Selling a car can be full of twists and turns, lots of hassle or a seamless process. If you’re considering selling your car you’ve probably heard of a ‘trade in’. This is where you trade your car with a dealer. They deduct the price of your car from the purchase of your next car and that is why it’s a ‘trade in’. You’re trading your old car for a new one.
How Do You Trade a Car in?
It’s super simple and its exceptionally rare that you can’t. Maybe if you’re trading in a Aventador for a Camry they might ask a few questions, we’d probably ask some too. Generally the practice is that you take your car in to the dealership and they assess it. They then claim to be speaking to the manager – they’re just ringing wholesalers to see what the market price is. If it’s a car that they will stock on their yard then they may buy it off you and resell it at a profit. If it isn’t a car they’re interested in, it’ll get shipped off to a wholesaler and they’ll sell it to the highest bidder.
You’ll get the value of your car deducted off the car you’re buying from the dealership. Please don’t go into dealerships and ask for a trade in but not actually buy a car off a dealership. You’re better off going to a wholesaler direct.
Why Should I Trade a Car in?
It takes all the hassle out of selling your car, the dealer whips it away – end of story. It’s easy as, no dealing with buyers and worrying about when the money is coming through. It also takes a good chunk off the purchase of a new car through the same dealer. Mainly, you’d trade a car in for the ease, convenience, and peace of mind. You can’t get caught short of funds if the dealer is the one supplying them.
Sounds Like a Dream, Why Wouldn’t You?
Well, dealers like making money. They’ll make money off you buying a car from them and with a trade in, they get to wet their beaks twice. See, they take on the hassle of on-selling the car. That means they give you a price under what the market offers and then sell it to a wholesaler for more than they gave you. Simple business really: buy it low and sell it high.
In most cases, you’ll get more for your car if you sell it yourself through someone like our friends at TradeMe. If you sell it yourself then you aren’t just limited to the dealership you’re trading in with. So not only will you possibly get more money, you’ll have more options to buy your next car. It’s all a weigh up on what matters for you.
If you like what we’re saying, maybe you even learnt something. Isn’t that nice. If you’d like to learn a little more about buying or selling a car we’ve got plenty of stuff. Have a read through our blog or our Buying and Selling Guide.