How to Sell My Used Car Privately in Ontario Guide
Selling your used car privately in Ontario has always been and always be an intimidating experience. You will have to deal with people you don’t know, a bunch of paperwork, money changing hands, advertising, safety, ownership transfer, etc. It can be quite demoralizing and unnerving at times.
However, with due diligence and appropriate information you can sell your car easier and use any situation you will face at your advantage. In addition, as safety is most important, being familiar with selling procedures and methods will increase your confidence and safety when negotiating with people.
Benefits of Selling Your Car Privately
There is one major reason to sell your used car privately, and that reason is Price. While there are other easier methods to sell your used car in Ontario, none of them will bring you same value for your used car as a private sale.
Selling your car privately is based on retail prices which are quite a bit higher than wholesale prices offered by dealers or car buying companies. Your time and efforts will be well worth it and rewarded at the end.
Preparing Your Used Car for Sale in Ontario
Start with basics, preparing your used car for sale is first thing you should do. The better a product looks the easier is going to sell, used cars are no different.
1- Cleaning Your Used Car
As mundane as it sounds, cleaning your used car before you list it for sale is probably the most important thing you can do. If you think you are going to sell your car looking like the one in image below, you better think again.
It’s very hard, to borderline impossible to sell a dirty and grimy used car, people will be put off just by the looks of it. Also, a dirty vehicle looks heavily used and first impressions are everything when it comes to used car sales.
That’s why dealers use professional clean up shops to clean their vehicles thoroughly. It’s very hard to convince someone your car has been taken care off and is in good mechanical condition when interior looks like a garbage bin. Make sure to clean your car in detail, either do it yourself or send it to a professional clean up shop.
– Clean Interior of your used car
– Wash exterior thoroughly and polish it
– Clean engine bay, try to use as little water as possible
– Clean battery terminals of corrosion
– Empty trunk, also check underneath trunk floor cover.
– Clean wheels and tires
– Change engine oil (while not related to cleaning per se, it helps quite a bit. People like to pull oil dipsticks and dirty oil might be a deal breaker)
Details on: How to Clean Your Used Car.
2- Prepare Maintenance Records
Collect all maintenance records & repair invoices and be prepared to provided them to anyone interested in buying your car. A well maintained vehicle sells easier and faster as people feel confident they will experience fewer problems in the future.
Maintenance records include: Oil change invoices, tires replacement, battery replacement, major work or repairs, timing belt replacement, transmission fluid service, brakes and other new parts or components which were installed recently.
If you did not bother to keep invoices then purchase a Carfax vehicle history. Carfax collects and provides information about repairs and maintenance from repair facilities, you can use it to prove your car has been maintained regularly.
Details on: Basic Preventive Maintenance.
3- Mechanical Condition Matters
Mechanical condition is what worries and scares people most when buying a car privately in Ontario. It’s very hard to sell a used car which has dashboard full of warning lights and other mechanical problems. People do not generally like to indulge into unknowns and check engine light is almost always a deal breaker. You should repair any mechanical problems before hand, or at least deal with all major problems.
Check engine light is most common of all, and even though check engine light usually is triggered by small easy to repair failures, people always assume the worst. So, better invest few hundred dollars to repair everything in advance, it will be worth it and big help later on.
Details on: Dashboard Warning Lights
4- Pricing Your Used Car in Ontario
Pricing your used car realistically is very important as everyone looks at price first and foremost. A common mistake people make when selling their car privately in Ontario is to overestimate value. If you price your car higher than competition (Dealer or private) you are going to have a hard time selling it.
Best way to price your car accordingly to market is…to look at the market. Start by researching online advertising sites (Facebook Marketplace, Kijiji, Craigslist). Look for cars of same year of production, mileage, options and condition. It will give you the best benchmark to reach a competitive and realistic price for your used car.
Another way is to use online price calculators (Kelly Blue Book, Canadian Black Book etc). While this method is easier and useful, online calculators are not as accurate as checking used car market manually on advertising sites. There is a high probability you will get different values from different calculators and it can be confusing at times.
In any case, use online car value calculators to review wholesale or retail prices and compare them to used car market before deciding a final price for your used car.
Also, you can use online car buying companies to get a price. Using these companies (which are Dealers) it’s very easy and fast method to sell your car but you will get less than selling your car privately as their prices are based on wholesale values.
Details on: How to Sell Your Car Fast in Ontario
5- Advertising Your Used Car
Advertising is crucial. Exposure to a wide market is paramount when trying to sell your car privately. There are quite a few ways to advertise you car.
Street Advertising
One of most basic methods to advertise your used car is street advertising, just park your car in your home and slap a “For Sale” sign on top of it. Street advertising has very limited exposure, just your neighbors and whoever happens to drive about your street. It takes quite a bit of time to sell a used car using street advertising, however it’s free and you lose nothing by trying it.
Online Advertising
Best way to advertise and reach maximum exposure is online listing. Most online marketplaces are free of charge and quite easy to advertise. Some of major online marketplaces in Ontario are: Facebook Marketplace, Kijiji, Craigslist and Autotrader.
These free sites also give you an option for paid advertising. Paid adverting bumps or keeps your add at most exposure (top of pages usually) giving your add best chances and higher viewership. However, you might want to try free advertising first, don’t just jump into paying. If that doesn’t work as time passes then you can pay and use paid advertising.
6- Taking Pictures of Your Used Car
First, find a nice background. If possible find a completely empty space, such as an empty parking lot. You can go to a mall or shopping plaza early in the morning when is empty and take pictures there.
Pictures taken randomly in the middle of traffic or cluttered background leave a bad taste and take your car out of focus. Your car should be the only focus when taking pictures for advertising.
Exterior Pictures
Take plenty of quality pictures of your vehicle exterior from different angles. When taking pictures, do not try to hide any major body damages or other imperfections, take pictures of damages too. You don’t want to surprise anyone latter on. Surprises do not work, people get irritated when they find out they have been lied upon or misled.
Interior Pictures
Do not neglect interior pictures, as most people do. Interior is as important and exterior, especially if your car is a fully loaded model. Take plenty of pictures of interior, including seats, dashboard, rear seats, trunk, etc. And lastly, take one or two pictures of engine bay, just make sure to clean it first.
7- Description of Your Used Car
Online advertising gives you an option to describe your used car when listing it for sale. Keep it as concise and short as possible. Do not write 1,000 words description of your used car, chances are no one will read it in full.
Clearly and concisely describe year, mileage, options and condition of your used car. Also, you can add up maintenance and vehicle history, for example: “no accidents” if your car has not been involved in any collisions or “very well maintained, service records available” to describe mechanical condition.
Ontario Vehicle History and Lien Information
One small investment ($40 or so) on purchasing a vehicle history package can make you life easier when you are trying sell your car privately. Providing interested buyers with history of your car and proving you have nothing to hide makes situation much more comfortable and easier to deal with.
Also, vehicle history report contains Lien and service/maintenance records which can come handy when negotiating price. Vehicle history reports can be purchased easily online. Carfax and Autocheck provide most comprehensive vehicle history reports in Canada.
Details on: How to Check Vehicle History Report
Documentation Required for Selling Your Car in Ontario
You will need to deal with paperwork and documentation when selling your used car privately in Ontario. There are quite a few documents you need to provide to new owner to facilitate transfer of ownership:
1- Vehicle Ownership Registration
Vehicle ownership is made of two parts. One is vehicle registration and the other is plate registration. You should sign the back of vehicle registration (ownership part), complete all required information and provide it to new owner.
Keep plate registration section, also make sure to remove your plates after selling your car. Do not, under any circumstances let your car be driven by new owner with your plates on.
Details On: Vehicle Ownership When Selling a Car in Ontario.
2- UVIP or Used Vehicle Information Package
UVIP or Used Vehicle Information Package is an obligatory document when selling a used car in Ontario. Used vehicle information package is sold to any Ministry of Transportation location and cost $20. Buy UVIP before hand, as it will be used as a bill of sale when you sell your car.
UVIP should be signed and completed by both parties (seller and buyer) and combined with vehicle registration will be used to transfer ownership from seller to buyer.
Details on: How to Use UVIP When Selling a Car in Ontario.
3- Safety Certification Inspection Ontario
Safety certification is mechanical inspection performed by licensed repair facilities to certify minimum safety requirement imposed by Ministry of transportation. What it means in short, a used car is certified as safe to be driven and all safety systems are functional.
However, safety certification is not a warranty and does not cover engine or transmission. Safety certification is related only to brakes, suspension, tires, lights, steering, seat belts, air bags and other vehicle safety features and mechanical components.
Selling a car “As Is” is much harder than selling it “Certified”, and for good reason. People feel confident when a vehicle has been inspected and minimum safety features are working and functional and there is less chance of major problems in near future.
Spend what’s required and obtain a safety certificate from your mechanic. You will sell your car far easier and save yourself some headaches when negotiating.
More on: Safety Certification Ontario.
Bill Of Sale When Selling Your Car Privately in Ontario
As we previously said UVIP is used as bill of sale when selling your used car in Ontario. UVIP has information regarding previous and present owner, odometer reading, plate registration and liens. Buyer and seller should include all required information, sign and present it to Ministry of transportation together with vehicle registration to conclude ownership transfer.
What you need to transfer a vehicle ownership:
1- Ownership Vehicle Registration Portion (signed by seller and buyer)
2– Completed UVIP or Used Vehicle Information Package (signed by seller and buyer)
3– Safety Inspection Certificate (If provided by seller)
(If car is sold “As Is” then is buyer’s responsibly to obtain safety inspection certificate. In any case, buyer can transfer vehicle ownership under their name without a safety certificate, but won’t be able to drive it or plate it until safety inspection is completed.)
Information required to complete UVIP sales contract:
– Name of Buyer
– Name of Seller
– Sale price
– Vehicle Odometer Reading
– Signature of Buyer
– Signature of Seller
– Sale Date
Selling Your Car “AS IS” in Ontario
Selling your used car “AS IS” in Ontario is tempting and most people try to do just that initially when listing their cars for sale privately. “AS IS” means a used car is sold without an Ontario safety certificate and hasn’t passed a safety inspection. Basically, as is and where is condition, with seller taking no responsibly while buyer is taking all the risks.
However, it takes longer to sell a car “AS IS” as its harder to find a buyer which will buy a used car in completely unknown mechanical condition.. Price also will suffer significantly, as buyers will ask for a cheap price if they are to take all the risks.
Safety and Scams When Selling Your Car Privately
Scams When Selling Your Used Car in Ontario
Bear in mind, private listing are full of scams and Curbsiders, caution should be of primary consideration. For example, anyone which offers you full price for your car but refuses to meet in person and instead request to do everything remotely is a scam, 100%.
Likelihood of being ripped off if you don’t know what you are doing is very high. You should deal only in person when selling your car and always asks for identification, driver license for example.
Details on: Scams when selling a car
Curbsiders are another problem when selling your car privately in Ontario. These are people which buy and sell used cars illegally for profit. In short, they will buy your car and sell it someone else while vehicle is still registered under you name.
If something happens meanwhile, you might be liable as vehicle is still technically yours even though is not in your possession anymore. Make sure to transfer your car under buyers name, do not just let them go on promise they will do it latter.
Details on: Curbsiders
Safety When Selling Your Car
Safety as per usual should come first and foremost. There are quite a few horror stories which occasionally happen to people selling their used car privately in Ontario. Carjacking and the likes are not unheard off. You should always keep in mind few basic safety steps when selling your car:
1- Never deal or set appointments at night. If someone insists they come at latter hours for a test drive or viewing your car, you should flatly refuse.
2- Always set up appointments in crowded places, where are people around, a mall or a plaza.
3- Always take driver’s license before letting anyone test drive your car.
4- Make sure to let a relative or friend know where you are, or even better do not be alone when dealing or going for test drives.
5- Do not allow anyone to test drive your car alone, you should go with them.
6- Handle paperwork accordingly. As we already said, make sure to transfer ownership under buyers name before giving them your car. Go with buyer to Ministry of transportation and conclude ownership transfer.
7- Do not accept anything but Cash or a Certified Bank Draft. Make sure Bank draft is real, there are a lot of fakes going around. Either go with buyer to their bank or have your bank verify bank draft before concluding the deal. Never accept a personal check.
8- Use phone conversations instead of text or e-mail. Most scammers deal in messages, and you will be able to root most of them out by asking to talk to them.
People who are really interested will generally ask a lot of questions about your car and even about yourself before they set up a meeting. Scammers on the other hand, will ask for a meeting straight away with very few to no questions at all. Also, it’s easier to understand over phone conversation who is really interested or not, and what might be dangerous or not.
More details from OMVIC on buying a car privately.
Taxes When Selling Your Car Privately
Taxes are pretty much straight forward. You neither collect nor pay any tax when selling your used car in Ontario privately. Buyer on the other hand is responsible for paying sales tax when transferring vehicle ownership under their name.
Taxes are calculated based on Ministry of Transportation used car value book or declared sale price, whichever is higher. If declared sale price in UVIP is higher than Ministry of Transportation book value then tax will be charged on declared sale price.
Details on: Tax When Buying or Selling a Used Car in Ontario
(If you instead of a private sale are also looking for fast and easy solution to sell your car, details here on “How To Sell Your Car Fast In Ontario”. )
Comments: If you have any questions or suggestions related to this post or Used Car Toronto in general, don’t hesitate to use comment section below.
