How to Know When it is Time to Sell a Car?

The automobile is often recognized as the single greatest invention of the 20th century. People place so much value in their cars they often drive them into the ground and then attempt to sell them well past their time. Don't wait too long to sell your vehicle; learn when she's ready to go.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Find the Kelley Blue Book Value. Kelley keeps the retail value for all cars by make, model and year. Sites like e-Bay, Craigslist, and even Facebook can give you a good idea what cars like yours are selling for. In determining the value, make an honest assessment of how well you have kept up the quality of the vehicle. You know how often you have allowed the car to go over 3,000 miles before changing the oil, and how faded the paint job is, or whether the interior has significant damage. This all diminishes the value of the car.

2. Think about repair and maintenance costs. If a needed repair will cost more than the retail value of the car, this is a good indicator that you should sell the vehicle, as opposed to paying for the repairs or maintenance.

3. Consider current gas prices. With the rapid fluctuation of gas prices, if you have a gas guzzler, the cost of gas over the course of a year could outweigh what you spend for a more fuel efficient trade-in. Also, if you are driving an SUV it would be logical to sell it during a time when the price of gas is dropping.

4. Note any deadlines for maintenance. For example, certain states require emissions testing; this is a repair that can cost up to thousands of dollars to repair, but isn't detrimental to the car's functionality. If you have a repair deadline legally required by state law, it could be more affordable to sell the car before the date.

Tips & Warnings

• If you have already waited too long to sell your vehicle, you still have options. In mostly any state you can scrap your vehicle and receive at least 300 dollars for it. There is also the option of selling your junk car in Mexico. Now that the North American Free Trade agreement has passed, selling junk cars in Mexico has become a major source of revenue for many American citizens looking to sell cars they would otherwise scrap.