What is the trade-in value of my car?

Switching to a new vehicle opens up many exciting possibilities.

If you're the kind of person who enjoys making deals even more than driving, the process of switching to a new vehicle opens up a lot of exciting possibilities. But what is the greatest value; trade your car and get the maximum profit from the dealer, or sell privately and use the cash to buy a new car?

Can you get more out of selling a Mazda 3 in exchange for a car dealer who is desperate to make a deal with you and earn their commission by selling you a new car? Or would you rather sell your used Hyundai i30 on the open market and take the money to the dealer to close the deal?

Obviously, the resale value—what you get by selling a Toyota Corolla privately—and the Toyota Corolla value you get from a dealer trying to sell you a new one—are likely to be two different things. .

Fortunately, when you want to get an estimate of the value of a car, such as the trade-in value of a Hyundai Tuscon, you can check those numbers with the CG Price Tool, which will make the research part of the decision much easier, but there are other factors to consider.

Selling privately will obviously require a lot more work from you, as you will have to advertise your car and go through the process of selling it - for example, getting your Kia Stinger ready for sale, showing it to potential buyers, potentially letting them test it, and then negotiating the best price. 

For people who love the spiciness and spiciness of negotiation, this can be a lot of fun, but it's definitely not for everyone, which makes the exchange option more attractive even if there's a chance it won't bring you the same profit. Money.

And that's essentially a cost trade-off. The dealer will make the process easier, but it may cost you more than you are willing to absorb. On the other hand, privacy will cost you time. And time is money.

The other option, of course, is that you can sell your car to a used car dealer, which can be attractive if you're in a hurry or need cash, but it's unlikely that the value of a trade-in Ford Ranger, for example, would be just as high.

Working with a dealer

Even if you're considering selling privately, there's nothing wrong with at least hearing what the dealer has to offer and finding out what your Mazda CX-5 is worth when you pay for it new.

Make sure your car is properly cleaned and detailed before trying to negotiate a price, as if you were selling privately. And the key word is "negotiation", remember that the dealer's first offer is just an offer and always has some wiggle room. Also remember that you as a seller/buyer are in a strong position and if you don't like their offer, you can take your business and your car elsewhere.

Always remember that the dealer will probably offer you 30 percent less than he or she thinks they can sell your car later on, and if it's worth a lot more, you can get that figure for yourself.

Once you get a price from a dealer, check out our Pricing Tool and look for similar listings to see if you can get better privately. Then it just becomes a question of how much convenience is worth to you - time or money.

As always, the newer, cleaner and tidier your car - and the less miles it has on the clock - the better price you'll get.

It's also worth considering getting an independent appraisal of your vehicle's value before contacting a dealer.

Save the transition

It's also important during negotiations not to focus too much on the price you get for your car, because what you really need to focus on is the replacement price - the amount you'll have to pay for your car. a new car after deducting the value of your car under the trade-in program.

Let's say you're looking at the value of a Mazda 3 that can be sold and you think it should cost $15,000. The new car you want to buy costs $30,000, or at least that's how it's listed. If the dealer says they can give you $12,00014,000 for your car, but the replacement price will only be $XNUMXXNUMX, you are still ahead because he discounts your new car to meet you in the middle.

The point is that some cars simply have a better residual value than others, which means that the dealer will be confident that they can sell your car for a good price, so they will be willing to offer you more for it. For example, the exchange value of a Toyota Corolla will be different from that of a Kia Stinger, while the exchange value of a Mazda CX-5 will again be different. All the answers are in our pricing tool.

The more desirable the car you're selling, the better it will be for you, so keep that in mind when asking "How much is my car?".