Get Approved filing the form on the left now:

  • Good credit, bad credit, or no credit is O.K.
  • Qualify even with foreclosure, bankruptcy, or repossession records
  • Nationwide car loan program
  • It's absolutely free
  • Nationwide car loan program
  • Immediate Online Processing

Car Trade In

So, you have made the decision to buy a new car. Surely, it is a real pleasure to go around looking for your new vehicle but what do you do with your current used car, especially if it is still in a good shape? Is it worth to place an ad in a newspaper and sell it outright or you should trade it in to the dealer?

If you try to sell your car yourself to a private party you would probably get more money since an official dealer would often pay you less than a market price. However, are all the efforts, such as running an ad in a local paper and fixing appointments with potential buyers, worth the trouble?

Most of the cases if you are planning to buy a new car after you sell your old one, they are not. In fact, you will see that if you choose to trade your used car in you will be financially at advantage. You will not only save yourself all the hassle, but you will also net more money because of the lower sales tax you would be paying for the new car.

Consider the following example:

Let's assume that the price of your new auto is $25,000. The amount you can get for the trade-in is $12,000, and the sales tax rate is 6%.

If the trade-in can be deducted from the new auto cost, then you would have to pay sales tax on the difference, which in this example is $13,000, or $780 of sales tax.

However, if you sold your car to a private party, then you would have to pay sales tax on the total cost. In other words you would have to pay $1500.

How Does a Car Trade-In Work?

First, you need to be well aware of what you have and what it is worth. Take your used car to someone who can tell you its wholesale value or use an online appraiser to get a rough idea of what your car would sell for.

You will be paid a certain amount for your used car (the trade-in vehicle), which you can apply towards the purchase of your new car.

If you have already negotiated the price of the new car purchase, there is probably not much room for negotiating the trade-in figure. However, if you are not getting enough and this is the dealer's bid, you may be able to net some more if you ask him to make some calls.

If the bid is from a wholesaler you can ask the dealer to raise the wholesaler. Sometimes, you will get lucky.

In order to get the maximum value for your used car it is also important to visit several dealerships and get quotes. It might be helpful to get better offers if you tell the salesperson that you are visiting other dealers too and that the purchase of the new car will depend on the amount you will get for your trade-in.

Estimate Your Used Car Trade-In Value

For convenience, you may also use one of the many online used car trade-in value appraisers. You will have to enter your car's information, such as options, mileage, condition and color after which you will be able to get a specific trade-in price.

Though such a used car appraiser often gives results that are slightly different from the real offers you will get at the dealership, you will be able to get a rough idea of what the trade-in value of your car is. The reason why you cannot get a precise price is because your car trade-in value depends on a number of other specific factors that are not related to the car itself, such as the dealer's inventory, the time of the month, etc.

Related terms: estimate used car trade in value, how to trade in a car information, trade allowance, best car trade in value, used car trade in prices, best way to trade in my new car, auto loan calculator, car payment calculator