Buyer's Guides
Trading in
The time has come to say goodbye to the old motor. Its final faithful act is to help finance the next jewel in your driveway's crown, but do you risk tyre-kickers by selling privately or a lower, but hassle-free, trade-in from a dealer?
Follow these tips to get the best deal:
Follow these tips to get the best deal:
- Depreciation is the biggest single cost of new car ownership, so getting the best deal offsets the cost of buying the next new one. The difference between what you paid for the car new and what you get when you sell is the amount of money you have lost in depreciation. The aim here is the make the gap as small as possible
- It's simple and cheap to advertise a car for sale privately, either in one of the many magazines or on the internet. The upside is you will recoup more money selling the car yourself. The downside is you expose yourself to the great unwashed wanting to test drive your pride and joy
- If you choose to sell privately and agree a deal, make sure the money is resting in your bank account before handing over the keys and documents. Genuine buyers will be happy to agree to this
- Another pitfall of selling privately is theft or damage. Check out potential buyers are who they say they are. Don't be shy about asking for identification and a hefty deposit while they test drive the car. Make sure either you're insured for them to drive the car or they are covered on their own insurance
- Another twist on the private sale is the online auction. This puts a definite time on when the car is sold and can make you more money than you initially thought. Or not. Describe the car honestly and you should have no comebacks
- Trade-ins are usually quick and simple. The dealer appraises your car and offers a price based on condition and mileage. Shop around a few dealers because values can vary considerably
- Don't show your trade-in hand too early when negotiating the price of your new car. Wait until the dealer has made his best offer, then introduce the trade-in and use it as a further bargaining lever
- You can simply sell your car to a dealer, take the cash and do as you please with it. A dealer will be reluctant to take this route as they are not selling you another car and will have to spend money preparing your old motor to sell it on. This is a quick and painless way to sell, but expect a rock bottom price even lower than a trade-in value.