Trading in a vehicle

clarkenstein

clarkenstein

JORBA Board Member/Chapter Leader
JORBA.ORG
Question for the hive. I’m debating trading in my truck. The paint is a mess - scratches in many places and a large area where the clear coat is a mess. It’s a 2019. For trade in, do I go get it detailed or just bring it to the dealer in whatever condition (other than vacuuming it out? Will I get any return on the clean up investment or does it not matter in the long run? TIA.
 
clarkenstein said:
Question for the hive. I’m debating trading in my truck. The paint is a mess - scratches in many places and a large area where the clear coat is a mess. It’s a 2019. For trade in, do I go get it detailed or just bring it to the dealer in whatever condition (other than vacuuming it out? Will I get any return on the clean up investment or does it not matter in the long run? TIA.
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They don't care how it looks, as they have people for that.
It is all about your decision to negotiate - when you start, it is all about getting a good number for your trade-in.
After that, pivot to getting the best number for the new car.
Bring @Carson with you - pay him whatever it costs to get the car detailed.
Worth the video of him doing the inspection right before signing off on the deal.
 
x2 dont do anything extra to it. i traded in my last vehicle sight unseen with no issues. i'm sure if it is missing a door or something they would care, but besides that, let them figure it out!
 
Trading in my Tacoma today. I washed last week before I went in to discuss with the dealer trade vs. paying off loan and selling myself. Wanted to hear what they would offer. Also went with a copy of KBB. They offered more than Carvana and were at the low end of the KBB range. Decided to trade instead of dealing with tire kickers while I have a new vehicle payment on the way. Not cleaning off the pollen or doing anything else now. Their professional detailers can handle it now.
 
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We recently turnt in a Mini at end of lease. No new car leased or purchased. We lost one key fob, and the two passenger side wheels had some significant scratches/gouges. It wasn't washed, gave it a quick vacuum for surface dirt. Dude walked around, took a few pics, removed the license plates and that was that. The bill came a week later, no excessive damage, just the termination fee. They had zero fucks to give.
 
clarkenstein said:
Question for the hive. I’m debating trading in my truck. The paint is a mess - scratches in many places and a large area where the clear coat is a mess. It’s a 2019. For trade in, do I go get it detailed or just bring it to the dealer in whatever condition (other than vacuuming it out? Will I get any return on the clean up investment or does it not matter in the long run? TIA.
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An accountant trading in a 2019 vehicle? Doesn't that go against all financial wisdom?

Anyway, they barely glance at it before making the offer.
 
THATmanMANNY said:
I think the recommendation is to negotiate for the new car first! And then at the end say I have a car to trade in
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Was coming to say the same thing, they should be completely separate negotiations. Don't talk about the trade-in until after you figured out the pricing on the new vehicle.

Deflect until that point in time if they are asking about trade ins.
 
Bike N Gear said:
An accountant trading in a 2019 vehicle? Doesn't that go against all financial wisdom?

Anyway, they barely glance at it before making the offer.
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It definitely does go against financial normalcy. I’m buying used, and never paid a penny of interest on my truck. It’s crazy to see the trade in values right now.

But I’m not happy with what I have - there are some issues with it and some of them are electrical, which is not something I want to maintain. Plus my vehicle need has changed, and what I have is not fitting any longer.
 
clarkenstein said:
It definitely does go against financial normalcy. I’m buying used, and never paid a penny of interest on my truck. It’s crazy to see the trade in values right now.

But I’m not happy with what I have - there are some issues with it and some of them are electrical, which is not something I want to maintain. Plus my vehicle need has changed, and what I have is not fitting any longer.
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Try selling it yourself first. You'll do much better than what a dealer will offer. Assume the used car/truck market is still hot in NJ as it is down here.
 
JimN said:
Does this advice hold if your vehicle has ten years worth of dirt in it from always keeping your bicycle inside?
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yes

i traded in our minivan for the 4runner, ripped the car seats out and was on my way. no doubt in my mind there was some food growing into a science experiment in the back
 
+1 for dont bother even washing it they really dont care. They will make any margin they need on it and they have people who's only job it is is to lather on as much tire shine and engine clear coat as possible.

On the trade in part, many people fall into the trap of getting a good deal on the new one and a bad deal on the trade in. They have ways to influence you in their sales talk to do this so they get you with one of the transactions more in their favor. Treat each deal separately and only bring it up at the end to use the trade in value you get back to use as a deposit, or take it in cash/check/bike parts payment.
 
Patrick said:
They don't care how it looks, as they have people for that.
It is all about your decision to negotiate - when you start, it is all about getting a good number for your trade-in.
After that, pivot to getting the best number for the new car.
Bring @Carson with you - pay him whatever it costs to get the car detailed.
Worth the video of him doing the inspection right before signing off on the deal.
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I've personally found the best strategy to be negotiate on the delta between the price of the trade in and new car.
 
Lots of good advice here but much you didn't solicit.

Don't bother doing much detailing work if you are trading. Get it dirty, trade in on a rainy day towards the end of the night when they are closing. They will give it a very cursory inspection and it may very well be in your favor.

Check Carvana to get a good idea of what the wholesale value of the truck in decent condition is. On most vehicles it's a realistic number. Better than KBB, Edmunds, or Galves.

If selling yourself, yes, clean it up as best as possible and as cheaply as possible. It will help.

FYI a scratch you can feel with your fingernail is NOT likely to get polished out completely.
 
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I just sold my camper to camping world for way less than I should've. You'll get the same price for it regardless of whether or not you clean it ahead of time. They still account for detailing no matter what you do to it. Good advice to bring it in on a rainy day if there are some small dings or scratches. And take someone of reason with you. Not implying anything here, just saying you should have another set of ears to catch onto anything that might be going against you.

And Rick just wants you to list it yourself so he can type "clams" on it.
 
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I have a 2010 hyundai elantra with trans hard shift every 5 or so miles. It's been sitting around since we bought a used car through a private seller. Should i play dumb and trade it to a dealer to upgrade our other vehicle or just try to sell it private and disclose issues?
 
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