WHAT IS YOUR TRADE IN WORTH????

Ok. Now we are going to assume you have made it past the negotiation stage in purchasing your new vehicle. But now you have a trade in. Dealers will many times give into your demands regarding the price and terms of the vehicle they are selling you. Some times they give in way too quick and its seems too easy to be true for you the consumer. This is especially true when there is a trade in vehicle involved in the transaction. I will now explain why this is. If you make the mistake of telling the dealer right from the start that you have a trade in they will attempt to "steal the trade" as it is called in the industry. You are asking yourself right now, how the heck can they steal my trade?? Its mine they cant steal it!!! Its just a term used by the dealers to give you the consumer considerably less in value for the trade versus what it is really worth. My recommendations are these: do not tell the dealer there is a trade until after you negotiate the price of the vehicle you are considering purchasing. Even if the sales person asks if you have a trade just tell the sales rep nooo!!! Also before you start your shopping at dealers, arm yourself with information with regards to what your trade is worth. There are many tools on the internet where you, the consumer, are able to to this. One very good source is www.kbb.com otherwise known as Kelly Blue Book. Keep in mind that kelly sometimes does have inflated trade values for vehicles. When evaluating your trade in using Kelly Blue Book be truthful in answering the questions about your trade. Remember dealers have used car managers that know these values quite well. There are several factors that contribute to your trade in value. The most important are these: condition, accident history (carfax), service history, mileage, tire tread, interior condition, state inspection, and age. These are just a few that the professionals utilize to value your vehicle. Your make and model trade in are also very important as many cars have a very strong demand in the used car market depending upon their reliabilty. Honda is a very good example of this. Honda's are known to have a very long reliable shelf life, so there is a very high demand for even older Honda's. Its simply supply and demand. Alot of people want used Honda's and there are very few in the marketplace, thus they have a much higher than normal trade value. The opposit applies to vehicles that are in large supply with very little demand. These are considered market values of your vehicle and have a strong impact on what it will be worth, so you must consider this in evaluating your trade; But remember be honest. Just because you think your car is worth a certain amount doesnt necessarily mean that it is. Ask to speak to the person at the dealership who evaluated your trade. Have that person walk around your vehcile with you and justify the value he/she is offering. Ask how that person evaluated the value. What sources did he/she use?? This person most likely will be the dealerships used car manager and is the best suited to arrive at your trade in's true value. If the finance manager comes out to discuss the value, demand to speak to the used car manager. Dont take no for an answer. One last note, when using internet sources to evaluate your trade you must keep in mind that you are looking for the vehicles trade value. Dont evaluate it based on retail value and think your going to get this past the used car manager of the dealership. You wont!! Remember, they are the professionals and they know their business very well. Be honest to yourself and to the selling dealer in this regard and you will find that, at reputable dealers, negotiations will go rather smooth. They are in business to make a fair profit so dont come off as if you could care less about their profession. Many times consumers make this mistake of thinking they can outsmart the dealer at their profession and come on too strong and end up just spiting themselves. Dealers have many games in their arsenals and can have these consumers running in circles if they choose. There are techniques that dealers use to deal with these "hard" customers and I will explain them in other blogs. For right now we will call them lowball and highball techniques. Dealers will low ball you on the price of their vehcile if they feel as though you are a "shopper" and not a "now" buyer. The will also highball you and give you an inflated value on your trade for the same reasons. Again check back and I will further explain how to avoid this techique used by the dealer so that you come out ahead in the car buying experience.