Some people think that the process of selling a used car is the same everywhere, whether you're in a rustic village in Vermont or one of California's biggest cities, San Diego.
With the advent of the Internet, they assume that they have all the used car buyers in the country right at their fingertips, as long as their fingertips are on the keyboard of a computer that's connected to the World Wide Web.
But that's not the way the process works in real life.
An overwhelming majority of used car buyers, between 85 and 95 percent depending on who's making the estimate, make their auto purchase within 15 miles of home.
The Internet is a tool, certainly, and a lot of used cars are sold with its help, but people are still more comfortable buying close to where they live, and seeing the sellers in person as they try to find their best deal.
If there ever were a day that you could just advertise your used car for sale, get the money from a buyer and have the deal done in ten minutes, those days are long gone.
Even if you are fortunate to find a motivated buyer who has all the money and is ready to do the deal right away, you've got to get smog certification on the vehicle, write a bill of sale, maybe show your repair records or get a mechanic to sign off on the car's condition and then do all the paperwork for the Department of Motor Vehicles.
Perhaps you want to sell your older vehicle and use the proceeds toward a new car.
You might be tempted to skip the sale process entirely and just use your car in trade at the new car lot.
But you would be cheating your self out of hundreds, even thousands, of dollars, since dealers need to allow for their costs of prepping the car and factor in their own future profit on its sale.
You are certainly not going to get your best price from a car dealer, and selling your used car to a dealer or trading it in on a new model is simply bad business.
If, in fact, you are trying to sell your used car in San Diego, there are things about the used car market there that you can't possibly know, unless you are in the business or do an extraordinary amount of research.
So you don't know how to reach your best potential buyers; you don't know all the ins and outs of used car advertising; you aren't quite sure what your vehicle is worth; you don't like the idea of doing all the paperwork; and you're afraid the whole thing is just going to be one big hassle, with people skipping appointments and asking you to take payments over a year.
So many things can turn the process into a nightmare.
That's why you should consider getting the help of a professional auto buying and selling service.
They will show up when they're supposed to, today or tomorrow or 4pm on Tuesday, whatever is most convenient for you.
They will do a straightforward and fair appraisal of your used car, and make you a good cash offer on the spot.
It's fast, easy and instantly profitable for you.
There may be a few such services in your area, but it's worth searching around for them, or even driving 100+ miles, since they're the kind of companies that will give you more for your used car than any car dealer.
They will also save you the time, trouble and stress of advertising, getting your smog certificate, polishing the wheels, fixing the seat lever, and so on.
Curious about how the process works? Just search on the Internet for "car buying service" and read up on it.
No ads, no paperwork, no hassles, no oddballs coming by your house.
A car buying service can turn your used car nightmares into a sweet dream, and fast.
And even if you decide against using such services, just reading about how they work can help you avoid a lot of the usual pitfalls in selling your car.