How To Get the Best Trade-in Value for Your Car

Photo: Scott Crawford | Flickr

One of the great unknowns in buying a used car is what to do with your trade-in. Do you sell it yourself? Trade it in to the dealer? Or possibly donate it to charity? While value is set by strict IRS guidelines for charitable donations, you can control what value you get for your used car when it’s time to trade it in.

Steven Lang is a man who knows the used car industry inside out. In addition to covering the car industry as a journalist, he has been an auto auctioneer and car dealer for nearly 16 years. He has also been in charge of inspecting, appraising and liquidating over 10,000 vehicles a year for Capital One Auto Finance.

His latest project is the Long-Term Quality Index. It’s a study begun in early 2013 that now has tabulated the long-term reliability results of over 748,000 older used cars, SUVs and trucks throughout the United States. It contains trade-in information from across the country.

For example, the index shows a Mazda5 usually is traded in with 97,004 miles, which is below the industry average of 126,654 miles. Trading in a Mazda5 with more miles could decrease its value. Also, you can see via the index that a Mazda5 has better than average reliability in the 2010 model year, which could also help its resale value.

Photo: Moyan Brenn | Flickr

Lang’s top tip for getting the most trade-in value is making sure your car is clean when being presented to a dealer. “A clean car always sells for more money. Make sure the vehicle is perfectly clean. You could add some value if it’s detailed for a high-end vehicle. Dealers look at how the vehicle is going to look on their lot. That’s their first and foremost concern. You want to have everything clean,” Lang says.

The next advice Lang offers is to document recent work done on your used car. “If you have any added value to the vehicle, such as you’ve recently done some expensive maintenance to it such as a new timing belt or if for a hybrid you got a new battery for it, that information with receipts will help you get a better value. You can get some level of compensation for that. It’s not going to be for the entire repair,” he says.