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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 par


ts dealers.
Many of us already know how matters unfold in the used car market: If you’re looki
ng for a Mitsubishi Lancer 2005 and find it parked in a showroom, it will be cla
ssified as the ”most reliable car” and “drive pleasure is unmatchable” and since it is ”to
tal 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 unrea
sonable, 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 veh
icles, and buyers started to make ridiculous offers resulting in frustrated sell
ers and disappointed buyers. This post is to address the common mistakes buyers
and sellers make on Pakwheels, and tips to find better deals.
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 t
he ‘x’ button on the right corner of his explorer’s window. Presentation is a key aspe
ct in the selling business. If it doesn’t appeal, it’s the end of the game. The resu
lt 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, t
hey do play a very vital role in reaching that decision. We tend to believe what
we see. I have 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 th
e car.
No Phone Number/Contact details:
Yes, there’s an option of posting a comment, but a serious buyer who is looking fo
r 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 fores
eeing 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 criti
cally lowers the chances of sale because many potential buyers don’t even read the
details after seeing a car which is priced way above the market.

Over-rating the car:


The phenomenon: The car is total genuine, immaculate condition, 45,000 driven, s
ingle owner, Islamabad, etc etc.
The fact: Genuine as far as the papers are concerned, immaculate only when parke
d, meter reversed, single owner because has been on open letter for a while, pre
sent in Islamabad however registered in Quetta.
The result: Wastage of time of both buyer and seller. Potential buyers are disap
pointed and negative comments on the ad making it controversial and creating dou
bts 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 yo
u’re clear in the head. Thoughts like ‘If I get 875,000, I’ll sell it, and otherwise I’l
l 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 fir
st week. If your car has been there for over a couple of months, it makes the po
tential 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 fir
st principle in selling ethics. If you adopt a rude tone, thrash and threaten an
y members, you may as well say good bye 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.
Here is a 10 Tips summary to 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 pric
ed. 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 rea
sonable enough to keep your price in competition without making you look stubbor
n and inflexible.
4- Post maximum details. Ads posted with vague details create doubts in the mind
s of potential buyers.
5- Post quality photos. Presentation is one of the key factors in selling busine
ss. Photos of a dirty vehicle covered in dust and parked near a peg of garbage i
s 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 engine bay and inte
rior photos.
6- Be honest. State the work needed to be done on the vehicle. Although it seems
incorrect at first, but honesty always pays. For a start, it will filter the bu
yers who actually are looking for such vehicle from the ones with inflated expec
tations.
7- Be polite. There are always low-ballers looking for a steal of a deal who pos
t 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 Ho
nda 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 in the
list.
9- Filter the potential buyers from time wasters: A lot can be understood when y
ou talk to someone on the phone. Do not give wrong impressions. Be clear about t
he 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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