Devil in the details

Q: My new brother-in-law sells cars and I have to assume he knows his stuff when it comes to how to sell a used car. But a couple of weeks ago at a family function I asked his advice on getting my car ready to sell. I'm going to sell it myself. He said if it's only a year or two old or so I should pay to have it detailed, but if it's older than that and is not completely grunged-out or trashed I could do the clean-up myself if I'm willing to be diligent about it. I got him to repeat himself twice because it seemed like the complete opposite of what I'd think would be the case. I'd think you'd pay the detailer for the older car. Is he all out of whack?

A: Nope. He's giving you the advice many experts suggest.

Here's why: Someone who is contemplating buying a two-year-old car has pretty high expectations regarding its appearance. The would-be buyer will expect that the vehicle be clean and stain-free inside and out, with all the trim shining, the rims looking good, no pet hair or petrified fries imbedded in the far reaches of the back seats and everything sparkling under the hood.

Most regular folks just don't have the skills or patience to give a car that level of brand-new-car spit and polish. But I can tell you for certain that if you present a perfectly detailed late-model car, potential buyers will be appreciative and they're also likely to believe that since you're so diligent about the looks of the car, chances are pretty darned good that you're diligent about mechanical and upkeep matters, too, and that will give you an edge as a seller.

Buyer expectations for older vehicles are lower. If you perform a rigorous, vigorous cleaning, that will probably be sufficient for most would-be buyers. Don't get me wrong, you can't expect to make a sale if your vehicle looks like a mobile landfill or even if the glove box is jam-packed and it's obvious you've never scrubbed the console. And that's not just because no one wants to scrape months' worth of dried hot-fudge sauce from a gear shift on a car they just paid for, but also because slovenly appearance suggests equally slovenly maintenance.

You must, even with an older car, aim for spotless upholstery, clean carpets and mats (buying new mats is often worth the small expense), a cleaned-out trunk and a decent wax job. But if the trim doesn't exactly sparkle or other small matters aren't picture perfect - the sorts of things that a great detailing job can accomplish - that would not be the most awful infraction because it is, after all, a four-year old car.

If I were the seller of a fairly high-end two- or three-year-old car, I'd probably pop for the $100 to $400 or so to make the vehicle appear like new. But if it was a mid-level or economy car, I'd feel just fine devoting four hours of my own elbow grease to making it look as clean and fresh and well-tended as possible.

Q: How can I tell if the replacement battery I'm buying is actually brand new, meaning it's been recently manufactured or if it's been sitting around in the shop for months, shortening the life I will ultimately get from it?

A: Excellent question, as batteries do age, and their longevity diminishes even when they're sitting around doing nothing.

All batteries have a code imprinted on them that discloses the month of manufacture. Most use this approach: the letter in the code indicates the month and the number immediately after it indicates the year. So B9, for example, would be February 2009. The letter I, by the way, is deleted from month calculation.

Some makers use a different code. Ask the salesperson for help if the standard code doesn't seem to work.