Before you trade in your car in Los Angeles, you need to be prepared to get the most out of the vehicle as possible. We have three tips that can help you make the most of this situation.
Why Trade In a Vehicle?
Like any process, there are pros and cons to trading in your car. You have to think about many things when getting a new vehicle, and if you currently have a car, what to do with it comes into play. Typically, if you don't intend to keep the vehicle, you have two options: sell it yourself or trade it in.
If you choose to sell the car yourself, you may stand to make a little more money, but it could be much more work and potentially take a lot longer. However, this depends on multiple factors, such as vehicle type, asking price, condition, location, and how visible your sale is to potential buyers.
On the other hand, trading in your car can be as simple as getting an appraisal and signing some paperwork. Trading in your vehicle in the City of Angels can be a quick and easy process.
If you're trading it to the dealership where you’re purchasing your next car, it makes applying the trade-in equity to your down payment simple. You also save yourself all the legwork of having to negotiate with potential buyers, go on test drives, and handle the paperwork on your own.
Getting Your Trade-In Ready in 3 Steps
Now that you know the advantages to trading in your car, let’s look at the three steps to getting your trade-in ready for an appraisal in Los Angeles:
- Clean your vehicle thoroughly – When you're getting a car ready to trade in, you want it to be in the best condition possible without sinking a lot of money into it. Typically, a thorough cleaning yourself, both inside and out, can help, but it may not be worth the extra money to spring for a detailing. If there are minor flaws or dents that you can repair yourself, fixing these could increase the value of your vehicle, but avoid doing any major work which costs you more than the bump it gives you in value. Often, dealers can do these repairs more cheaply than you can.
- Estimate your trade-in value – In order to make sure that you're getting the best deal, you should know the approximate value of your car. Using valuation sites such as Kelley Blue Book and Nadaguides, you can plug in your vehicle's information and get an estimated value to use as a starting point in negotiations. To get the most out of these tools, be as truthful and as accurate as possible when entering information, and remember this is only an estimate. The actual cash value of your trade-in is what a dealership offers you.
- Get multiple offers – To get the best deal possible, make sure that you get appraisals from at least three different dealers. Make sure that at least one of them is a franchised dealership for your car's brand. When you're having your vehicle looked at by a dealer, it's a good idea to have your service records with you, and the printout of its estimated value. Be sure to keep the valuation document to yourself until after they've made an offer, however.
Once you've gotten a few offers, you can choose the one that works best for you, negotiate a final trade-in price, and sign the paperwork. If you're torn between two dealerships that have similar offers for your car, consider the vehicle you intend to purchase, and go with that dealer.
It's also a good idea to complete the negotiation for your trade separately from your purchase. This way, the dealership doesn't have the chance to adjust your purchase price based on the value of your trade-in.
Not Sure Where to Start?
If you know it's time to trade in your car but worry that bad credit is standing in the way, you should consider visiting a dealership that's signed up with lenders that help people who are struggling with credit issues. If you're not sure where to find such a dealer, let Auto Credit Express assist.
We work with a nationwide network of special finance dealerships that offer those lending resources. We've been matching people to local dealers for over 20 years, and we want to help you, too.
To get the process started today, fill out our easy auto loan request form. After you do, we'll get to work connecting you with a dealership in Los Angeles near you.
