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At some point in your "relationship" with your car you know that it is time to move on. All the years invested, the money spent and the wonderful memories but now your temptations have taken over and you're ready to try something new. Wait a minute, for a second I almost forgot this article is about selling a car..

Selling your car is more than just cleaning out the old candy wrappers and half empty soda bottles. You need to figure out when, how and where is the best time to sell so you can get the price for your car. First impressions are always the most important part of selling your car. When a potential buyer walks up and takes that first glance they have most likely already made up their mind if they want to buy the car. Give your car a thorough wash both inside and out. Using upholstery cleaner that you can find on the shelf of any grocery store will do wonders for those seats. You should also invest a few hours to give it one last polish to make the paint shine even if you had the car for 15 years and never did it before. If you want to save yourself some time and have a few bucks to spare, drop the car off and have it professionally cleaned, vacuumed and waxed. By the time they are done, your car will look and smell absolutely fabulous.

If there are minor dents in the bodywork, it may be worth having them repaired. Whether you should do this boils down to overall value: it's not worth spending $500 on repairs if you are only likely to gain $100 on the sale price. But minor repairs on an expensive car will pay for themselves if they visually improve the overall condition.

Now that you have the car looking as good as it can on the outside, it's time to check under the hood. Make sure you car is serviced and this doesn't mean just changing the oil. We recommend doing a complete tune-up, which should include new filters, flushing the radiator and adding new fluids, changing the spark plugs and wires if necessary and rotating the tires. Keep your receipts as proof and present them to the owner if you have not kept your car serviced at the intervals recommended in the owner's manual. By not keeping service records, it will significantly reduce the value of your car. Your better off making simple repairs instead of selling the car as is because this will cause the buyer to wonder what is really wrong that the seller is not telling them. Have your mechanic check out your car and issue a report about its condition. You can use it to motivate a buyer who is questioning the reliability of the car. Lastly, order a Carfax report and show it to the buyer to prove the car's title is clean and the odometer reading is accurate.

Once you are ready to sell the car, you need to research the market to find out how easy it is going to be to get a buyer. Normally you will need to know what other cars comparable to yours are being sold for. Find out the likely value of your car by checking web sites that list cars for sale, newspaper classifieds and magazines to see how much private and trade sellers are asking for the same model car. When you set yPrice, add a little extra so you can have room to haggle a final deal with the buyer. I have yet to meet someone who's paid the actual asking price. Everyone wants to feel like they are getting a bargain and are more likely to part with their money even though you still end up getting what you really wanted. Make sure you set a price that is flexible unless you are in no hurry to sell the car.

You'll usually get more for your car if you sell it privately, but if you're looking to part-exchange it for a new or newer model, you'll need to find a dealer. When working out which way to go, calculate the overall cost to change cars – dealers may offer discounts on new models, finance deals or tempting warranties that make up for the low offer on your part-exchange car.

Potential buyers will want to test-drive the car. If in doubt, check to make sure they have a driver license. Ride along with them so you can answer any questions about the car's history and performance. Also, they may not know the area, so you might have to guide them.

If the person who came to look at the car and approves a sale after the test-drive, you can expect them to make an offer. Most people are uncomfortable negotiating, so their opening offer might take several forms. "I like the car, but…." This is the softest way to negotiate on the price. They may not even state that the price seems too high. If they say, "I like the car, but…" and then lapse into uncomfortable silence, you might consider an appropriate response. If you really want to move the car, you could say, "How much would you be willing to pay?" If you feel you are nothing to lose because of the grin from ear to ear, present yPrice and get ready to negotiate unless it's a deal they can't pass up and never seem too eager to reduce your price.

Once the buyer is ready to make the purchase, have a bill of sale ready to be signed by you the seller and the buyer and make sure you have the car title ready to be handed over. If all is final, hand over the keys and say your goodbyes.