Maximising the value of your trade-in

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With the state of car sales looking sorry for some dealers at present, I can tell you for a fact that they are being advised to scrutinise part exchanges more than ever, with things like cracked windscreens devaluing cars by as much as £300 at auctions and alloy wheel damage by £50 to £150 per wheel. Also a typical car that’s 3 years old with no documented service history, missing log books or very little MOT could mean a dealer down valuing the car by as much as £1500.

In this tough market getting as much for your current car as a trade in price is of paramount importance and some simple steps can help you maximise the value for a relatively small outlay.

For example when a salesperson or indeed any motor trade professional looks at a car it is all about perception and initial impression, what you must understand is that these people spend all day and everyday looking at cars, and their most important job is obviously to try and sell you one of theirs. So pay to have your car valeted, ensure that any relevant paperwork i.e. Service book, invoices for any work carried out, current v5 and MOT’s are all available preferably in a wallet. The first impression a salesperson will get is of a customer who has looked after his car and as he doesn’t need to hunt around for documentation, his job of valuing your car becomes easier and consequently he will not look so critically at your car and offer you a better price.

Alternatively, if you turn up in a scruffy dirty car with documents missing he will be all over it like a rash and will have good cause to give you much less in part exchange, for the sake of a £50 valet and spruce up and maybe some new tyres (budget) you could gain hundreds of pounds extra by taking a little more care when presenting your car to the dealer.

After all hopefully all his cars will be beautifully prepared and presented to a standard which means he hopes to justify the price he will charge, you are only responding with standards of your own!