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...