Pretend you are buying your car and not selling it.
- Have a mechanic look it over if it hasn't been at the garage for a while. This doesn't need to be a thorough inspection, but your mechanic could point out potential problems and how to fix them.
- It's up to you what you do with the mechanic's advice, but it's good to know in advance what the buyer might find during his or her mechanical inspection.
- Have the belts tightened or replaced if necessary.
- Clean the battery or better yet - replace the battery if it's more than 4 years old.
- Get an oil change.
- Remove twigs and leaves from the engine compartment.
- Get the oil changed so it looks clean on the dipstick.
- Top off the washer fluid.
- While not technically in the engine, replace the windshield wipers.
- Put a new air filter in. Better yet, put it in a couple weeks before selling the car. A pristine air filter is usually suspicious.
- Replace burnt out taillights and headlights.
