What featuring changes

A featured listing is placed more prominently and stays visible for longer than a standard one. It does not change what your car is worth, and it will not rescue a listing that is priced above the market.

Featuring is worth paying for when your car is correctly priced and well presented but competing against a lot of similar listings. It buys visibility, which is only useful when the thing being made visible is competitive.

Get the basics right first

Before paying to promote a listing, make sure it deserves promotion. The three things that determine whether a car sells are price, photographs and honesty of description — in that order.

A correctly priced car with good daylight photographs and a complete description usually attracts serious enquiries without promotion. If yours has not, the problem is more often the price than the placement.

• Price at or slightly below the median for your model and year
• Twelve to fifteen clear daylight photographs from all angles
• Genuine mileage, year, variant and registration city stated up front
• Recent maintenance listed with dates
• Known faults disclosed rather than discovered at the viewing