Selling your personal belongings such as electronics, books or furniture can be done in quick and easy steps through an online portal or to a local flea market. But, when it comes to selling a car or any vehicle for that matter, the process is not as simple as it may seem.
So, if you’re planning to move to another state and want to trade in your car for a better, newer one, consider the pros and cons relevant to you when choosing how to dispose of your old car.
The options available to you are:
- Sell the car to a buyer privately
- Sell to a branded dealer
- Sell to a multi-brand dealership
Each has its own advantages and disadvantages depending on how much time, energy and knowledge you have about selling cars.
Sell the Car to a Trusted Dealership
In case you have plenty of time, energy and know-how, you could make the sale on your own without the need to go to a dealer. However, if you’re short on time and energy regardless of whether you have the know-how, you could shop around and choose a good dealer who can give you the best price for your car. The only downside to selling to a dealership is that you’ll be getting a slightly lower price than the price you could get if you sold the car privately.
On the other hand, this small decrease in price is compensated by the fact that you don’t have to spend weeks advertising, meeting potential buyers, allowing them to look over your car, taking them for test drives, negotiating a fair price and finally getting all the paperwork for the license and registration transfer in order.
When you go to a dealership, the process to sell your car has been simplified to such an extent that you will not have to do a thing other than taking your car to a relevant dealer.
Choosing the Right Dealership to Sell Your Car
First, if you plan on buying a new car, a trade could work in your favor and even help you get a reduction in tax on purchasing a car. This is because the dealer will adjust the price of your old car and deduct it from the price of your new car. Thus, you’ll only have to pay tax on the differential amount.
So, if you have a recent model of a car, say a 2016 Nissan model, and you plan on upgrading to a car from the next segment, you will likely get the best price from a Nissan dealership and also be able to trade it in with a huge tax savings benefit.
On the other hand, if you have an older model, such as a 2006 Nissan, a Nissan dealership will still offer a trade-in, but at a much lower price since the dealer will be more interested in buying newer models rather than older ones. In this case, you could consider selling to a multi-brand dealership where the dealer is happy to buy any make and any model while offering a relatively fair price for it.
Take your pick and choose the mode of selling according to your convenience and model of car to be sold.
