After much deliberation I decided, or rather my partner decided, I had to sell my Aston Martin. It's a beautiful car and it pains me to say goodbye to her, after all we had done many miles together, but with an expanding family, which includes the addition of two dogs, my pride and joy has to make room for a larger vehicle. I did suggest we buy a bus, but I was met with the ?look,? so I dismissed that idea even though I did fancy a double-decker like the one Cliff Richard drove around in the film ?Summer Holiday.?

Last weekend I started to prepare my Aston Martin for the market by giving her a wash-and-brush up. I began with the outside of the car to wash away the road grime, remembering to clean the wheel arches, and the inner panel of the doors. The alloys were treated to an alloy wheel cleaner and looked ?as new? by the time I'd finished with them. I completed the clean with a polish and buffed my car to a mirror finish.

The next job was to clean the inside of my car. I vacuumed the seats and carpets and as a bonus found a few quid in loose change laying about the place. I polished the dashboard and other surfaces and by the time I'd finished I really didn't want to sell my Aston Martin as she looked so good. But needs must.

The next step was to advertise my car for sale. In my first advertised draft, after I had listed the specifications, I added some flourishes: ?safe driver, really good condition for age, one owner from new, absolutely no time wasters especially James Bond fans, first to see will buy.? I was rather pleased with my extra touches as I felt I had personalised my advert. However when a friend of mine came round to my home and saw my penned draft, he burst out laughing. He said no one wanted to read an essay about my car, and why was I selling my Aston Martin in the newspaper when I could sell her directly to a prestige and specialist car buyer, and save myself a lot of hassle.

I was keen to hear more, and so was my partner as she wanted to sell my Aston Martin quickly so she could start to look for a bigger car. My friend spoke from his experience as he had sold his BMW a couple of years ago via a prestige and specialist car buyer. He had contacted the company by email and told them the make and model of his car, the age, mileage, the condition, and the service history. They contacted him and gave him a quote. He agreed the price, and then the finer details were discussed such as the log book etc. They said they would come and pick the car up from his place of work or from home. At the time, he lived outside Aberdeen and he wasn't sure if the distance would put them off, however they said it wasn't a problem as they traveled all over the United Kingdom to buy cars they were interested in. A date and time was arranged, and the transaction occurred quickly and smoothly. He was so impressed by the service he said he would contact them again when it was time to sell his Audi.

Even before he had finished telling me about his car selling experience, I was sold. I ripped up my advert and threw it away. I was going to sell my Aston Martin the easy way and contact a prestige and specialist car buyer.