Car Tips #116: How to Get Top Dollar for Your Trade-In

Image: carcabin.comYou stare down the car salesman and demand Kelley Blue Book value on your trade-in. He looks you in the eye and says, “Sure! Not only that I’ll give you more than Blue Book!” Just around this time, you wake up from your dream.

Let’s face it; no sane car salesman will give you Kelley Blue Book value because those prices are full retail for selling a car to a private party. Or in other words, if the car dealer buys it from you at retail, he gets no profit on the deal when he sells it again.

If this is the case, just how do you get the best price for your trade-in? One easy industry rule of thumb is this: Clean cars get higher prices. Think about it. Would you pay more for a dirty car or a clean car?

Vacuum, Wash, and Wax

Because cleaner cars get better trade-in value, before taking your car in to be looked over by the car dealership, vacuum out the interior, clean out the trunk of all the junk, and give the car a good wash and wax job.

If you’re too busy (lazy) to do this, take your car into a detail shop and spend the $50 to get your car clean and shiny. You may be out $50 in the beginning, but this little car hack could bring you in a few hundred dollars more.

Get a Written Appraisal

When it comes time to haggle over the price of your trade-in, knowing how much it really is worth will give you some leverage in the deal making. If you don’t know the real value of your car, the car salesperson may low-ball you on the price.

If you have your car appraised at a reputable service such as CarMax, you’ll know exactly what a fair price for your car is. Don’t forget, you won’t get full value for the trade-in because the dealer will have to resell it to make a profit.

Sell It Yourself

It may not be the most attractive option out there but consider that selling the car on your own to private parties may net you an extra 20% to 30% over the trade-in price your local car dealer will give you.

The biggest reason is that private parties are buying it for themselves and don’t plan to resell it at a markup. Because of this, they won’t try to haggle you down as much as a car dealer would.

It may be more work to sell it yourself, but if you want to reap the rewards of top dollar for your used car, this is the way to go.

Source: U.S. News
Comments are closed