How To Determine Your Car’s Trade-In Value

By Julia Rees, Senior Managing Editor

Posted on 3 min read

Welcome back to The Code of Style, and this feature about How To Determine Your Car’s Trade-In Value.

Replacing a car isn’t an easy decision. Perhaps you have had some good times together with it, from date nights to scenic road trips. However, selling your old vehicle may be necessary to finance a new purchase. That said, it becomes important to determine your car’s trade-in value and how you can increase its selling price.

This is the price you can expect from a car dealership if you choose to trade in your current vehicle for a different one. Knowing this can help you make smart decisions. If you are planning to sell your old car, consider following this guide to determine its trade-in value. 

How To Determine Your Car’s Trade-In Value

How To Determine Your Car’s Trade-In Value

Consider the car mileage and maintenance history

Mileage is one factor that determines the price of a car. If your automobile’s mileage is over 100,000 miles, potential buyers may see it as a red flag. No matter how dependable your car is, the resale value may decrease due to this. The average driver clocks about 12,000 to 15,000 miles annually; anything more than this can be an issue. This is because buyers often fear mechanical issues may develop in used cars. Fortunately, you can turn the tides in your favor. For instance, renting a car for long trips is a smart way to reduce your car’s mileage and improve its resale value.

car maintenance

Also, effective maintenance is essential to increase reliability and the future resale value of your car. You must follow the manufacturer’s recommended schedules for oil and filter changes. Keep maintenance records for all faults and have them handy when planning to sell. Buyers may be willing to increase their offer if they realize you took good care of the vehicle. Your car’s value is cut in half for every $5000 you spend on accident-related repairs, so keep this in mind.

Use a market value tool

One of the most reliable ways to determine your car’s trade-in value is to use online car value calculators like Edmunds true market value tool, which allows you to plug in-vehicle information to estimate its value range. This way, you can determine the average transaction price for new and used vehicles in an area and start your negotiation with a fair price in mind.

It’s also worth noting that these calculators use data from multiple sources to calculate a car’s worth. These include dealer transactions, car depreciation rates, and consumer information. 

How To Determine Your Car’s Trade-In Value

Your car’s appraised value may depend on other factors like the vehicle’s year, make, mileage, model, depreciation,  and features. Whether you are selling or trading in, market value tools can help you make the right decision. 

Get live examples

You can also determine your car’s trade-in value by looking at the latest prices for comparable vehicles. Craigslist, dealership advertisements, and other car trading sites can offer live examples to help you know your car’s worth. You may visit car companies in person or online dealerships to get an offer.

car sale

In Conclusion : How To Determine Your Car’s Trade-In Value

Selling your old can can be profitable if you know what to do. Hopefully, these tips will help you determine its trade-in value for a more informed decision. 

We hope you found this article about How To Determine Your Car’s Trade-In Value helpful and you can have a look here for more of our lifestyle features.

I’m Julia, the Senior Managing Editor and I can’t wait to share some more articles with you again soon! In the meantime you can find more style, lifestyle and travel inspiration on  “The Velvet Runway” .

Thank you for reading 

Website: The Velvet Runway  , Instagram : @thevelvetrunway

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