There is an increasing trend for people selling their car on eBay motors, rather than going the traditional route of putting an ad in Auto Trader. Unlike an Auto Trader advert you have much more control over how your advert is displayed on eBay as as been able to display detailed information about your vehicle.

To achieve the best price when selling your car on eBay here’s some profitable tips:

Pictures - lots of ‘em!: Buyers like to see plenty of pictures so they can get an idea of what your car is like. Before you start taking pictures make sure you give the car a good clean, inside and out, so it is looking it’s best. Then take around 20 exterior and interior shots. Cars always look best in the sunshine so look out for the good weather and seize the snapping opportunity! Once you have your pictures choose the best 10-12 and use them in your auction.

Protect your Data: To avoid car cloning, blank your number plate out on the images you display on the auction. Most image manipulation software will have a blur or pixelate feature which is useful for this purpose.

Be honest: There is no gain to be made from describing your car as something it is not. If the auction winner comes to collect the vehicle and discovers they have been mislead, they will simply walk away. If you car has known problems, detail them in the description. A lot of buyers on eBay are in the motor trade and take any problems into account when biding - it won’t make them lose interest.

Low bid price attracts interest: eBay is such a busy site these days that you can take the risk of starting bidding at 1p safe in the knowledge that your car will usually achieve its market price. Sure, for piece of mind you can set a reserve, but a 1p no reserve auction always attracts more interest from bidders.

Answer questions: Once the auction is live you’ll start getting questions from existing and potential bidders. Be sure to answer these questions promptly or bidders interest might switch to another vehicle.

Prepare your documentation: Any service history is a bonus but the most important document to have is the V5 logbook. Without this, you cannot sell your vehicle legally and no purchase will pay for a vehicle that does not have a logbook.

Guest Post from The Van Man who is an expert on Van Hire

As Spring arrives, housing market activity begins to increase. More and more people are saving money when moving house by hiring a van and doing their own removals rather that using the traditional, and more expensive, removals company.

Here’s our top three tips for all you motorists out there when making a van rental.

Check before you book: Before you book your van work out how much stuff you have and what size van you need! It sounds obvious but if you’ve got a super king size bed you are going to need a large van. Also, if you have any heavy items look out for a van with a tail lift your back will thank you for it!

Check before you collect: Before you collect the van from the van hire depot ensure you have all the identification the depot requires for you to drive away the vehicle. As well as your photocard license you’ll also need the paper part so the van hire company can see any convictions you have. You’ll usually need a utility bill as well to confirm your address.

Check before you leave: Before you drive the van away check the bodywork and van interior to make sure there is no damage. If there is, inform the van hire depot so they can make a note of it - this ensures you don’t get charged for damage that is not yours.