How does trading in a car work?

Hey mamas can someone help me understand the concept of trading in a car? Lol! I have a 09 aspen four wheel drive, i wanna trade in a get a van or anything with bucket seats but I owe 2000$ left on it. Do I end up paying more to trade in then I would just to sell it and buy a car with money I get from selling? My car has 0 issues owned for 3 years and never failed me.

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Being that it’s older, you most likely will have to carry over the balance to your new car… or, you could use that excuse as a “NO” for purchasing a new car and if you try to walk away, they may even offer to just take that balance off since it’s only $2K. I would try it and see how important the sale is to the salesman.

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Sell the car yourself, period.

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Used prices for those range from $1,800 to $6,500, tell them you want $5,000 to $6,000 and save some tax off the purchase price. Bring similar ads in your area to prove your trade in value. Selling private is an obvious option, but if the dealer gives you what you want, save yourself the trouble.

Your trade is only good for the value THEY (the dealer) place on your vehicle less what is owed. So if they value your trade at 3K then they pay off the 2k you owe and put 1k towards a new vehicle. If it’s worth 2k then basically you’re starting from zero to qualify for a newer car loan. If it’s worth less that 2k they roll the difference into the new car loan. So if the new car costs 15k now you owe them 15k PLUS what is owed on your old vehicle. I’d say with it being a 15 year old car you’re better off selling it yourself and trying to break even or get over 2k for it pay off your loan and start over…… but you can always go to the dealer and see what they offer you for it

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If you trade in your car for another dealer car you might get an ok deal but never a good deal. Always better off selling privately and buying dealer used for the Warranty.

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The dealership will go by the “black book” value… basically the lowest they can get away with giving you for it. I would look up the NADA value on the car & find out the values. It’ll give you 3 values (most people go by the middle value). If the dealership will at least give you credit for the payoff, you’ll be lucky. If they offer less than the payoff I wouldn’t accept it. Tell them you’ll try to sell it outright & see if the one you want is still available then. The best time to go is at the end of the month because they’re trying to close as many deals as they can by the end of each month. The end of the year is really a good time to buy, if you can wait until then. Also, make sure you do plenty of price checking on the vehicle you’re looking to buy! Unless it’s a GREAT deal, don’t give them a decision the day you test drive

I will give you $2k for it if you wanna sell it.

Private sell it. Then go get your car. The dealership will low ball you. Yes it makes it easier. But financially it is better to do it yourself.

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Keep in mind, whatever the trade in value is will reduce the net cost of what you pay taxes on. That may apply only to the amount OVER what is owed on current loan.

Get on tik tok look up Car Girl Arkansas her name is cj for a few she will do all that for you and i promise you’ll come out ahead because car dealerships aren’t set up to be user friendly . She can do it all online or coach you over the phone . And her fee was low like a percentile of your deal . I think mine was around 250$

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Honestly run it through kelly blue books website and see if you can get a dealer to buy your vehicle. You may get more for it

Ask what it cost to get out the door they will try to add on things.

They tack on the amount you still owe onto the amount you’re financing the new car for. So in turn you’ll pay more on the new car but you’ll be paying the same essentially as you would if you paid off the current vehicle and then traded it in.

Look up the blue book value for your current car.

Tbh. Never trade a car with dealerships. You’re way better off trying to sell it on marketplace. Or park it at a local spot with a for sale sign.