade figure in a minute. Treat it as the floor: you shouldn't accept less than this anywhere.
2. Look at what similar cars are advertised forSearch this site for the same make and model, a similar year and mileage. Island asking prices are the most honest guide to what an island buyer will pay. Private sales usually land a little below dealer prices, because there's no warranty.
3. Be honest about conditionMissing service stamps, an MOT due soon, worn tyres or a dent all knock money off. A buyer will spot them, so price them in now.

Getting a good part exchange

Part exchange is about more than the number. You hand over the keys and drive away in the new car, the dealer handles the paperwork, and there are no strangers at your door. A fair dealer will pay around trade value, sometimes more if they can retail your car themselves.

• Ask for two prices. The car you want on its own, and with your part exchange. A generous trade-in can hide a full price on the car you're buying, and a low one can hide a discount.
• Tell them about faults up front. The dealer will inspect it anyway, and a price that drops on the day sours the deal.
• Bring the paperwork: the V5C, service history, both keys and the locking wheel nut.
• Outstanding finance is fine with a dealer. They'll get a settlement figure from your lender and pay it off as part of the deal. Make sure it's written on the invoice.

Selling privately, step by step

1. Clear any finance firstA car on HP or PCP belongs to the lender until it's paid off. You can't sell it privately until the finance is settled.
2. Clean it and take good photosDaylight, a plain background, every side, the interior, the dashboard with the mileage, and the service book. A valet can add more than it costs.
3. Write an honest advertYear, mileage, MOT date, service history, and any faults. Honest adverts sell faster and bring fewer time-wasters.
4. List itIsland sellers can list a car free on this site, next to every dealer car on the island. Every advert is checked before it goes live, and you can have up to three adverts at a time.
5. Show it safelySee below.
6. Get paid, then hand over the keysOnly once the money is in your account and cleared.
7. Tell DVLADo it online at GOV.UK the same day. Give the buyer the new keeper slip from the V5C. You'll get an automatic refund for any full months of road tax left.
8. Cancel your insuranceOr move it to your new car.

Viewings and payment: staying safe

Which should you choose?

As a rough rule, part exchange makes sense when the gap is small, when you need the car gone the day you collect the new one, or when your car has faults you'd rather not explain to a stranger. Sell privately when the gap is worth your weekends.