Trading in your current vehicle is a popular and effective way to reduce the cost of your next vehicle. Whether your family is growing, you have a longer commute, or you’re ready to treat yourself, there are tons of reasons to upgrade your ride. Of course, if you want to sell your car to a dealership, you want to make sure that you can get the most amount of money for your trade.
Read on to learn more about getting the best price when you trade or sell your car.
Determine What Your Trade Is Worth
Before you start negotiating with a dealership about the price of your car, it helps to have an idea of what it is actually worth. This knowledge helps you avoid selling it for too little or asking far too much.
The easiest way to determine the value of your car is to search online for similar makes, models, and years. Once you see how other cars are priced, you have a baseline value. From there, you can use online value tools like KBB, Car and Driver, Edmunds, etc. These websites will provide an estimate.
Get Multiple Offers
You want to talk to at least three dealerships about your goal to sell your car. Make sure to get a written record of the trade-in offer to help keep track. You can also use the dealership’s online tool to save yourself the trip.
Even if the dealership you want to use doesn’t offer you the most for your trade, you can use your research to help negotiate the price. You can also sell your car to one dealership and then buy a car from another if that gives you the best deal.
Negotiate
Remember, the price a dealership throws out first isn’t necessarily the price they’ll throw out last. If you know your car’s value and what other dealerships would give you, you have a stronger foundation in which to negotiate.
Always negotiate the price of your trade separately from your next car purchase. It’s easy for dealerships to adjust the numbers to hide fees and maximize profit.
Prepare Your Car
Even if you get an offer to sell your car online, you’ll still need to go into the dealership for a final inspection. You want your car to be in its best shape to earn the maximum price. It might seem counterproductive to spend money on your car right before you sell it, but the return on that investment will be well worth it.
- Gather your maintenance records
- Make basic repairs
- Wash and detail the car
- Remove any clutter from inside
Now that your car looks and runs its best, you can confidently walk into any dealership equipped with your research and sell your car for its maximum value.
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