Auto Trade Helper

Go on, admit it. Shopping for a new car can be a tiring and frustrating experience.

That’s why too many people cost themselves money on their new car purchases by taking the first offer they get on their trade-in, and buying at the first dealership they visit, just to avoid the hassle. But if you really want to save money on your next new car, shop around for the best price – not only on that new vehicle, but also on the value of your trade.

Your trade-in could be worth more to one dealer than it is to another. Perhaps the first Ford dealership you visit has an overstock of used pickup trucks and doesn’t really need yours. But the Ford dealer on the other side of the city is short on trucks and would like to add yours to the lot. You’ll never know that you got the best possible offer for your trade without shopping for your new car at more than one place. And you can use the offer you received at the last dealership as leverage in the negotiations at the next one.

You can start online by finding the value of your trade-in at different sites. Input the specifics of your trade-in – such as its year, make and model – at this service, or this trade-in estimator to get a bid for your used car.

It could take you a day or two – or a weekend or two – of persistence to get the best deal on your next new car. But getting top money for your trade-in is part of the process, and not every dealer is equally interested in your old car, nor are they all prepared to offer you the same price for it.

So shop your old car around at several sites and at different dealers – just as a smart shopper checks out the price of the new car through several dealers and sources. You should get more for your trade, and pay less for your next new car.

It’s one of the first questions most car salesmen will ask when you inquire about a new vehicle: “Will you be trading in your old car?” They want to know because your old car could be worth money to them on their used car lot, and because discussing the price of the new car and the value of the used car at the same time can often mask the consumer’s eyes to what he’s really paying for that new car. (Find out right now what your used car is worth by clicking here or here for an online quote.)

One way to beat the trade-in trap is to car-shop online. After all, options, color and equipment being the same, all brand new red Mustangs are created equal. So if you already know that a Mustang is what you want, using the Internet is a great way to get the best price. Many new car dealerships have created positions for Internet sales managers, just to deal with the influx of new business created by online shoppers. You can e-mail dealerships for many miles (or even states) around to get their best bottom-line price. Some of the dealers will even deliver the car to your home, and if the car isn’t what you expected when it gets there, you don’t have to go through with the deal.

You’ll probably still be asked right away whether you’re going to trade in your old car. Don’t lie and say “no” if the answer really is “yes.” But you don’t have to lay all your cards on the table at once, either. Tell the salesman or manager who asked the question that you will consider trading in your old car, but you aren’t interested in discussing that part of the deal until you’re convinced you’ve negotiated the best price on that new Mustang with all your chosen options and features.

This is playing the game by your rules and not theirs, and some salesmen might not like it. But they do still want to sell you a car, so if you remain polite, they’ll usually remain professional and business can proceed. Often, negotiating the price of a new car online is less stressful than doing it in person, when most shoppers are more easily swayed or manipulated.

Once you’ve found the best price on the new car you seek – perhaps by e-mailing 10 or 12 dealerships and making it very clear to them that you’re shopping around, so they cut right to the chase – then you can negotiate with that dealer on the value of your trade. Tell them you like their price on your chosen new car and would now like to drive your old car down to the dealership and find out its cash value to see if it’s worth trading. Before you go, research the prospective value of your trade using online tools like this site or this one.

By knowing the final price on the new car before you ever show the dealer your used one, you’ve removed from the car-buying game one of the most favored tactics of sales managers – talking about two deals (your new car purchase and your used car value) at the same time, potentially clouding the transaction so that they come out ahead on both.

When most motorists visit the dealership to buy a new car, they consider the purchase of that new vehicle and the trade-in of their old vehicle to be one and the same transaction. And they usually pay more for their new car as a result.

By discussing both the value of your used car and the price of the new one you’ve picked out at the same time, you risk not getting the best deal on either. While the net result is usually that you drive onto the car lot with an old car, and leave with a new one (and a payment plan), the reality is that you’re making two separate transactions today: You’re buying a new car from the dealership, and the dealership is buying a used car from you.

(Find out the value of your used car now through this service or at this site!)

Truth told, the cash price of the new car you’re buying has nothing at all to do with the value of your trade-in. And the amount your trade is worth doesn’t change a bit depending on the model, style or price of new car you’ve chosen to buy at the same dealership. Ultimately, the total amount you finance is the net result of the cash price of that new car, minus the cash value of your old one. But you’ll pay less for that new vehicle and get more for your trade by keeping those negotiations separate until the paperwork is drawn up at the very end.

Separate The Deals

The dealership would prefer to discuss both transactions at once, focusing on the “trade difference” between the car they’re selling and the one they’re taking from you. But when you as the shopper allow the deal to be discussed in these terms, you can’t really be sure what you’re actually paying for the new car and what you’re receiving for your trade. … Is that $20,000 trade difference the result of a $25,000 new car not being discounted at all, though you’re being offered a solid $5,000 for your trade? Or does the dealership sell new cars just like this one for $20,000 every day to cash buyers who don’t have trade-ins, so in your case they’re only giving you an average deal on the price of that new car and you’re trading in your old car for nothing?

Go into the negotiations armed with information from trade-in estimating sites like this one, or this one. Use that information to help you get the best possible cash offer for your current car.

Then set aside all thoughts of the used car value that you and the dealership just negotiated, and discuss the price of that new car as though you’re paying cash for it and have no trade-in at all. You’ll get a better bottom-line price on the new car that way, and your used car is still worth every penny of what you negotiated 30 minutes prior. And, you’ve avoided any possible confusion created by talking about both of those prices at the same time.

Negotiating the highest value for your trade-in is a battle of words and actions, and you need to arrive on the battlefield (that is, the dealer’s lot) armed with the weapons that will carry you to victory. Before you ever visit a showroom to negotiate the price for a new car, use this site, or a similar one, to find out what your old car might be worth as a trade-in.

Inspect your car and take note of all its positive characteristics. Does it have low miles? Or perhaps a factory sunroof, upgraded stereo or leather seats that other cars of its year, make and model usually lack?

These important features can add value to your trade-in. Publications such as the NADA guide or Kelly Blue Book can tell you how many dollars – or hundreds of dollars – it is worth to you to because your car has a factory sunroof and only 59,000 miles, when most cars like yours lack the custom features, and the average car its age has been driven 84,000 miles.

You should understand the negative aspects of your car, too, for the dealer certainly will notice them. Be aware of how much a used car manager is likely to try and discount your vehicle for having a stick-shift, perhaps, instead of an automatic transmission, or even for being painted an unpopular color.

But while he’s marching through all the bad things about your car – or at least jotting them down on a notepad or making mental note of each one – you should not be afraid to counterattack by pointing out all the good. That lets him know that you have educated yourself on the fair market value of your used car, and that he’ll find it harder to “lowball” you on the trade-in value as a result.

And remember, just click here or here to get a quick trade-in quote for your used car.

The first step to successfully trading in your old car for a new one is to learn all you can about the value of your present vehicle. Use these online resources or published reports to zero-in on your trade’s fair market value and keep that information close at hand when you go into the dealership to trade.

Your trade-in’s value will be influenced by many factors. Foremost, of course, are the year, make and model of your used vehicle, and the mileage on its odometer. Numerous publications – such as Edmunds guides, the NADA guide, the Kelly Blue Book or, in Southeastern U.S. states, the “Black Book” – are used to give reasonably close approximations of a pre-owned car’s value, whether that vehicle is being traded-in, sold to a private buyer by a private seller, or resold by a dealer at retail price. Without buying these guides, a car-shopper can also find out online what his trade might be worth. In most cases, you’ll be shown a base value for your car (determined by its year, make and model) with value added for lower-than-expected mileage or subtracted if you’ve driven your car more miles than average for its age.

This information alone will give you some idea of what your car is worth in trade. But many other factors and features play a role.

The condition of your vehicle is key. A clean, well-maintained car is certainly worth more than one that is dirty or in need of repairs. A car that has never been in an accident is worth considerably more than one that has been wrecked, even if the collision repairs were done so well that the average onlooker can’t tell that the vehicle ever got wrinkled.

Optional features also add value to your vehicle – or can subtract from its worth if the “option” is something most motorists are going to expect to have on their next car.

Automatic transmissions usually add to the value of your trade-in, compared to the value of a similar car with a stick-shift. This might not be as true with certain types of cars – for instance, some sports car buyers will be seeking a manual gearbox.

Air-conditioning is another “option” that most new cars carry. In fact, for some makes and models, A/C is now considered a standard feature; just part of the regular price. So a car lacking air-conditioning will hold less value.

A high-end factory stereo also can be a value-added feature. Aftermarket sound systems – while they might be tailored to your needs – are typically not worth in trade the kind of money you spent to have them installed. If you’ve gone whole-hog on an aftermarket stereo purchase, it might make sense to keep the factory gear boxed-up in your garage or a closet so that the high-dollar system can be uninstalled (provided you can do so without leaving scars or gaping holes in the interior) and used in another of your own vehicles, or even sold separately through a classified ad, and the car can be traded-in with the original equipment back in place.

Other factors that can add to the value of a trade-in vehicle are features such as GPS navigation systems, power windows and locks, power steering, a sunroof or moon roof, leather interior, flexible seating arrangements (for instance, seats that fold flat in a minivan to add cargo space), factory trailer-towing packages (on trucks and SUVs), and other trim-levels or paint features that came at additional cost when the car was originally purchased at a dealership.

Typically, custom paint or trim features – such as pinstripes, graphics or flames – while suiting the tastes of the current driver, can be costly deductions at trade-in time, because that style might not appeal to most motorists.

All of these factors – and the value to add or subtract accordingly – can be researched through the aforementioned publications. Or you can go online and get a quote on your old vehicle to help in the trade-in process.

Whatever you do, know the real market value of your used car before you try to trade it in, to be sure you get the best possible deal.

The day is fast approaching when you’re going to trade in that old car of yours and get a new one. But you want to get the most trade-in value you can out of the car you’re about to “sell” to the dealership. What’s an important first step?

Wash the car.

Some people enjoy washing and waxing their vehicles, but for a lot of us, that’s one of the most mundane tasks involved in maintaining an automobile. Rarely, however, is it more important than when you’re taking that car down for a trade-in appraisal. A dirty car makes a bad first impression, and also leaves the dealer wondering how well you’ve taken care of the rest of the vehicle.

But don’t just run the vehicle through the automatic car wash on your way to the dealership – really clean and detail that old car.

Wash the car and chamois-dry the paint, to leave no water spots. Polish the chrome. If your tires have a decent amount of life left, buy a bottle of tire-cleaner and give them a scrub. If you’re the type to express yourself via bumper-stickers, try to carefully remove them if you can do so without damaging paint. (That’s why bumper-stickers should never be adhered to the painted surfaces of your car; only to chrome or preferably glass, from which they’re most easily removed, and where they haven’t caused uneven fading of the vehicle’s color-coat.)

Cleanliness under the hood is important, too. A can of engine de-greaser is a fairly inexpensive purchase at the auto parts store. Coupled with the warm, powerful jets of water at the self-service car wash, you can take tens of thousands of miles worth of grime off your engine in a few minutes, and make that car look like it’s ready to go tens of thousands of miles more.

Give the interior a good cleaning, as well. Reach under the seats to remove trash, pencils, coins or other items that might’ve fallen there. Remove rubber mats, if you have them, and clean them with a hose and soapy water, letting them dry in the sun before reinstalling. Use a foaming carpet-cleaner to remove stains and then vacuum the carpeting thoroughly; a similar tactic should be used on the seats if they’re cloth. Leather or vinyl seats should be cleaned with an appropriate cleaning compound and a soft cloth. Use glass cleaner on the windows and a product like Armor-All on the dashboard and other surfaces.

Make that interior seem like an inviting place to sit during a long drive.

Finally, don’t forget the trunk. Remove all of your belongings from the luggage compartment before heading down to trade in the car. Clutter in the trunk will distract the appraiser. The only thing that should be left in the luggage area are the spare tire and associated tools (jack, lug wrench, etc.), all in their proper locations, plus trunk-mounted accessories that you intend to go along with the car when traded, such as a CD changer that you don’t wish to keep. Clean and vacuum the trunk area just as you did the interior carpets.

Prepping your car for trade-in might also include making a few minor repairs. Replace non-working bulbs in the exterior or interior lighting systems. This is usually cheap and fairly simple, and having all the lights working makes a good impression regarding the car’s level of maintenance. Be careful about getting too involved or too expensive with repairs; it’s tough to recoup your investment at trade-in time on costly work done by mechanics. But if you’re good with tools, you might be able to replace some telltale items – like bad shock absorbers, which can quickly lower the value of your car – in a few hours of time spent under a shady tree or in the driveway, and at a cost that justifies the expense.

Remember, you’re trying to get the most value you can for your trade-in. A clean, properly functioning car will always be worth more than a similar model that is dirty and has nagging problems.

Now that your car is clean and in good repair, research its value online and go make a trade!