Tips for buyers and sellers to see how much a used vehicle is worth.

Planning to buy or sell a used car? Make sure you get a good price with these tips.

Understand trade-in value vs. private party value

Market value is what an actual buyer is willing to pay and who that buyer is. A vehicle’s value is higher for private parties than it is for car dealers. This is why online valuation services provide both a private party value and a trade-in value.

Know the factors that affect car resale value

The primary factors that affect a car’s value are make, model, age, mileage and condition. Additionally, accident history, flood or hail damage, smoking in the vehicle, and aftermarket modifications, your location and color can affect resale value

Find out the value of a specific car

Online services like Edmunds, Kelley Blue Book, Autotrader, and JD Power make it easy to see a fair market value range for any vehicle. These services make valuations based on an abundance of data, including dealer transactions, depreciation, the vehicle’s trim and other features.

CARFAX provides an estimate of what a vehicle is worth as well as a report on if the vehicle has been in accidents, the number of owners and service history records from shops who report to the system. Many dealer service departments report to CARFAX, but many independent shops don’t.

You can also gauge a car’s value by requesting an offer from an instant-cash buyer like Carvana and CarMax.

If you’re selling a car, maximize the value by detailing the car inside and out. Also, if you have maintenance records, be prepared to share these with prospective buyers to show that the car has been well maintained.

Next steps in selling or buying a used car

After you determine your car’s resale value, check out this article on how to sell a car.

When you’re ready to buy a new or used car, talk to us about an auto loan with competitive rates and terms.

 

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