- This step may be the most important. A vehicle that appears to have been very well cared for will often get top dollar. Take your trade-in to a professional detail shop before bringing it to the dealership for appraisal. Make sure the shop strips the interior down, steam cleans or pressure washes all the upholstery and details the interior trim panels. A professional detail job will often remove stains as well as any odors in your vehicle. It is also recommended to have the shop fully detail the exterior of the car as well, including buffing out any scratches and waxing the finish.
- Dealers rarely see vehicles traded in with maintenance records. Even if you don't have every service record available, it is still a good idea to compile what you do have and ensure the appraiser sees them. When dealers see service records, they know they can often ask more for the vehicle when it is on their lot. Use this as a negotiation tool to help you get the most for your trade-in.
- It is a bad idea to trade in a vehicle with mechanical or other problems. Dealers usually deduct much more from the base trade-in price than the repair will cost. Many do this because they have been burned in the past when customers told them what a repair would cost, and it ended up costing twice that. Obviously this method must be used with discretion. It is probably not worth spending $1,000 to fix a vehicle if it is not worth much more than that anyway.
- Personnel at car dealerships often sum customers up by how they look or how they are dressed. Make car buying a formal occasion. Don't show up to the dealership wearing the shirt you painted the kitchen in last week. In general, it is best to dress business casual. Salespeople and appraisers may judge your appearance and assume your vehicle hasn't been well-cared for if you don't look presentable.
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