It was about 2 months back that I finally made the tough call; I had to sell my Porsche. It's a lovely car and I'm more attached to my Porsche then anything else, but the credit crunch was hitting my wallet in several ways, and cutbacks in my expenditure were called for. It was not an overnight decision, and despite serious efforts I could do nothing about the monetary mismatch. The only solution was to sell my Porsche, which was my most expensive overhead.

As I picked up the telephone to contact a dealer to sell my Porsche, I changed my mind because I really didn't want to let her go. So I sat down and relooked at the costs associated with having my Porsche. I was hoping that something had changed overnight. The list began with the borrowing cost. A Porsche is not ?just another car? and this special tag comes with a cost. I had taken out a substantial loan to buy her, which amounted to sizeable interest charges every month. The next column was easy to figure out, it was the insurance fee, and it was rather steep as well. The third category in the list was the taxes, followed by the maintenance charges. While half of the maintenance costs were planned and reported in the car owner's manual, there were also the unexpected maintenance costs, and they could be very expensive. Last but not least was the depreciation cost. As I relooked at the figures they confirmed my decision; I had to sell my Porsche.

The next task was to find the right way to sell my Porsche. I was going to pick up the phone and contact a car dealer, but I decided to research the subject, to ensure I got the best possible deal. It took me a little time, but it was worth it. I started my research by speaking to friends, and then followed it up by looking on the internet. The research results were, to sell my Porsche to a car dealer who specialises in buying prestige cars. I was informed the company will buy the car directly from me, and they make the whole transaction really painless.

Before I sold my Porsche I was advised by my friends to take some simple steps, which could mean a higher return on my car. The overall idea behind the prep work was to convey that my Porsche has really been special to me, and that I'd gone to great pains to ensure my vehicle was in excellent condition. Firstly I cleaned my car, both inside and outside, because it is important to make a good first impression. Cleaning the car also meant I checked every nook and cranny to remove all my personal items. The engine was another section, which would be under scrutiny and chances are, would not be clean. Therefore I made a point to include it in the cleaning exercise. I then ensured all the paperwork for my car was up to date and included all the maintenance records, such as the oil changes were listed, that the MOT was valid, and the Road Tax was in date.

When I was doing my research I learnt some important lessons and I'd like to make a cautionary statement for those contemplating the self-sell process. Neither the websites nor the print advertising associates will offer the greatest help when it comes to selling such a beautiful machine as a Porsche. Whereas, with a company that specialises in buying prestige cars, they know exactly what they are talking about, and will make it pleasure to sell my Porsche to them.