Purchasing a new vehicle is an exciting part of the driving experience. What some drivers may not know is how beneficial it is to trade in your vehicle toward a new vehicle. At Friendly Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram (DCJR), we’ve written up this review of trading-in benefits for our friends and neighbors in Penn Yan, Geneva, and Watkins Glen New York.
When considering trading in your current vehicle, there are three important aspects to keep in mind before you make any decision since they can make a major difference in how much you’ll get for it.
You might not automatically consider it, but the appearance of your trade-in makes a world of difference. The better you can buff up the appearance, the more likely a used car manager is going to positively estimate its value.
And if your vehicle needs repairs, it would be smart to get an estimate of those costs to bring along with you. This can act as a piece of bargaining power once the dealer’s own estimator starts making deductions of those repair costs from the figure offered to you.
Another thing to consider is trying to sell your vehicle to a used car dealer. It’s a great option as they’re always on the lookout for vehicles that are clean in appearance with low mileage. If you have a popular model to sell, you’ll have the edge since you might get more than the wholesale price for it.
There are four benefits to trading in a vehicle that we think are worth highlighting for drivers.
The first benefit is that you’ll save on detailing and reconditioning costs. We touched upon this earlier, but when you trade in your vehicle, the dealer is most likely prepared to detail and recondition the vehicle before it goes on the lot. Trading in to buy a newer model can possibly avoid these costs, allowing you to make a larger down payment.
A time-saving benefit is that, if you try to sell a vehicle yourself, you’ll end up putting a lot of time and effort into the endeavor. This means advertising and making appointments across social media, experiencing no-shows, and other challenges. Trading in your vehicle avoids all this by letting the dealership take care of the advertising.
You’ll be able to avoid the waiting period to purchase a different vehicle. That’s because, when trading in, you receive the monetary value immediately as part of the transaction. Because dealerships often move through inventory quite quickly, you’ll be able to jump on a model you want before it’s gone. By comparison, a private sale can take up to six weeks—or longer—and that dream vehicle on the lot might be gone by then.
Lastly, trading in to a dealership is going to equal a fair price any time of year. Because private selling works in time with the seasons with everyone selling at the same time, so you’re likely to find an overcrowded market. With a dealership, not only can you expect a fair price regardless of the season, but you’ll most likely receive an extra amount of money to boot.
When it comes to the stage of negotiating, it’s important to keep a few things in mind. For example, we suggest you first solidify the price of the car you want to purchase, and then follow it with a discussion of your trade-in allowance.
Keeping a finger on the pulse of your trade-in is important because you’ll want to be informed about the net amount you’ll be responsible for. Along with thoroughly going over the sales contract, it’s best to ask questions of the financial team member before you sign and complete the deal.
Now that our friends and neighbors in Penn Yan, Geneva, and Watkins Glen, NY, have read over this review, the next step is to contact us at Friendly DCJR to learn how your trade-in goes the distance with our finance team!
