Dealsoncars

We all have the same goal when it comes to buying a car and making sure we get the most possible for our trade-in.

At the least, we want to make sure that we’re not being taken advantage of.

So, with the advent of the internet and the myriad of car information now available to us, we point ourselves over to Kelley Blue Book to find this all-important value.

Later, when we’re actually negotiating with a Dealer, we find it’s not quite this easy. The Dealer’s trade-in figure is lower than the one we got from the internet.

So, we whip it out and ask for an explanation, and rightfully so.

The truth of the matter is that a vehicle’s “trade-in value” is not a number that is simply black and white. It’s quite “gray” actually.

You see, it’s not unlike valuing your own home. What is your home worth? Well, you can get a ballpark idea … maybe a general price range. But a precise and fair figure? Nope.

Why? Because there are a number of other factors that determine “value”.

What have similar homes (or cars) sold for recently? How long did it take them to sell? Is demand currently strong? Weak? Somewhere in between? What’s the premium currently being paid for extra features such as a pool or a shed (sunroof or leather)?

A Dealer tries to access such issues, and of necessity, “opinion” and “subjectiveness” are going to play a significant role. And much the same way as having your house appraised for a loan, you’ll get different answers from different “experts”.

Another factor is very fluid. The Dealer will certainly check what similar vehicles have sold for at the wholesale, Dealer-Only car auctions. Have there been a lot of them? Did the bidding of other Dealers indicate local Dealer demand?

What could he buy this same car for at the auction? If he’s unable to sell it, what price would he likely get for it at the auction? Does he have other similar vehicles in stock that have been difficult to sell?

And then, whatever figure the Dealer comes up with, he’s going to reduce it a bit further to reduce the risk he’s taking in investing in your car. He doesn’t want to lose the profit he’s making on your new car when selling or disposing of your trade-in.

So what’s a consumer left to do? Well, unfortunately, it’s negotiate, negotiate, negotiate … as unpleasant as it is.
The best alternative, however, is to sell the car on your own. Although this takes additional time and effort, it is often well worthwhile.

One way to do this is actually very simple: just put a “For Sale” sign in your back window. We’ve seen this for years, but now that virtually everyone has a cell phone, it often works quite quickly.

Another alternative is to list your vehicle online since people shop for cars on the internet now far more now than reading newspaper classified ads. High traffic sites such as AutoTrader or Cars.com charge in the 40 to 70 range and usually the ad runs until the vehicle is sold.

You recall your first car? Was it a hunk of junk or a nice one? You may have resorted to the local newspaper for your car information in order to find that inexpensive, little jalopy. Or perhaps you were lucky enough to receive one is the gift or be able to afford one yourself. No matter where you searched, one thing was for sure; you wanted a good deal. In the past, this could often prove a difficult task. If it was bought from a dealer, he could make up any outrageous price that he wanted to, and if you went to an individual that had a car for sale you could end up with a junker and not know it until a month later and then you would be totally out of luck. This is really that big of a deal now a days. A deluge of car information is at your fingertips online.

I still remember my first car like it was yesterday. It was a 1978 Fiat Spider convertible. I got it from a college kid for 1100. It was a pretty decent first car. I mean I wasn’t expecting a Porsche for 1100. It was one of those cars that you couldn’t just let sit around not using it. You had to start everyday so it would turn over when you took it out for a spin. I recall one instance where I had not started it for three consecutive days. Big mistake, but fortunately I could always pop the clutch. While this wasn’t the greatest car in the the universe, I definitely knew one thing, the seller provided all necessary car information upon my test drive so there wasn’t any confusion. He has all the paperwork in order including service and maintenance records. It would be nice if everyone was as prepared.

If you’re heading out to a dealership to find that new family van, or sports car, it’s always a good idea to do your homework online first. The Internet is a vast reservoir of knowledge and information. It truly is a priceless resource. The car information online will save you plenty of like work. You know that you want a safe vehicle, and you know you want to avoid getting ripped off. Well, with the car information found on the World Wide Web, your worries should be subsided. The dealers no longer have the upper hand, that now belongs to us, the consumer. But the advantage is only hours if we choose to use it.

When you step into that dealership, you know what the vehicle sells for. The Internet will prevent you from being ripped off by exorbitant pricing. With your PC you can check out the numerous car sites in your area to see who’s offering what. There are even online sales that can be found on auctions such as Ebay and other state and federal auction sites run by government agencies. The buyer is now the one in charge when purchasing that new car. With car information so accessible, finding that ride of your dreams is a synch.