10 Steps to Buying a New Car
Step 6: Trading In Your Old Car
If you are trading in your old car, you will want to know what your car is worth. Visit a used car valuation web site such as Kelley Blue Book to find out what your car is worth as a trade-in. The value of your trade is very negotiable. Dealers will often be willing to offer you a little more than your car is actually worth as a trade-in. Keep in mind that trading in your car will net you fewer dollars than selling your car privately, but it will also potentially save you a lot of time and hassle. If you are still interested in selling your car privately, check out the Autotropolis Used Car Center for more information.
If a dealer is not willing to give you what the Kelley Blue Book site says your car is worth, do not hesitate to get bids from different dealers. In our experience, once one dealer is willing to offer a satisfactory amount, telling the next dealer you have received a good offer will usually result in a matching offer. Now, this is not always the case, but dealerships will work hard to get your business. Another important thing to keep in mind is that your trade-in may not be worth as much as you were hoping due to market conditions. When fuel prices are high, buyers attempting to trade in large sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks usually get less attractive offers than buyers who are trading in smaller, more fuel-efficient cars. This is simply because the dealership will have an easier time reselling the fuel-efficient car than the gas-hungry SUV. Of course, during times when fuel prices are low, the reverse will be true.
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