Five things to do before handing the keys of your car to its next owner

The pre-owned vehicle market across the world has seen a big boost in Covid times with demand for personal mobility on an upswing while production of new vehicles under a strain owing to the global semiconductor chip shortage. In many markets, pre-owned vehicles have been fetching a higher price now than these have ever before.

Now the most important - and obvious - part is ensuring you get the best price for your car. It is imperative that you verify the background of the prospective buyer who is offering the highest price and that you don't fall prey to fraud or scam.

But your job isn't quite done once the offer is made, the transaction is completed and the car is ready to be driven out by its new owner.

Here are five things to do before handing over the keys of your car to its next owner:

Get the documentation in place:

All the paperwork that was provided to you at the time of purchase of the vehicle will need to be kept ready and organized. In case any document is missing, it is your responsibility to request for a duplicate from appropriate authorities.

Keeping all car-related documents organized is a good practice.

In case there is a car loan that is still running on the vehicle, either you can pay off the loan amount or have the new buyer take over the onus of paying the loans in which case, he or she would obviously want to adjust the amount against the price he or she is paying for the vehicle.

Check the vehicle for personal belongings:

There's no harm in finding loose change - or that misplaced chain - in the dark and deep parts of the car floorbed.

It is important to carefully check the vehicle for any personal item that may still be in it. While the glovebox and storage spaces under the armrest and on the doors are the first check places, also be sure to bend and peek under the front seats, check the boot space and shine torch light in the crevices.

Remove stickers and RFID:

To ensure your vehicle does not have access to places which it had when you were the owner - like your housing or office complex, for instance, remove all identification stickers on the windshield and rear window.

File photo of a person attaching a FASTag sticker to the windshield of a car.

While at it, also remove the FASTag RFID sticker which can also be blocked via the digital platform of the issuing authority. The removed FASTag can be torn and disposed off.

Factory reset:

New-age cars have infotainment screen that store a variety of data from your phones. A simple factory reset would suffice to clear these.

The infotainment screen on newer cars contain a whole lot of information that is taken from your mobile device. While many tend to ignore this when selling a car, be sure to do a simple factory reset on the screen to ensure your data is safe and beyond the reach of your car which, well, isn't yours any longer.

Don't be cheap on fuel:

Ensure there is around five litres of fuel, at least, in the vehicle when handing over the keys.

Yes fuel is expensive but when the new owner comes to collect the vehicle, ensure there is enough fuel in the car and that the person doesn't have to immediately hunt for a fuel station. It is called basic courtesy.

Also, do hand over all the keys of the vehicle to the new owner.