Why Selling Your Car As A Trade In Isn't A Good Idea Thursday 10 January 2019

Why Selling Your Car As A Trade In Isn't A Good Idea

So you’ve decided that it’s time to sell your car. The next step is deciding how you want to sell it. There are a few different options here, but one thing you might be tempted to do is simply drive to a nearby dealership and discuss a potential sale with them.

This can seem a very attractive option, after all dealerships deal with cars all the time, so can help you sort out the sale quickly and efficiently. You also might be able to get some kind of part-exchange deal on a new car this way too.

However, looking beyond the efficiency, there are a few reasons why selling your car directly to a dealer can actually be a pretty bad move.

Dealerships Resell

The first and most important thing to realise is that dealerships will not give you teh market value of your car. Whatever price you get, this will not be the final resale value of the car. After all, the dealer is out to make a profit, and they have their margins. What this means is that you will have to accept an offer that is lower than the true market value of your car.

At one time, there wasn’t a lot you could do about this except sticking a card in the window of your car saying ‘For Sale’. Nowadays, however, you can list your car online. This means you can skip out the middleman and get that final resale price for yourself. To list your car on AutoVolo and get access to a huge number of potential buyers, visit our sell my car page.

Master Negotiators

While the stereotypes about the used-car dealer are probably a little harsh, the fact is that dealers are going to haggle for price. In fact, they’re going to be expert hagglers. While you might enjoy the cut and thrust of negotiating a price, it’s worth bearing in mind that dealerships do this for a living. So, you might feel like you’re getting a great deal, only to realise later on that maybe you could have got more money for your motor.

Extra Charges For Required Work

If the car you’re selling is in need of some work before it can be resold, you may find that dealerships are not interested at all. Or, if they are willing to take the car off your hands, you’ll lose a lot of its value against the charges associated with repairing it.

You can expect to be paying a high cost for this work, with fairly minor repairs knocking huge chunks off the market value of your car. This is because a dealership is charging for parts and time at a premium rate.

However, if you’re upfront about the work that needs doing, you may well find that you get a better price online, where the market is more competitive and drives down these extra charges.

Part Exchanges    

Part exchanges are another way that dealerships can entice you in. Basically, rather than selling your car to them, you exchange it for a newer car and pay the difference. This can be a good way of seamlessly getting back on the road in a new vehicle.

You might think that to get a part exchange you need to dive out to the dealership, but this is’t true. As AutoVolo advertises your car to both private buyers and dealerships, you can still find a part exchange deal. And all without the hassle and expense of driving from dealership to dealership.  

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