Answer
Nov 21, 2016 - 07:11 PM
Hi Chane,
Advantages of a trade-in over a selling it yourself include: you only deal with the dealer – if you trade in your car, the dealer handles the entire transaction from start to finish. Secondly, it’s fast and convenient – private party sales can take some time and effort (advertising the car, meeting with potential buyers, and transferring ownership. Thirdly, it reduces the price of your new car in that if you own your car outright, the dealership will apply your trade-in amount to your new vehicle.
Disadvantages: You limit where you can buy a car - when a dealership appraises your car and agrees to buy your car, you’re obligated to buy your next car from that dealership. If the dealership doesn’t have a car that you want to purchase, you can’t trade in the car with them.
Three things to get the most money out of the transaction:
1. Know your car’s value – You can use our handy what’s it worth tool found under 'Sell your car' on our site (www.autotrader.co.za) here is a direct link to the tool: http://www.autotrader.co.za/what-worth
2. Fix up the car- any cosmetic damage to your car can lower its net value and cause a low trade-in value. You don’t have to give your car an entirely new paint job, but it doesn’t hurt to clean up the interior or exterior a bit before speaking with a dealership. Shampoo the carpets, drive the car through a car wash, purchase touch-up paint to conceal minor scratches, and repair dents. Simple repairs can add significant value to your car and increase the trade-in offer.
3. Shop around - shopping around does more than get you the best interest rate on your car loan or the lowest price on your new car – it also helps you get the most for your trade-in. You can search multiple dealership adverts right on our site by filtering your search to trade sellers only. Here is a link to all the dealer adverts on our site: http://www.autotrader.co.za/seller-type/Trade/search You can contact any of them and they will give you an estimate on the trade-in value of your car and assist you with the trade in and purchase of your new vehicle.
Depending on the dealership, you can consider shopping for a new car toward the end of the year as some dealerships offer specials at this time. If you’re buying a model from the previous year, some dealers are likely to offer more for your trade-in to encourage a sale.
Hope this helps,
The AutoTrader Team
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