Anyone that has traded in their car before can tell you about all the challenges of trading in a vehicle with a dealership. When it comes down to it, you may not get the most money from trading in your vehicle, but it will be much less of a headache. Many people tout that trading in your vehicle is vastly simpler and that alone is worth its weight in gold. However, if you have a certain type of vehicle, or if you have a particularly in demand vehicle, trading your car in might not be the best option. The most important thing, though, is to weigh all the advantages and disadvantages first. Here are some car trade-in pros and cons.
One of the biggest pros of trading in your vehicle is that it is convenient – sometimes too convenient. All you have to do is show up with your vehicle, hand them the keys, sign a few papers and that is it. If you were to sell the car yourself, you would have to deal with marketing, meeting buyers, going on test drives and maybe even making repairs. When it comes to cost and convenience, handing your car over to a dealer is a breath of fresh air versus trying to sell the vehicle yourself.
However, there is a trade off when you trade your car in with a dealer. One of the biggest cons of trading in your vehicle is that you may get less money. For some people, a few hundred dollars is not a big deal. However, if you have a high performance vehicle or a sports car, you may get a lot more money by selling the vehicle yourself. For instance, you could visit In Sixth Gear (ISG) to pick up some new parts and then give your vehicle a new paint job – who knows, it could be worth a lot more than you think.
Another big pro, however, of trading in your vehicle is that you won’t have to come out of pocket on a new vehicle. When you trade in, you can effectively pick up a new car at around the same value as your old vehicle. That’s a brand new vehicle with a whisper quiet engine and that new car smell that we all love so much. It is true, there is nothing quite like new, but if you sell your car yourself, it could make purchasing a brand new car unrealistic, because of all the out of pocket costs.
Lastly, if you trade in your vehicle, you may limit your options. Indeed, one of the biggest cons of trading in your vehicle is that you will usually end up with the same brand of car as you had before – or something within the brand’s line of vehicles. If you want to go with a whole new type of car, perhaps trading in is not your best option. However, if you believe in brand loyalty, trading in might be the perfect option for you.