Trade in tips

If you’re looking to trade in your car, you need to know what your current ride is worth, as well as how much you still owe on it, before you walk into the dealership to ensure you get the best deal. In general, the more informed you are about your car’s worth, and about how a vehicle trade-in works, the more confident you’ll be as you trade in for an upgrade at Fabre Automotive. Below, we’ll explore the trade-in process, as well as provide tips on how you can maximize your car’s value.

Understanding Automotive Value and Price

When you trade in a car, you’re selling your vehicle to a dealership to offset the cost of another purchased or leased car from them. You’ll put the equity, or ownership, you have on your current car toward the cost of your new car, effectively giving you a discount.

However, you might see more than one dollar amount associated with your trade-in. Those can include

• Wholesale price: The vehicle’s auction price, which is generally reserved for dealers or other wholesalers. This will probably be the lowest of the following prices.
• Trade-in value: While your vehicle’s trade-in value could be higher due to high demand or its great condition, usually it will be close to the wholesale value.
• Private sale price: If you decide to sell your vehicle to another consumer in a private sale, such as through Craigslist or another online marketplace, they’ll probably pay the private sale price. While this is higher than the wholesale price, it will also have to cover sales tax and other fees.
• Retail price: This is what you can expect to pay for a car at the dealership.

How to Trade In Your Car, Step-by-Step

Now that you understand the value and price of a used car trade-in, you’re ready to prepare your car for trading in to the dealer. That’s a fairly simple process with the following steps:

Find out What Your Trade-in Is Worth and How Much You Still Owe

Start by figuring out what offer you should reasonably expect from the dealer when you trade in your vehicle. You can find out what your car is worth by using an industry guide like Kelley Blue Book, Edmunds, or others, and you can discover how much you still owe by contacting your current lender and asking for the payoff on your current loan.

You can still trade-in a car you owe money on! You can use any positive equity you have as a down payment on your new car.

Stage Your Car for Sale

Before you bring your car to the dealer, clean it up and stage it. Take out all the trash and personal effects out, then have your car washed and detailed. However, don’t bother trying to hide any problems your trade-in might have—the dealer will find those on their inspection.

Have Your Receipts Handy

You’ve kept all the receipts and records of your maintenance and other work, right? Bring those out of storage and bring them to the dealer so you can prove the maintenance and other repairs done on your vehicle.

Look for Promotions

See if the dealership is currently offering special promotions for trade-ins, or visit at the end of the month when they need to make a sale. Don’t be afraid to tell the dealer what you want, too! If you’re up front about what you’re hoping to get out of the deal, the dealer can help you better.

Come to Fabre Automotive for a Great Deal on Your Trade-In!

If you’re looking to trade-in your car near Lafayette, look no further than the friendly folks at Fabre Automotive! We’re committed to getting you the best deal possible on your trade-in, as well as helping you find your next quality car. Come see us today!