You know what’s funny? When it comes to buying a car, there’s never a shortage of people telling you how to go about making it happen. Sadly, when it comes to selling your vehicle, you’ve got to do a lot of the legwork yourself. This I know from personal experience from trying to sell my car in the past.
Now, before you can exchange your keys for some cash, you’ll need to get the word out through some advertising. So, how does someone like you advertise their car for sale in Australia?
Well, that’s what we’re going to explore in this article. Firstly, we’ll look at the places where you can post an ad to sell your car for free. We’ll then look at how much you can expect to pay if you decide to post a paid advertisement instead.
But that’s not all! We’ll also explore a few top tips on how to go about writing that ad so you can attract possible buyers.
Where Can I Post My Used Car for Sale Free?
The first step to selling any car is to spread the word. Since we’re talking about doing it online, that means posting up a “car for sale” ad. There are paid and free options to do this, of course, but let’s begin by considering your two free options first.
Typically, you can categorise them into two groups: general classifieds websites and specialised classifieds specifically for selling cars.
General Classifieds
Online, you have plenty of classifieds websites where you can post ads for just about anything from selling old furniture to posting job openings. These kinds of websites are a great way to cast a very wide net, and they give you the option of posting your used car for sale without any costs.
Unfortunately, they do come with some significant drawbacks. Yes, you cast a pretty wide net for potential buyers by using these websites. However, that ‘net’ might be a little too wide. Plenty of people might see your ad, but they’re not necessarily people who are looking to buy a used car.
Besides that, you can never really be too sure who you’re dealing with on a classifieds website, and that goes both ways. Your potential buyer might not trust that you have a car to sell, and you might not trust that they have actual money to pay you. All of that makes it a little more challenging to do business with each other.
Still, suppose you’re looking to advertise a car for sale for free anywhere and everywhere. In that case, you should consider some of the most popular ones with Australians like Gumtree and Trading Post. They both have specific categories, especially for posting a used car for sale.
Specialised Classifieds for Cars
Now, there's nothing wrong with general classifieds websites. But suppose you want to speed up the process of selling your used car. In that case, you can do that by listing on a specialised site created specifically for buying and selling cars. When you do things this way, you can rest assured that the people seeing your ad are already shopping for used vehicles.
One popular example of this is Carpart.com.au. Besides being a marketplace to buy and sell used car parts, you can also use it for advertising a car for sale, and you can do it for free!
Aside from these free listings, Carpart.com.au and similar websites where you buy and sell cars offer paid options as well.
Free Vs Paid Ads
But why would you even consider added cost if free ads are available?
Good question!
Basically, by paying a small fee, you can make sure that your ad stands out from all others. That’s a purpose of advertising in the first place. Depending on the website, that might mean listing your ad right at the top, giving it a special banner to attract attention or other special privileges for your ad.
How Much Does It Cost to Advertise a Car For Sale in Australia?
Here, we’re going to use Carpart.com.au as an example to understand how much it usually costs to advertise a car for sale in Australia. Remember: you can post your used car for sale for free on most of these sites, but you can also pay for extra perks to make your ad stand out. Here’s what that might look like:
- TOP AD – On Carpart.com.au, you can choose to make yours a ‘Top Ad’ for $6 per week or $17.50 for 30 days. For example, if I wanted to sell my car, making mine a Top Ad means it’ll appear right at the top of the search results when someone searches for something relevant.
- HIGHLIGHT – I could also ‘Highlight’ my ad by giving it a different background colour to stand out from all the rest at $2 for a week or $9 for 30 days.
- URGENT – Besides changing background colours, I could also invest in an ‘Urgent’ sticker for my ad at $2 per week or $9 for 30 days.
- INSTANT BUMP UP – Suppose I’m still trying to sell my car, but it hasn’t gotten much attention yet. I could also get an Instant Bump Up for $2 to push it up once in a while; somewhere near the Top Ads above the free listings.
- FEATURED AD – But let’s say I wanted to go all-out. For that, I can choose the Homepage Gallery for $7.99 a week or $19.99 for 30 days to put the ad to sell my car right on the homepage as a Featured Ad.
As you can see, these kinds of websites have plenty of additional tools that you can invest in to make your ‘used car for sale’ ad much more attractive. Plus, they offer several different options to suit your budget, from a simple bump in the listing to maximum-exposure options as well.
What's the Best Way to Write an Ad for a Used Car for Sale?
No matter where you list your car for sale, you’ll need at least a decent ad to get your potential buyers interested. Here are a few quick tips for doing just that:
- PHOTOS – Always provide good photos of the exterior and interior.
- DETAILS – Be as detailed as possible about the car, and not only about its specs. Also provide detail about any modifications, repairs, and upgrades.
- DISCLOSURE – Be honest! Tell them about your maintenance history, any accidents, or any other issues that the car might have.
- The Big ‘WHY’ – Explain why you’re selling the car. It’s a common question among car buyers, and you’ll make things easier by answering it upfront.
See How Posting an Ad Works!
The best way to understand how to write a ‘car for sale’ ad is to learn from real-life examples. So, head on over to Carpart.com.au and check out the Marketplace! There, you’ll see plenty of ‘used car for sale’ ads and their descriptions. By reading these ads, you’ll find it much easier to write one of your own! Advertise that old car and start getting views now!
By Ray Hasbollah