An Inside Look on How a Dealership Appraises a Trade-In

The main benefit of trading in your car at a dealership is you can deduct the trade-in value on your new purchase, plus the added tax savings for the value of your old vehicle. These are the steps we as a dealership take to make sure you get the right value for your trade: 

Step 1: Start with an online appraisal

The best place to start is getting an online appraisal—it only takes a few minutes. It will give you a general idea of what your trade may be worth. To start your online appraisal go to: https://www.liacars.com/my-appraise-trade-in.html. To get the most accurate value on the online form, you will need your current mileage, make, model and trim.

Step 2: Prepare Your Vehicle For Trade to Make it Worth More

Clean is king—make your vehicle as close to retail condition as possible. Other important factors in increasing your trade-in value are tire condition, and ensuring that no service or maintenance lights are on.

Step 3: Get an In Person Trade Appraisal From a Dealership

 A dealership takes many factors into consideration when appraising a car such as condition, wear and tear, market value, market days supply (how long it takes to sell at local dealerships in the area), trim level, car color, etc. 

 Trim level and special editions can sometimes persuade a dealer to give a higher-than-average appraisal based on dealership success in reselling those particular cars. It is important to note that the best way to ensure you are getting top dollar for your trade is to stick with the brand (or a dealer group that has this brand at another location) of the dealership you are trading in your car at.

 The first step in an in person car appraisal is to take in a general condition of your car. Then, we scan your VIN number into a pricing system to give the most accurate and up-to-date data on the current market value. At Lia Auto Group, the program we use to determine this is called vAuto, which updates values on an hourly basis. 

 vAuto also takes into account market day supply of your car (this takes data from the local dealerships to determine the average amount of time it takes to sell your car). vAuto also calculates multiple book values, such as JD Power Book Value, KBB Value, Galves, etc. In addition, it will also give auction values for your vehicle, this is particularly important to dealerships who are appraising cars of an off brand (i.e a Toyota dealership appraising a Chevy).  

 Next, we will look at the CarFax or AutoCheck reports to determine a vehicle’s history and level of damage. Any prior accidents, although unfortunate, will decrease the value of your trade. CarFax and AutoCheck will not only provide accident history, but also service vehicle history. Your trade value will typically be worth more if you have had regular serviced routine maintenance. 

What’s the difference between an Online Appraisal and an In Person Appraisal?

 Online appraisals are a great tool to gauge a general idea of the trade-in value. In most cases, it is fairly accurate depending on the overall condition of the vehicle. An in-dealership appraisal is an official offer that is good for a short period of time due to quickly changing market conditions. It is important to note new vehicles that are pre-ordered with a trade-in appraisal are subject to reappraisal at the time of trade in. This is not always a decrease; it can sometimes be a benefit to increase your trade value at the time of purchase. 

 How do larger dealer groups increase my trade value?

 The benefit of trading your car in at a large dealer group is they often have a variety of brands in their group. Dealer groups that have the same brand of your trade in can often offer you more because these cars match the high demand of their sister dealerships. For example, if you are trading a Toyota in at Lia Nissan, if they do not have good luck selling that car, they can move it to Lia Toyota; this potentially means they can give you more for your trade. 

 At Lia we make sure you get top dollar for your trade regardless of brand. Our network allows us to efficiently resell and get you the most from your car. 

 If you have any questions or need any assistance, reach out to any of our dealerships and they will gladly assist you.

Tags: appraisal, sales, trade, trade-in, used, value
Posted in 2022, Special Programs, Tips, Vehicle Maintenance | Comments Off on An Inside Look on How a Dealership Appraises a Trade-In