Win your car finance on us! How to write the perfect car description
CarFinance 247’s Senior Content Executive, Charlotte Harris, shares her top tips on how to write the perfect car advert.
Ultimately, your description will need to stand out from the crowd. The way you word an advert is the key to gaining more interest in a saturated market. Throughout this short blog we’ll share some top tips on how to whip your car descriptions into shape.
Be relevant
A reader will only keep their attention on a piece of writing for a short amount of time. Keep your most relevant information at the top of your ad to ensure that the customer can get what they need fast. Images and video also say a thousand words. Make sure you share as many images and videos of the vehicle as possible; this will allow the viewer to see the car/van/motorbike from every angle.
The following are essential items to include within your ad:
- Year of registration
- Make and model
- Essential number plate information
- Mileage (be specific – 70,500 not 70k)
- If the car has full-service history or not
- Colour of the car
- How many owners the car has had
- List of additional features/equipment
- Price of vehicle
- Fuel type
- Contact details
Avoid abbreviations and common clichés
Many people reading your ad may not have extensive knowledge of cars, so avoiding abbreviations is the best port of call when creating an advert. If you need to use them in order to stay within a word count, stick to more obvious and common abbreviations such as AC (air conditioning), FSH (full service history), PAS (power-assisted steering), EW (electric windows) and VGC (very good condition).
Cliches such as ‘in as-new condition’ or ‘first to see will buy’ sound pushy and could put off potential buyers, so it is best to avoid phrases like this if you can.
Also consider…
- Keep your writing style punchy and informative, avoid slang and ensure everything is spelt correctly.
- Put down the reason for sale but keep it simple. This will remove any doubt that the car is being sold due to any pre-existing faults or issues.
- State whether the car is smoke or pet free.
- Be honest. You’ll immediately win the trust of the buyer if you tell the truth about a couple of faults that would be immediately obvious upon viewing anyway.
- If a car has been kept in a garage, mention this as it emphasises that the car has been maintained in the best way possible.
- Mention whether you are open to offers for the vehicle.
