How Do I Trade In A Car That Isn't Paid Off In Brantford?

How Do I Trade In A Car That Isn't Paid Off In Brantford?

Posted on April 28, 2021

Had your car for a while and want a new one? Still paying off the auto loan and want to know how to switch it for a new one? We can help. Our Brantford auto loan team does this all the time for clients and would be happy to share their knowledge on how to trade in a car that isn't paid off.

Longer auto loans are becoming more popular and trading in your car and switching auto loans is becoming more common. It’s easy to do but requires a little research on your part to get it right.

Here’s how to trade in your old car that isn't paid off in Brantford.

Settlement amount

The first thing you need to do is find out the settlement figure from your current lender. Some lenders send out annual statements while others can tell you over the phone.

You cannot do much until you know how much you owe on your current loan so this should be your first step.

While you’re there, check to see if your Brantford auto loan is subject to any early repayment penalties. Some loans have them while others don’t. It will be in your loan paperwork or the company can tell you when you call.

Research the current value of your car

Next, it’s time to find out how much your current car is worth. Trading in won’t get you retail price but you should get a good idea of how much it is worth so you know whether the offer you get is fair or not.

There are a few tools you can use to find out how much your car is worth. Some will tell you the trade in value as well as private sale value, which is useful.

If the amounts between trading in and private sales is small, it may be worth trading it in. If there is a more significant difference between the two, selling the car privately and using the cash may make more sense.

Assess how much equity you have in your car

Equity is how much of the item you actually own. In this context, that means how much the car is worth versus how much you still owe on it.

For example, if your car is worth $25,000 as a trade in and you have $10,000 outstanding on the loan, you have $15,000 of equity.

Knowing this amount can help you calculate how much of an auto loan and down payment you’ll need to buy the car you want.

The trade in process

The trade in process is now simple and painless. Prepare all the car’s paperwork, prepare it for trading in and bring it to the dealership. We will assess the car, make an offer and you can either accept or counter.

Once we agree a price, we can use that figure against the cost of a new car along with your down payment. The rest can be made up with an auto loan. We will then factor in how much you owe on your current loan and add that to the new loan amount.

From there we get you preapproved and you tell us whether you want to go ahead with the loan or not.

It is genuinely that simple!

Contact Unique Chrysler for help, advice and competitive Brantford car finance and leasing.

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