How to Prepare Your Advertisement

If you’re using a photo ad in one of the many ‘Trader’ publications, don’t let their bloke come round and take the photograph. Especially don’t let him take his snap of the car parked next to the dustbins round the back of a block of flats.

These days, if you don’t have a digital camera you can borrow one. Obviously it’s well worth taking a bit of time over the photo if a good snap is going to sell your car faster and for a lot more money.

So take twenty. Photograph the car against a variety of backgrounds. Side-on, three-quarters, against a contrasting skyline; then pick the photo that both shows it off the best and is most likely to reproduce well on fairly grotty newsprint, as well as in full colour on a website.

Describe the car accurately and simply, using no superlatives. ‘Nissan Primera 2.0SVE 5-door, 2004/04, 55,632 miles, full service history, met blue, air-conditioning, alloy wheels, good condition, £5,500′ will go down a lot better with the general public than ‘Beautiful Nissan Primera, two litre, top spec SVE model, 04 reg, 55k, FSH, stunning metallic blue, a/c, alloys, drives superb, first to see will buy £5,499′.

Vital these days is to include in the ad the words, ‘No Canvassers’. I’ll explain that later.

Where to Advertise

This depends on the car and the price range.

For cars under £3,000, it’s always worth putting a postcard in the local newsagent’s window. Local newspapers or freesheets usually have sections for this type of car. People who buy Loot, the London classified newspaper, expect cars advertised in it to be cheap. Auto Trader magazines also offer sections for cheap cars. And if the car is a bit specialist, Exchange & Mart is worth a stab.

Mid-range family cars seem to go best either from the bigger local newspapers (or groups of newspapers) or from a photo ad in an Auto Trader.

If you have something you think a dealer or an enthusiast might be interested in, Autocar is worth a try. If attempting to get a high price or an ‘over’ for a car the demand for which exceeds supply, then you’ll do best with an ad in Exchange & Mart, The Sunday Times or The Daily Telegraph ‘Motoring’ which appears on Saturdays.