How to Get the Best Value on Your Car Trade-in

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By Michael-Jon Lazar
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Get the Best Value on Your Car Trade-in

Have you ever gone to a car dealership and tried to trade-in your used car, only to be offered an insulting trade-in value? Well, there are ways around this traditional nuisance. Here is how you can get the best trade-in value on your car.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

Step 1

Don’t trade your car in too soon. If you have recently bought your car, you must let it mature. Cars usually lose about half their value the moment you drive them off the lot. Some cars gain back their value faster than others, but as a general rule of thumb you want to own your vehicle for at least 3 to 5 years.
Step 2

Research the current resale value. There are several great websites (see Resources links below) that will easily and accurately appraise the suggested resale value of your used auto. Always print out the trade-in value to bring with you to the dealership.
Step 3

Make sure you have your paperwork in order. You will want to gather all maintenance records and make sure to bring them with you so you can prove that the car is in good shape.
Step 4

Use your car buying power to your advantage. Most car dealerships will eat it to a point on your trade-in just to sell you a new car. In most cases, you can easily get them to eat any remainder on the loan (if you have one) of your trade-in. Other wise you can get them to usually up their offer just to get you sold on a new car from their lot.

Comments

jtharrison said

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on 10/13/2009 I have found that no matter what I try car dealers will always offer you less than a fair value. Why not they are in the business to make money off of your car. I would personally suggest just trying to sell your car outright. There are several free sites out there like craigslist or www.beatmytradein.com where you can post your car for free.