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Use These Hacks to Spruce Up Your Used Car

Tips and Tricks for Keeping Your Used Car in Top Condition

If you are looking to sell your used car in Kansas City, it is hard to beat the offers you will find here at Auto Bank, one of the most distinguished Buy Here Pay Here dealerships in Kansas City. To help you get every dollar you deserve for your car, consider these hacks to spruce up your vehicle before you sell it.

Clean, Wash, and Polish

When selling your used car, you should follow that same mindset you use for a job interview. When you go on a job interview, you are attempting to sell yourself to your future potential employer. You probably wear your best outfit, make sure your hair is just right, and do everything in your power to put your best foot forward and make a good impression hoping to get the job.

Cleaning up the vehicle is the easiest, quickest, and cheapest way to improve the value of your car. It shows that you care about your car, which makes buyers care about your car. Start by simply removing any trash and unneeded items that have accumulated over the years and running a vacuum over the seats and floor. Don’t forget to remove the floor mats and scrub them and clean the area underneath. While already working on the interior, give the dash and instrument controls a good wipe down and polish. A helpful hint is to use a Q-Tip to clean the seat buckles and any other small and hard-to-reach areas.

Outside the car, give it a quick wash and remove any decals and stickers you may have added. An easy hack to remove bumper stickers is to get a hairdryer and use it about six inches away from the sticker. This will heat the glue holding the sticker on, making it easier to remove with a smooth plastic object like an id card to prevent damage to the paint. Then you can easily remove any glue that may be left behind with soap and water. Rinse off your tires and apply a quick coat of wax, and you will quickly and easily add value to your car.

cleaning your used car before selling

Fix Scratches Yourself

Getting scratches in your paint is almost unavoidable over the life of a car. Unfortunate marks from other vehicles’ doors, children playing carelessly in your driveway, and stray stones picked up off the road are just a few things that can add some serious eyesores to your car. Fixing them yourself will save the dealership from having to fix them, and any amount you can save the buyer saves you.

Inside your car, you should be able to locate the factory code for the paint used on your car. It might be in your owner's manual or maintenance manual. Once you have that, you can get the exact color to perfectly match your paint job. Repair paint kits can be easily purchased at most dealerships and even online, usually for under $15. Clean the area ahead of time and then apply as the kit instructs.

Make Old Seats Look New Again

The easiest way to maintain the appearance of your seats is to treat problems as they arise and handle each one right away instead of waiting until you are ready to sell. No one wants to buy a car that has scratches or tears on the seats. This may seem like something that you cannot fix yourself, but that’s not always the case. If you have minor scratches on your leather seats, you can use a leather cream to polish and buff the scratches out. If they are more severe, you can also use a spray lacquer to make the seats look new and fresh again.

Stains on seats are best treated right away by using any of the stain removers on the market. If you have cloth seats and get a minor tear or rip in them, you can go to a craft store and buy a spool of thread that closely matches the color of your interior and sew it up before it gets bigger.

Another important thing to fix as you start to notice it failing is the headliner of your car. Once it sags, it is almost impossible to fix and will need to be totally replaced. If you catch it in time though, just as it is starting, you can use a spray adhesive to hold it back into place. You just need to make sure that you have it securely in place before you spray on the adhesive so that it is in the right place and then apply two to three coats, letting it fully dry in between.

Finding the Best Used Cars in Kansas City at a Buy Here Pay Here Car Dealership

Hopefully, you have found these helpful as our number one goal is for us to help you. So, follow these hints and consider bringing your car to us at Auto Bank KC, a buy here pay here dealership in Kansas City when it’s time to sell your used car. Contact us, stop by and see us, or fill out our online credit approval application to get started today.