Sell vs Trade-In

By Farzana Chaumoo

Pros and Cons of Trading In vs. Selling your Car

Sometimes the daunting part of wanting to purchase a new car is the uncertainty on what to do with your current one. It can be a tough choice and that’s why most buyers just trade-in their old vehicle for a new one because of the simplicity of the transaction. Even if that means they lose out on a few thousand Rand in the process.

Other buyers do the necessary legwork and put in the time and effort to get their price.

Here are some tips to help you decide on whether to sell or trade-in:

TRADE-IN

Pros

Quick and easy: It’s the easiest way to dispose of your vehicle. No creation of ads, no time wasted responding to people with curious questions and no intentions of buying. You don’t have to worry about taking people for test drives or doing admin for registration.

No comebacks: Sometimes when a car is sold privately, the buyer will return to complain about some problem or malfunction. If you give your car in to the dealership you’ll never hear back about the car.

Price: If the car you’re trading in is fully paid off, you can use it as a bargaining chip on the price of a new vehicle or as a down payment.

Time and energy: If you don’t have the resource to waste then the trade-in will be the way to go, as you only deal with one person who takes care of all the nitty-gritty details and paperwork.

No stress about repairs or services: If there are scratches or dents on the bodywork, the dealer will still take your vehicle without complaining and get it fixed themselves.

Cons

Price: Dealers will only give you the wholesale value of your car because they still need to add their profit before selling. Some say selling your car will bring you less money than what dealers offer, but many times sellers have sold their cars privately at the dealer’s selling price.

Not all cars trade in well: With older cars and less popular models you may not get as much as you’d hoped for.

Limited choice: Once you agree on a trade-in with a specific dealer you are limited on choices for a new car to the stock they have on the floor.

SELL

Pros

Price: It’s almost a given that you will get more money selling your car than you would on a trade-in, likely to be somewhere between the vehicle's retail and wholesale values.

Internet: The internet has made it easier to sell privately, the proof is on our site, but it can also attract sharks so always take precaution.

Condition of the vehicle: Well looked-after vehicles with low mileage are usually not difficult to sell

Cons

Negotiating: Negotiating with potential buyers

Time: Taking time out to meet potential buyers and go on test drives

Do it yourself: The hassle of dealing with banks and finance companies on your own

Payments: Sometimes you can’t sell it before buying the new one so it can’t be used as a down payment. Also, if payment hasn’t been completed on the old car, you could have an overlap of car payments.

Our advice

Is the hassle of selling your car on your own worth the extra money? That’s something you have to decide for yourself. It’s also a good start to attempt selling it yourself, but if after a few weeks you have no luck then consider lowering your price, or start thinking about trading it in at a dealership.

Continue to the next article on selling, What can go wrong when selling a car