PakWheels is a common user based community emphasizing on helping each other out and diminishing the risk of being conned by showroom owners/mechanics/spare parts dealers.
Many of us already know how matters unfold in the used car market: If you’re looking for a Mitsubishi Lancer 2005 and find it parked in a showroom, it will be classified as the ”most reliable car” and “drive pleasure is unmatchable” and since it is ”total genuine”, hence priced at 1 Million. However, if God forbid, you visit the same showroom to sell your Lancer 2005, you will be greeted with remarks such as ”Out of market” “Maintenance too expensive” “re-painted hood,” and since it is such a pain, the dealer will offer to ”do you a favor” and buy it off at 0.7 Million, which is unreasonable, and so is the 1 Million tag.
PakWheels’ essence was to diminish the huge dealer’s margin. A seller would post an ad of his Lancer 2005, price it reasonably, the potential buyer would inspect it, and they would bargain to a deal.
However, this essence was lost somewhere. Sellers started to overprice their vehicles, and buyers started to make ridiculous offers resulting in frustrated sellers and disappointed buyers. This post is to address the common mistakes buyers and sellers make on Pakwheels. These tips will definitely help you in getting the best deals while buying & selling your car online.
Common Seller Mistakes
No Details :
In many cases, sellers post the make and model and leave the rest to potential buyer’s imagination. The potential buyer opens the thread, sees nothing, and hits the ‘x’ button on the right corner of his explorer’s window. Presentation is a key aspect of the selling business. If it doesn’t appeal, its the end of the game. The result is the thread being buried under the newer threads within the first half-hour of posting.
No Photos :
Although the decision of buying a car isn’t reached solely by looking at photos, they do play a very vital role in reaching that decision. We tend to believe what we see. I had personally come across situations when an acquaintance bought a Nissan Sunny instead of a Suzuki Khyber, which he planned to buy just because the photos of that Sunny were mouthwatering and he couldn’t resist visiting to see the car.
No Phone Number/Contact details :
Yes, there’s an option of posting a comment, but a serious buyer who is looking for a similar car will just pick up his phone, plan a meet, and inspect the car. If there’s no number provided, he’ll move to the next car available. We’re an impatient nation; we can’t wait for an undetermined period for the poster to post a comment and keep logging on and refreshing that particular thread meanwhile.
Overpricing the car :
This is unarguably the most critical mistake sellers make: Hypothetically foreseeing that there is going to be bargaining involved, many sellers keep a margin of up to 15% in a vehicle’s demand and the price they’ll sell it off for. This critically lowers the chances of sale because many potential buyers don’t even read the details after seeing a car that is priced way above the market.
Over-rating the car :
The phenomenon: The car is a totally genuine, immaculate condition, 45,000 driven, single owner, Islamabad, etc.
The fact: Genuine as far as the papers are concerned, immaculate only when parked, meter reversed, single owner because it has been on an open letter for a while, present in Islamabad, however, registered in Quetta.
The result: Wastage of time of both buyer and seller. Disappointment. Negative comments on the ad, making it controversial and creating doubts in the minds of potential buyers.
Indecisiveness :
One of the key factors in selling a car is deciding that you want to sell it. If you’re still contemplating on whether to sell it or not, you should wait until you’re clear in the head. Thoughts like ‘If I get 875,000, I’ll sell it; otherwise, I’ll keep it’ will not favor your cause. In fact, it harms it by keeping your car on display for long. A general phenomenon is – you get the best offers within the first week. If your car has been there for over a couple of months, it makes the potential buyers think about the reason for it not been sold for so long.
Attitude :
As soon as you post an advertisement, you become a seller. Politeness is the first principle in selling ethics. If you adopt a rude tone, thrash, and threaten any members, you may as well say goodbye to any chances you have at selling your vehicle. No one likes to deal with a badmouthed arrogant bighead.
Tricky business it is then, selling a car online.
Sell or buy your car on PakWheels.com.
Here is a 10 Tips summary of what you should do while selling a car.
1- Decide if you really want to sell your car or not.
2- Know the market value of your car. Visit a few showrooms to get your car priced. Generally, dealers will quote you about 8-10% lesser than they will ask for a similar vehicle.
3- Price your car correctly. Leave a margin for bargaining. 2.5-3% margin is reasonable enough to keep your price in competition without making you look stubborn and inflexible.
4- Post maximum details. Ads posted with vague details create doubts in the minds of potential buyers.
5- Post quality photos. Presentability is one of the key factors in selling business. Photos of a dirty vehicle covered in dust and parked near a peg of garbage are not the way to go. Take photos in daylight to enhance the shine. Take several photos from different angles, and also include the photos of the engine bay and interior photos.
6- Be honest. State the work needed to be done on the vehicle. Although it seems incorrect at first, honesty always pays. For a start, it will filter the buyers who actually are looking for such a vehicle from the ones with inflated expectations.
7- Be polite. There are always low-ballers looking for a steal of a deal who post ridiculous comments to bring your price down. The best way is to politely turn them down by stating, ‘Thank you for your offer.’ Arguing uselessly will derail your thread from buying/selling to useless rants.
8- Keep your phone on. A potential buyer will call once. People looking for a Honda Civic 2000 will make a list of all the 2000 Civics they’re interested in, and start calling. If a call goes unattended, they will dial the next number on the list.
9- Filter the potential buyers from time-wasters: A lot can be understood when you talk to someone on the phone. Do not give wrong impressions. Be clear about the final price you will let it go for in order to filter the buyers who plan to negotiate enormously.
10- Document every transaction. Get everything in written. State the token money paid, the amount remaining, and the date of remaining payment.
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