The wacky car world has shown signs of throwing more spanners in the works. Europe aims to ban sales of new petrol and diesel cars within a decade, and closer to home, luxury car taxes in all forms have gained momentum. This can only serve as a catalyst to expedite selling your car, if you’re already used to Singapore’s public transport system.

Most of us drivers are holding on to depreciating assets, unless you’re an owner of an unregistered, delivery mileage hypercar. We do not have the luxury of keeping our cars for decades, unlike in other markets where used car prices can go for more than retail prices, even after taking inflation into account.

Like a ticking time bomb, car prices in Singapore are often influenced by tax trends like COE, ARF and the soon-to-be key PARF. Selling your car fast can prevent you from swallowing more depreciation, and we hope tips laid out below can ease this process.

If you still find these a hassle, don't worry because Carousell Certified Cars allows you to buy and sell your next car with confidence. If you have time to spare, get the best price quote from our network of 500+ verified dealers within 24 hours here. These simple listing tips can potentially save you even more time and money in the long haul.

Let potential buyers understand your car’s provenance

No car buyer wants to receive the shorter end of the stick, so serious ones will scan every nook and cranny. It helps by understanding your car’s provenance. Granted, not every car comes with a full history especially if you bought your car off another seller, but efforts will pay off if you include minute details - even better if those are often overlooked.

Did you replace the car’s engine oil more often than the proposed servicing cycle, just as a precaution? Replaced a worn out rubber door sill recently? Pen them down. Even if there are countless dings or hairline scratches on the door not picked up in images, inform prospective buyers what they’ll be in for. More trust will then be gathered when actual viewings take place.

Study the market and define your car’s Unique Selling Point (USP)

Why should we buy your car over others? Could your car be the lowest mileage model in town, or the only car with one owner? Beef up these points by stating, for example, that most miles are applied on the highways with minimal hard driving for the former, or that no one else has ever stepped in your car - only if they are absolutely true of course.

You get the drift: details do matter even if they are obvious to you. Are you the only car in town with a particular paintwork? Or have you spent a ridiculous sum importing a carbonfibre body kit that’s revered in other markets? Sure, these are loosely linked to your car’s provenance, but USPs should be headline-worthy. Even more so than the listed price or visuals, which we’ll touch on next…

Price is king, but give details

While bargaining is part of the process, the price you list should be backed up by good reasoning. If you’ve marketed your car as a bargain hunter but still list it at S$2,000 annual depreciation more than “rivals”, be sure to make justifications. Has it been parked under shelter for most of its life? Is it a rare manual-spec car enthusiasts might arrow in on without flinching?

If you adopt the safe approach by placing a listing that’s an average of current market prices, it can still work out but attempt to justify why it isn't the most pricey example in town. Could it be that you’re fixed on the price and looking for a quick sale? Are you open to negotiations but still firm on your minimum asking price? The listing will be wordy, but that’ll only attract serious buyers equally keen on a speedy deal.

Visuals are key, but be tactical

Perhaps the most crucial element when listing your car can be often overlooked. While it’s obvious that proper pictures of your car at every possible angle helps boost clicks, we’d suggest strategically placing the most important four to five images first - front three quarter angle, rear three quarter angle, interior (front), interior (rear) and one more zoomed in shot that focuses on your listings’s USP. It can be a low mileage readout, clean engine bay or a varied seat configuration. Then upload as many close up / detailed images as possible. We’re not recommending inserting 50 images of your car, but used car classifieds from enthusiast car platforms can serve as good references.

We’re not hoping for every car to be shot in perfect lighting during the golden hour, but lighting is still key and you can achieve a decent outcome in areas like the highest, unsheltered floor of a multi-story carpark. Pictures from smartphones are more than sufficient if there’s decent lighting. What’s also preferable is to frame your shots at 1x mode, instead of wide angle (0.5x) which can affect true representations of the car’s silhouette. Zooming it works, but beware of optical zooms (eg: 10x zoom onwards) that’ll affect image quality

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Selling your car? Whatever the reason, car you sell Carousell.