What is a car trade-in

There are many ways to buy and sell a car. These include: searching for a buyer by ad, visiting the car market, buying a car in a specialized salon, and many others. Most motorists have heard about the trade-in system, but they do not have a clear idea of ​​its essence. Today we will tell you what a car trade-in is, as well as note its advantages and disadvantages.

What is a car trade-in?

This system is such a transaction for the purchase of a car, in which you give your car as part of its value, and pay the remaining part in cash. To find out what the equivalent of the cost of a new car your vehicle can cover, an assessment is made. To do this, the vehicle is driven into a specialized technical center, usually located on the territory of an organization that sells cars, where a number of diagnostic procedures are carried out to determine the quality of the technical condition of the car.

What is a car trade-in

Based on the data received, the legal entity names the amount that will be subtracted from the cost of the car you like through the purchase of your car. A prerequisite for the transaction is its execution in one place. In other words, you cannot sell your car to one salon and choose a new one in another. Technically, it is possible, but it will be a regular buyout of a used car, which has nothing to do with the concept of trade-in.

Benefits of trade-in

The main advantage of trade-in is the significant time savings. You do not need to look for a buyer for your vehicle, or it takes agonizingly long time to select a suitable option for a new car. The total execution time for all operations is usually no more than 4 hours.

The second advantage of trade-in is the absence of the need for pre-sale preparation. The car dealership buys used cars "as is", without forcing the owners to spend money on giving their cars a presentable appearance or some technical improvements.

And, finally, the third important factor is the fact that all the documentation of the sale and purchase will fall on the shoulders of the managers of the car dealership. You do not need to draw up the necessary documents or go to the traffic police to remove your car from the register. All this will be done by the employees of the company carrying out the transaction.

Advantages and disadvantages of trade-in

Disadvantages of trade-in

There are only two disadvantages of the trade-in system:

• first, do not expect your old car to be priced at market prices;
• secondly, be prepared for a limited range of options offered for your purchase.

In the first case, the loss of the car owner can be about 15-20% of the amount for which they could sell their car on their own. The salon also needs to earn money, and he will try to get his profit precisely due to the difference between the estimated and market value of your car. Due to the limited choice, the situation is not as dire as it might seem at first glance. Do not think that you will be offered 2-3 cars. In most cases, a couple of dozen machines are offered, from which it will not be difficult to choose the most suitable one.

Summary: is trade-in profitable?

Summing up the article, let's say that trade-in is mainly beneficial for those motorists who are very limited in time. From the point of view of financial advantages, it entails rather large monetary losses for the buyer, associated with an insufficiently high assessment of his car. You will not receive profit when buying a car through the trade-in system. The only one who will be in the financial plus in the implementation of this transaction will be a car dealership.