Like most things in life, if you do the work yourself, you’ll save money and/or make more money. The trade-off is usually time. And while there are a lot of things worth paying for even if you could do them yourself, selling a used car might not be one of them.

A recent article by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine (posted on MSN Money) provides six ways to get the most money out of your car when it comes time to sell. The first tip they list is to “think like a dealer”:

If you’re getting rid of an old car because you are in the market for a new one, trading in your car to a dealer is the route of least resistance, but it’s not the path to the best price. You can get $1,000 to $2,000 more, on average, by selling the car yourself.

Part of the reason is that when you go to a dealer, you’re introducing a middleman who needs to cover costs (such as paperwork, transporting the vehicle to auction or reconditioning the car to sell it himself). And let’s face it: Dealers are experts at the haggling game.

Also, dealers have a few tricks up their sleeves. They know that even a clunker can look like a cream puff when it’s cleaned up.

So their suggestion? Do the clean up work yourself, including clearing out clutter and checking to make sure the spare tire, tools, etc. are accounted for.

Another tip: “Post a killer ad”.

Pepper the Internet with your ads. Using AutoTrader.com ($20 to $80 per ad, depending on how long it runs and the number of photos), Craigslist, your local newspaper’s site and even Facebook, you’ll increase the chances that the right buyer will find your car.

Take as many pictures as you can, including exterior shots from several angles as well as interior ones to show detail. Highlight improvements, such as a new stereo system and speakers, as well as any flaws, such as a dent in the door.

Obviously, if you’re going to sell your car yourself, you’ll need to get the word out about it. And while at first you might think spending as much as $80 per ad seems like a lot of money, it can be well worth it if you think about how additional much money you could take in overall from doing the sale yourself. We’re big fans of Craigslist and think that you can reach a very large audience, so we suggest listing there first before going with more expensive advertising options.

Here’s a list of the six tips, but we recommend clicking through the link at the bottom of this post for more information about each.

1. Think like a dealer
2. Fix the little things
3. Research what it’s worth
4. Post a killer ad
5. Document, document, document
6. Be flexible

6 ways to get top dollar for your car