How To Calculate The Value Of A Trade In, In Guelph
How To Calculate The Value Of A Trade In, In Guelph
Posted on April 30, 2021
Trading in your old car is a popular way to offset what you have against what you want. You have worked hard to pay for your car so you may as well get some benefit from it aside from daily driving. The more you can get for your car, the lower your next auto loan will be, which is good news for everyone!
Our Guelph auto loan team outlines how to get an idea of the trade in value of your car so you can calculate your next loan.
What’s in a trade in value?
Trading in your old car is the easiest way to dispose of it while offsetting its value against your next auto loan. You could sell privately and get a little more for the car but that comes with its own challenges.
Trading in is safe, simple and straightforward. Three things we love about them!
A trade in value is made up using the current selling price of cars like yours less any costs the dealership would incur preparing your car for resale.
The better the condition and the less work involved in reconditioning, the more you’ll get for your car. It’s that simple.
How to Calculate the Value of a Trade In
You have a couple of tools at your disposal to assess the trade in value of a car. You can use Kelley Blue Book or Canadian Black Book or work it out yourself.
We recommend using KBB or CBB as they make short work of valuations and are used within the auto trade too.
You can work it out yourself by looking at your exact make, model, colour and condition on marketplaces like eBay, Craigslist, Auto Trader and others.
Remember to deduct a percentage as dealers don’t pay retail.
Unfortunately, exactly what percentage to deduct varies massively but assume around 10% at worst case.
Maximizing trade in value for your car
If you want to retain as much value as possible in your car, keep mileage sensible and keep the car in good condition. The more work as dealer has to do to prepare it for sale, the less they will offer for it.
Clean the car inside and out, have any minor scratches or dings repaired, replace any worn tires or wipers and make the car as presentable as possible.
Then take it to the dealership and see what they will offer for it.
As long as it’s a desirable model and the dealer knows they’ll be able to sell it, they should make you an offer.
Remember, dealers don’t offer retail value for trade ins. You’re sacrificing a little cash for convenience here. You can counter offer if you feel the initial offer is low but don’t see a car on Auto Trader and then expect to get that for your trade in, the industry just doesn’t work way.
Otherwise, trading in your old car to prepare for a new one is a painless process that happens every day.
Contact Unique Chrysler for help, advice and competitive Guelph car finance and leasing.
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