During trade-in talks, a car dealer would always find ways to make more profit from the negotiations. They will try and offer you the wholesale price of the car compared to offering you its market value. In anticipation of these events, one should know the amount that they could work with in order to avoid being cornered in such situations. This is to ensure that both of you get a fair deal out of the talks.
Before rushing into a deal with any car dealer, it is imperative that you should know the exact market value of the vehicle and its difference from its wholesale value. This will put you in a better position to make a bargain regarding the price of your car. One good reference is the Kelley Blue Book which can be bought in every book store. This contains all the annual list of every car that was produced during the year and provides an estimate regarding its dollar value using its condition and mileage as basis. We will always recommend you to consult NADA Blue Book for a good Blue Book value when buying or selling a car. Search for NADA Guide or NADA Blue Book on Google to find the suggested Blue Book Value for these antique cars. In addition, you can also find out the added value of your car regarding the accessories that you have equipped it with. You just log on the Kelley Blue Book’s official website. This is released in publication on a yearly basis.
You should also know how to make sure that your car is presentable once you bring it to a car dealer. Remove all valuable in the car and try to get it fixed especially the dents and scratches. In addition, it might be best if you brush up the interior as well. This is to make sure that you will get the best value for your car. Remember, any damage to the car that the dealer sees upon inspection maybe deducted from the amount that they can give you. The money reduced is an estimate for the repairs that needs to be done. But still you can consult Kelley Blue Book or NADA guide / NADA Book for an estimated Blue Book Value and compare the difference in repairs and profit that can be earned after repairs.
Research is an important aspect of trade-ins as well. This is necessary so that you will know what the ceiling price is particularly for your car. If you see that the dealer is not offering the value that you deserve, you may walk away any time. Try looking around every car dealers around the town. If you cannot see one in particular, then you can always go back to its roots and look for a car that may be at par with its value. Remember, it should be of the same brand.
Your Car’s True Trade-In Value
Car dealers, like any other salesman, will try to get the more from the negotiation. They will always look for ways to be in a position where they can be more profitable than their customers. They have the bad habit of fake-inflating the price of your car when in truth they are offering you its wholesale value. Just like in grocery stores where they buy cheap and sell the product sing its retail price.
In fact, car dealers have uses terms in order to describe a car’s true value in the market and fake-inflated prices. Your car’s true value is termed as Actual Cash Value, commonly known as ACV while inflations done which are commonly seen in contracts are called Over Allowance. These terms are being used by dealers when they initiate talks with management. Moreover, it is also being used when they are trying to find out their profit. Search for NADA Guide or NADA Blue Book on Google to find the suggested Blue Book Value for these antique cars. Show them the NADA guide or NADA Book suggested Blue Book value and deal like a pro. You can read more about determining NADA Blue Book Value here and learn more about how to talk to a salesman here.
To avoid falling into these kinds of traps, you may inform the dealer that you are planning to sell your car. In this manner, you will be talking about the actual selling price of your car in today’s market. After settling with an amount, you inject the thought of trading-in. Using this method, you already have an amount which is higher than the wholesale price but a little less than the retail price. They will not have any other option than to tell you its ACV. Yes, they may hate you for using such a nasty trick. All you have is to ignore it and move on. And besides, doing it their way will cost you more while they benefit from it.
But you are not comfortable doing such method, you can always sell the car privately by consulting NADA Guide or NADA Blue Book for a better Blue Book Value and start the negotiation.
