How To Negotiate Your Trade-In

When you go to the car dealership to buy a car, you want to end up with the best price and terms possible. Through the art of negotiation, you can end up driving off in a car that's a much better deal than the sticker price and you can have terms that you are more than satisfied with. If it weren't for the ability to negotiate, then you may not be as happy, or you may leave in the car you came in. A part of negotiating at a dealership will revolve around your trade-in. Since this can play a big role in the deal you get, you will want to have all the information you need to successfully negotiate at the dealership. Here are things you want to know about your trade-in: 

Have the car detailed and serviced

Some people quickly wash their trade-in vehicle at home and give it a quick vacuum job with their shop vac. They figure the dealership deals with cars all day, so they will surely be able to see how wonderful it will look after they have it detailed. You don't want to make this mistake. 

If you expect the dealership to give you a better deal because of your trade-in, then you want it to look as good as it possibly can. Getting it detailed will make sure it's shiny and the inside looks great and smells good. 

It also helps to get your car serviced before you take it into the dealership as a trade-in. You want the dealership to understand there will be very little your car needs to be done before they can put it up for sale. 

Know the worth of your car

Before you go to the dealership, you want to already be aware of what your car is worth. This is going to be a big help to you when it comes to negotiating because without this knowledge, you won't know where to start and you won't have any idea if you are ending up with a good deal or not. 

To make this simple, you can go to an online site and enter information about your car in order to pull up information on the current worth of your car. Some things you will need to enter include the make, model, year, miles, condition, and more. 

You are also going to want to keep mental notes of all the extra features your car has, so you can use this information to help you out during the negotiation process. 

Consider the season and the type of vehicle you have

You will find that you will have a better chance of getting the best deal on your trade-in if the season is right for the type of vehicle you bring in. 

For example, if you have an SUV or truck that has 4-wheel drive, then wintertime will be a great time to trade it in because people will be preparing for the winter driving through rain and snow. If you have a convertible, then the summertime will be a good time because convertibles are wanted for those fun trips to the beach with the top down.

Contact a company like The Car Buying Concierge to learn more about negotiating your trade-in.

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