Advice
Advertising your car: Top tips to get the best price and sell fast (2025 update)
Wondering what to write when selling a car? Here’s how to create an effective and eye-catching advert in minutes on Autotrader.
Words by: Andrew Woodhouse
Additional words by: Nimisha Jain
Last updated on 9 January 2025 | 0 min read
Once you’ve prepared your car for sale, it’s time to advertise it.
On Autotrader you can create an advert and reach millions of potential buyers in these simple steps:
On Autotrader you can create an advert and reach millions of potential buyers in these simple steps:
One: Enter your reg and mileage
Your car’s registration number (or ‘reg’) is just the seven digits on the car’s number plate.
This will help us find the car and its key details, and we’ll use this to recommend a guide price for your car. We’ll also need your car’s mileage, available on your last MOT test on Gov.uk.
This will help us find the car and its key details, and we’ll use this to recommend a guide price for your car. We’ll also need your car’s mileage, available on your last MOT test on Gov.uk.
Two: Add your vehicle description
This is the bit potential buyers will read, so tell them everything they need to know.
Make sure you include all the basic technical details about your car, along with your location and contact details. Spotlight your car’s features by selecting them from the menu. Include any key features like sat nav, electric windows, child seat points, cruise control or central locking. Car buyers tend to look for: • Car’s basic details such as the make, model, mileage, engine size and trim level • Reason for sale • Transmission type • Fuel type • Number plate year identifier • MOT status • Service history • Colour and type of paint finish • Where your car can be viewed • Contact details • Asking price • Method of delivery/ pick-up It’s best to be honest from the beginning. If your car’s been in an accident or has damage, mention it. Buyers expect a used car to have some scratches or issues, but if they find you’ve hidden any crucial information, this can jeopardize your sale. To boost a buyer’s confidence and get a quicker, easier sale you should include your car’s service and maintenance history, including the number of previous owners. The more details you provide, the better your chances of getting responses and selling your car quickly. Highlight any information that can help your car stand out, like modifications. This could be anything, but examples that have worked in the past include: • Only one owner • Never been in an accident • Special services or maintenance • Extra accessories We also have an "Attention Grabber" section for key selling points. You get 30-characters to pitch your car, and this line will appear under the selling price on your live advert.
Make sure you include all the basic technical details about your car, along with your location and contact details. Spotlight your car’s features by selecting them from the menu. Include any key features like sat nav, electric windows, child seat points, cruise control or central locking. Car buyers tend to look for: • Car’s basic details such as the make, model, mileage, engine size and trim level • Reason for sale • Transmission type • Fuel type • Number plate year identifier • MOT status • Service history • Colour and type of paint finish • Where your car can be viewed • Contact details • Asking price • Method of delivery/ pick-up It’s best to be honest from the beginning. If your car’s been in an accident or has damage, mention it. Buyers expect a used car to have some scratches or issues, but if they find you’ve hidden any crucial information, this can jeopardize your sale. To boost a buyer’s confidence and get a quicker, easier sale you should include your car’s service and maintenance history, including the number of previous owners. The more details you provide, the better your chances of getting responses and selling your car quickly. Highlight any information that can help your car stand out, like modifications. This could be anything, but examples that have worked in the past include: • Only one owner • Never been in an accident • Special services or maintenance • Extra accessories We also have an "Attention Grabber" section for key selling points. You get 30-characters to pitch your car, and this line will appear under the selling price on your live advert.
Three: Add your photos
You can add up to 100 photos to your advert, which help your advert stand out and look more authentic.
Take and upload some good quality photos of your car, don’t just copy pre-existing photos from the internet. Include high-quality photos from the following angles, so any prospective buyer can get a good look inside and out. • Front corner • Rear corner • Front straight-on • Back straight-on • Side profile • Close-up of a wheel – especially if they are alloys • Dashboard • Front and rear seats • Inside the boot • Engine bay • Any damage to your car • With a convertible, take a picture with the roof down and one with the roof up Buyers expect to see 20 images on an advert – these are the photos buyers are looking for. Our tips for taking eye-catching photos for your car advert are: • Make sure your car is clean in the photos • Keep the background is clear and distraction-free, so the focus is on the car • Take your images in landscape mode, if using your mobile phone • Choose a well-lit area, and preferably a bright and sunny day for your photoshoot • Include photos of damage inside or on the car to stay honest with the buyers • Include close-ups of wheels, accessories and boot • Make sure the photos are high quality Want to add a video too? With an Ultimate or Premium ad package, you can add your own YouTube video to your advert.
Take and upload some good quality photos of your car, don’t just copy pre-existing photos from the internet. Include high-quality photos from the following angles, so any prospective buyer can get a good look inside and out. • Front corner • Rear corner • Front straight-on • Back straight-on • Side profile • Close-up of a wheel – especially if they are alloys • Dashboard • Front and rear seats • Inside the boot • Engine bay • Any damage to your car • With a convertible, take a picture with the roof down and one with the roof up Buyers expect to see 20 images on an advert – these are the photos buyers are looking for. Our tips for taking eye-catching photos for your car advert are: • Make sure your car is clean in the photos • Keep the background is clear and distraction-free, so the focus is on the car • Take your images in landscape mode, if using your mobile phone • Choose a well-lit area, and preferably a bright and sunny day for your photoshoot • Include photos of damage inside or on the car to stay honest with the buyers • Include close-ups of wheels, accessories and boot • Make sure the photos are high quality Want to add a video too? With an Ultimate or Premium ad package, you can add your own YouTube video to your advert.
Four: Add your contact details
Finally, you need to add your contact details so that buyers can get in touch.
Autotrader provides a free ‘protect your number’ service that masks your mobile number. This helps in protecting you from scammers and nuisance callers. and helps protect you from scammers and nuisance callers. That’s it! Now all you need to do is select the advertising package you’re interested in and wait for potential buyers to contact you. If you have any questions about selling your car or need help with advertising your car, contact our customer service and security team. We have a live chat feature which you can use any time, as well as a dedicated customer service and security team to help you with any problems or questions you may have.
Autotrader provides a free ‘protect your number’ service that masks your mobile number. This helps in protecting you from scammers and nuisance callers. and helps protect you from scammers and nuisance callers. That’s it! Now all you need to do is select the advertising package you’re interested in and wait for potential buyers to contact you. If you have any questions about selling your car or need help with advertising your car, contact our customer service and security team. We have a live chat feature which you can use any time, as well as a dedicated customer service and security team to help you with any problems or questions you may have.
What can you do if your car is not selling?
If your car isn’t generating as much interest as you’d like, we recommend the following simple changes.
Change the price
Use our free valuations service to check how much your car should be advertised for.
Prices fluctuate, but our valuations are updated daily, so it’s a great guide to a car’s real value at any given moment. Think about where your new price will sit within Autotrader’s search categories. You may be tempted to price a car at, say, £5,995, but listing it at £6,000 means it could appear in more search results, and come nearer the top of the list for searches of cars priced at £6,000 and under. You may want to drop the price, but don’t go too far. If you drop the price of your car and a buyer haggles it down further still, this will bring the amount you receive down. You could also consider pricing the car higher. If you can prove your vehicle is worth that amount, it can still sell if the buyer believes they’re getting real value for money, especially if the advert is brilliant and catches their eye.
Prices fluctuate, but our valuations are updated daily, so it’s a great guide to a car’s real value at any given moment. Think about where your new price will sit within Autotrader’s search categories. You may be tempted to price a car at, say, £5,995, but listing it at £6,000 means it could appear in more search results, and come nearer the top of the list for searches of cars priced at £6,000 and under. You may want to drop the price, but don’t go too far. If you drop the price of your car and a buyer haggles it down further still, this will bring the amount you receive down. You could also consider pricing the car higher. If you can prove your vehicle is worth that amount, it can still sell if the buyer believes they’re getting real value for money, especially if the advert is brilliant and catches their eye.
Change the photographs
There will be several cars on sale similar to yours, so make sure your photographs stand out from the others.
When buyers are searching, they tend to remember pictures they’ve seen, so as a first option you can try switching the order of your existing photos to get a second look. You could also take a new set of photos (and follow our golden rules above). It’s best to shoot the photographs from the same height as someone would normally look at it, so not too high or too low. Always try to choose a strong main image. We reckon a photo of the whole car, taken from the front corner is best. Related: Sell your car with Autotrader.
When buyers are searching, they tend to remember pictures they’ve seen, so as a first option you can try switching the order of your existing photos to get a second look. You could also take a new set of photos (and follow our golden rules above). It’s best to shoot the photographs from the same height as someone would normally look at it, so not too high or too low. Always try to choose a strong main image. We reckon a photo of the whole car, taken from the front corner is best. Related: Sell your car with Autotrader.
Troubleshooting
Why are you telling me I am a trade seller?
It sounds like our system has detected you as a trade seller due the number of vehicles you have sold on our website as a private seller. If this is the case, we'll just need to see a copy of the V5C document and a utility bill to verify the name and address is the same as what's on the advert and then we'll get you on your way to selling your vehicle. Please can you send this documentation to customersecurity@autotrader.co.uk, along with the vehicle registration number of which you are trying to sell. You can also reach us by calling 0330 303 9001.
It sounds like our system has detected you as a trade seller due the number of vehicles you have sold on our website as a private seller. If this is the case, we'll just need to see a copy of the V5C document and a utility bill to verify the name and address is the same as what's on the advert and then we'll get you on your way to selling your vehicle. Please can you send this documentation to customersecurity@autotrader.co.uk, along with the vehicle registration number of which you are trying to sell. You can also reach us by calling 0330 303 9001.