How to Sell a Car in Ontario

These suggestions are going to help you sell your car for good money in Ontario, Canada. It's a simple to follow read and should give you some important things to consider!

Paperwork Required to Sell a Car in Ontario

The absence of appropriate paperwork may reduce the value of your vehicle and make potential buyers look elsewhere. Having all your paperwork prepared is also a great way to relieve stress about selling your vehicle.

The Title: This is the most important paperwork needed to sell your car. People that still have a lien will need to tell the holder about the sale. You must pay the amount you owe before the title is given to the new owner. If you’ve misplaced your title can ask your local authorities to purchase another title.

Bill of Sale: This document keeps a record of all information on the operations between the buyer and seller. While not always legally binding, having a written record of the transaction, signed by both seller and buyer covers you from most issues that might arise later.

Used Vehicle Information Package: This is only required if you’re selling a car privately in Ontario. The UVIP is purchased on the government of Ontario website for $20.

Lien Release: Proof that you paid off the car loan and are ready to sell. A lien is a legal claim to your vehicle, and a new owner will not be able to register the car in their name without paying the lien. Therefore, by having the lien release ready in advance, you are making your life much easier. Remember, if you’re looking to sell a car in Ontario that still has a loan on it, you can sell it to a dealership.

Car Service Record: These documents show what work was performed on the vehicle and when it took place. This helps show the vehicle was properly maintained, which can help you get the most money possible for the car. If you are not able to find all of them, you can contact the shop that did the work and ask them to provide you with a copy.

Warranty Paperwork: The chances of finding a buyer can quickly increase if your vehicle is under the company's warranty or extended warranty. If you still have a warranty, make sure to provide a copy when selling the car.

 

How Much should you List your Car for Sale in Ontario?

If you’re not sure how to price a used car for sale in Ontario; these tips will help make things much simpler.

Look at comparable vehicles: Pricing a used car is like calculating the value of real estate; you need to look at the comparable vehicles. There are websites that are used primarily for buying and selling used cars; an example of this is Kijiji Autos. Just make sure the prices you are looking at are cars being sold in Ontario, because prices fluctuate all around the country!

Leave wiggle room: Pricing out your used car is more of an art than an exact science because there is always a margin for negotiations. We call this “wiggle room” because you aren’t likely to get your full asking price. Remember that the price of cars is not set in stone, so you might be able to start a bidding war if your asking price is attractive to multiple buyers.

Figure out your time frame: If you need payment right away, you can bring your car to a local dealership, and they will buy it from you at a discount within a few days. The dealerships are in the business of reselling cars for a profit, so they cannot give you the full asking price of your used car, but they will give you a fair price, and this transaction is risk-free. If you have the luxury of time, then you can move forward and try to sell the used car on your own for whatever price you’d like!

Turn to professionals for help: If you have no desire to try and sell your used car on your own, there are professionals who can help.  There are local car dealerships that are always looking for cars for their inventory.

 

How to get the Most Money Possible from Selling your Car

You don't just want to sell your car, you want to get the most money as possible. These tips will point you in the right direction and hopefully give you some good ideas to sell your car in Ontario for more money.

Draft an Impressive Advertisement

This is half art and half effective writing. Buyers do not have the time nor inclination to read listings that have too much text. Therefore, you need to reduce the sheer amount of content you are posting to a few lines. The buyer will want to know the VIN, condition, mileage, and any other pertinent issues with the vehicle.

Your advertisement will also need top-notch video and photos showing off your car in the best possible light. There is no need to spend money on fancy cameras; the camera on your phone should be up for the task. The video should cover the interior and exterior and show the odometer.

You can ignore this all-together by selling your car in Ontario to us. We will buy any car no matter the condition.

Get your Car Ready for Sale

You have probably grown accustomed to your car being and looking a certain way, but you want to maximize your income generation potential when selling your car in 2022 by making it look great. Bring your car to a professional detailer who can make the car shine. This will require a modest investment on your end, but it will be worth the price when you get your full asking price.

Allow Test Drives

Prospective drivers will want to take the used car for a test drive before making a firm offer. You should contact your insurance provider to make sure your vehicle is covered while conducting the test drive. Allowing your car to be taken on test drive is a great way to grow desire and can encourage a potential buyer to pay more for it.

Do not let the buyer take the car by themselves. While most people are honest, there is a risk the driver could take your car and disappear. The used car market is very hot, and scammers will do anything to make a fast buck.

Where should you sell a Car in Ontario?

There are many ways to get rid of your old car in Ontario. We aren’t going to tell you a single best way to sell a vehicle because each options have its own pros and cons, and it really depends on your current situation. We’ll go over your different options to help you make your own decision.

The Dealership: This is by far the easiest and quickest way to sell a car in Ontario. The dealership will do an appraisal of your vehicle and then present you with a firm cash offer. If you accept the offer, then it’s as simple as that! You’ll walk away with money in your pocket. Keep in mind that car prices have never been higher than they are right now in Ontario due to the chip shortage, so you’ll have an easy time looking for a dealership that’ll pay top dollar for your car, like us!

Another great reason to sell your car to a dealership is if you’re looking to buy a replacement. A dealership can easily get you in a new ride you’ll like, quick and easy.

Privately Online: There are many places online where you can list your car such as Facebook Marketplace or Auto Trader. When selling your car privately in Ontario, you’ll be doing all the work yourself which means fetching all the required paperwork, advertising your car, and selling it to a buyer. Selling your car privately is usually how you’d get the most money, but we recommend being very careful. Scammers and lowballs run rampant online. So, make sure you trust who you’re talking to! For this reason we recommend Facebook Marketplace because you get to see that they are a real person.

Auction: Your vehicle would be appraised by the auction service and listed at that price. If the auction bids are lower than the initial listed price, the car is not sold. This is a much less common way to sell your car and is only really used in business-to-business type sales.

Scrap it: Scrapping your old car in Ontario is a worst-case-scenario option but needs to be done if your car is in extremely bad condition or you aren’t even able to drive it to the dealership. Someone from the scrapyard will offer you cold hard cash and come pick up your ride at a scheduled date. This is a surefire way to get rid of your old car very quickly, but you won’t get as much as the other options.

Street Advertising: by this we mean simply parking your car close to a highly populated area, or even outside your house, and leaving a sign on the window showing that the car is for sale. Be sure to leave contact information like your phone number so interested buyers can get a hold of you!

 

And that’s it! We hope this article gives you some good direction on how you want to go about selling your car in Ontario. Remember, if you want an easy and quick way to sell your car for good money, give us a visit at Car Nation Canada. We’d love to buy it and we don’t even need you to buy another car from us. Thanks!

 

FAQ

Q: Can you sell a car with a loan on it in Ontario?

A: You can sell a car with a loan on it if you sell it to a dealership. Otherwise, you’ll need to get a loan settlement figure and pay off the car loan first. Learn more about car loan settlement figures here.

 

If you're ready to sell your car in Southern Ontario, we'd love to buy it! simply fill in the form below to get started.