Car trade-in 101
Hawaii trade-in mistakes
Final word
Car trade-in 101
Trading in your car is a great way to get a new car at a much more affordable cost. When you trade in your car, you get the current value of the car you are trading in subtracted from the price you will pay for a new vehicle. However, if you do not know what you are doing and do not do your due diligence, you can end up losing out on a lot of money that you could have saved.
The first thing that you will need to do when you have decided to trade your car in is to research your vehicle and its current trade in value. By doing this, you will ensure that you know your car’s current worth and that you do not get taken advantage of and end up losing out on money. You can figure out your car’s current value by using online tools. Be sure to use tools from reputable sources such as edmunds.com or kbb.com.
Next, you will need to get your vehicle officially appraised. In order to do this, you will either go to a dealership or go online and get it appraised on a website like Edmunds.com. When you are getting your car appraised you are getting an actual offer for your car. If you choose to go with getting your car appraised at a dealership, make sure that you research each dealership that you are considering and that past customer reviews state that they are fair and easy to deal with when it comes to appraisals. You should always get several appraisals so that you have a few options to compare.
After that you will need to decide if you want to accept any of the appraisals that you received as they stand, if you want to try and negotiate a slightly better value for your car, or if you want to walk away. You should try and negotiate each one of your appraisals then go with the one that is offering the highest value for your car.
Hawaii trade-in mistakes
When people trade-in their car in Hawaii, there are several common mistakes which people make that you should be aware of and avoid.
- Do not try and hide anything about the car – Plain and simple, dealers are not stupid. You will not get away with trying to conceal anything negative about the car. Best case scenario, you end up wasting your time and effort doing this. Worst case, you end up nullifying what could have been a good deal for you.
- Over preparing the vehicle – You should obviously get the car cleaned and ready before you get it appraised. However, you should not worry about fixing dents or scratches before you trade it in. Doing so will add value but the value that it adds will be less than it cost you to fix those flaws. Remember, the dealer can fix these things at cost, so you will only get that value back.
- Not managing expectations – Almost everyone loves their car. When someone gets a trade-in estimate or appraisal, they often are shocked it is not worth more. Do not get hung up on the actual value of your trade-in. It is what it is and there is not much you can do to change it.
Final word
Trading in your car in Hawaii is a very good way to defray the cost of a new or used car that you are interested in buying. With that in mind, you need to be aware of what you are doing before you jump into the trade-in process. Always make sure that you are not overpreparing your car for its trade in and that you manage your expectation for your car’s appraisal value. If you decide that you would rather ship a car to or from Hawaii, give us a ring today at (808) 445-6695.
