When purchasing a new car, you want to sell your old car at a good price. Selling the car on your own can be a difficult thing for many. An easy option available is to trade in your old car at the dealership. Although it’s convenient, you may end up losing some money in the form of the trade-in value of the car. So how do you know if a dealer trade-in value is fair?
What Does the Law Say About Trade-In Values?
There are no laws governing trade-in values and every car dealer follows their own evaluation method. Most car dealers offer the lowest trade-in value to the customer so that they earn a decent profit on the sale of your old car. There are several factors that come into play when deciding the trade-in value. Some of the important factors are the make and model of the vehicle, manufacturing year, engine type, trim level, condition of the vehicle, the popularity of the model and costs to prepare the car for sale.
If you want to know the fair trade-in price of the car, you need to consider the above factors. Here are some useful tips to know the fair trade-in value of the car.
Do Your Research
If you want to get an idea about the fair trade-in value of your car, you need to do some research. You can take a look at used car classifieds and look at the prices for the model similar to yours. Alternatively, you can use keywords like “used car prices” to find websites which list used cars for sale. There are several online tools that can help you find the trade in value of your car, like KellyBlueBook.com or Edmunds.com. You may be tempted to believe the highest trade-in value offered on the internet is the fair trade in value. However, don’t go by that price as the condition of the car is equally important.
Get Your Car Inspected
The condition of the car plays a huge role in getting a good trade-in value. You can take your car to a professional mechanic for an inspection to find out if there are any problems with the engine or other components. You can perform a physical inspection of the interior and exterior. Here are some points that will help you get a good trade-in value:
- There are no mechanical problems
- The engine runs smooth
- The tires have good tread life remaining
- The seats do not have signs of damage
- The paint looks good
- There are no dents or scratches
If the mechanic finds any problems, get them fixed and perform minor repairs to enhance the look of your car. You need to get the repairs done before showing the car to the dealer for a trade-in offer.
To ensure you get the best price in both deals, keep the negotiation separate for both cars. If you are armed with the information and average trade-in value of your car, you can negotiate with the car dealer to get a higher trade-in value than what the dealer offers you.
