Let me start with an analogy that will perhaps kill two birds with one stone. Or more appropriately a message that will preach to two genders with one story.
Ladies, let's pretend you finally got a date with that guy you've had your eye on for weeks, maybe months. Gentlemen, pretend you are "that guy" in this story. How you met and how you got the date aren't important, so allow me to skip that part. Fast forward to the night of your first date. He's coming by to pick you up at 7 o'clock for dinner. What have you done to prepare for your date?
Gentlemen, you had to be at her house by 7 o'clock ready to impress. What did you do to prepare?
Ladies, if you're anything like me, you cleaned up. You showered, you washed your hair - unless of course you wanted it to style and "hold" better and therefore left it a little "dirty" with product, but most likely you wanted it to smell good so you washed it. You probably also cleaned up around your home - cleaned the bathroom, picked up clothes, shoved things in closets and hampers, maybe even swept or vacuumed - just in case he needed to use the restroom before heading off to dinner. If it was Summer time, meaning there was still some daylight at 7 o'clock, perhaps you even tidied up the outside of your house if you're a homeowner. In any case, you didn't want him thinking you were a slob.
Gentlemen, if you wanted any shot at all at this date being successful, you took care of two key items. First, you cleaned your car. And then, you cleaned you.
Now, I'm sure you are all deeply engaged in the setup of this story and want to know how the date went, so I'll say that everyone cleaned up nicely, made great first impressions and the date went great, yada, yada, yada.
I need to bring this analogy full circle... Just as we want to present our best on first dates, you should be ready to present your vehicle's best on its first dates. Ladies, imagine being picked up in a car --or truck or van... actually, guys don't pick us up in a van or a minivan for that matter... just don't-- anyway, imagine that you can't even tell what the original color of the paint job is, and when the door is opened for you (hint, hint, guys), you find that you have to sit where it appears Sparky was sitting just a couple of hours ago, and voila, you arrive at the restaurant in a fur coat that you didn't have when you left your house. I imagine you would get the impression that someone wasn't trying to impress you at all.
Gentlemen, if this wouldn't impress a lady, it's certainly not going to impress a buyer. Every meeting with a potential buyer should be like a first date. At a minimum it's helpful to run the vehicle through an automatic car wash and vaccuum it out yourself, but if you really want to get the most out of your vehicle, don't be afraid to invest a little more money and have it detailed. Most detailers have different options available, but whatever the cost, it's usually worth it and you can get that much more of return on your investment because of your vehicle's appearance. Not all buyers are savvy enough to look under the hood and kick all of the tires, but every buyer can take one look at a vehicle and make a judgment call on how well you've maintained your vehicle. Odds are, if it looks like you've maintained the aesthetic appeal of the vehicle, buyers are likely to assume that you've maintained the mechanical appeal as well.
Don't forget, you never get a second chance to make a first impression. Clean cars sell.
Auto Marketing Systems - 866-326-0949
Great advice. I had my SUV detailed when trying to sell. I have two kids, enough said. Anyway, when I got it back from the detail shop, I thought it was a new car. It was $100 well spent. It would have taken me the good part of a day to acheive the same results, assuming I had time to spend half a day doing that. They did have a cheaper option, but I splurged. I sold the Jeep to the second person who looked at it, and I definitely think that was a major factor.
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