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Is it Better to Trade in an Old Car, or Donate it to Charity?

By: Pam Neely

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If you don't want to donate your car because the tax deduction just isn't worth it, consider trading your old car in for a new car instead. This can make a lot of sense if you'd only get a tax deduction worth $500 for donating your car, but you could get $2000 towards a new car if you traded it in.

The only ones who benefit in this scenario are you and the dealership, but if you have an extra $1500 to play with you could give the charity the five hundred dollars and still come out ahead on your car purchase.

Trade in Tips

1. First thing, go to the car wash! Clean your car inside and out very well. In fact, you may want to have it professionally detailed.

2. Know the value of your car - both the N.A.D.A or the blue book quote. See what similar cars are being offered for in your area. Go to the big car sales websites and find comparable cars near you. Print out their descriptions and what their owners are asking for the cars. Do the same with the newspaper. Bring this documentation with you to the car dealership. If you really want to be thorough, call a few of the people who are selling or have recently sold cars like yours and see what they got for their vehicle.

3. Shop around. Different car dealerships will offer you different trade in values for your old used car. This could be a sticking point if there's only one dealership in town that has a car you want. Even if that is the case, check out other dealerships and see what they'll give you for your car. This information could be a great negotiating tool when you go back to the saleman who has your dream car all polished up and waiting in his lot. If you're not going to donate your car, you should at least get your money's worth for it.

4. Savvy- For some people it is helpful to bring along a streetwise friend to help them keep perspective when the sales pitch comes. You do not want to fall for the typical sales tactics like the car you want is already spoken for or the offer to include free undercoating. These are high pressure and underhanded sales methods.

5. Repairs- Car dealerships are prone to overestimating the cost of repairs that your trade in might require. It is probably a good idea to spend a little money having a mechanic thoroughly inspect your vehicle. They can tell you what if anything should be repaired and give you an estimate. You do not want to be in the middle of negotiations and have to guesstimate the potential repairs. Moreover, if you are going to do anything to the car before you trade it be sure they are visible changes. These repairs and upgrades will get you more cash than hidden ones.

6. Secret Code- Do your homework and learn the code that car dealerships do not want you to know. This makes it possible for them to show you information while still easily seeing their profits in a glance. Among the long line of numbers, you may see the letters ACV; this denotes the actual cash value of your car. You can now compare that number to the offer on the table.

The code is not so difficult to crack. Numbers are replaced with letters of the alphabet. Generally it will be the first 10 letters, for example A=1, B=2 and C=3 all the way to J which equals 0. That means if you see something like BJJJ on the appraisal it translates to $2,000 in actual cash value for your vehicle.

Dealers do not hide this shorthand, in fact, they usually keep it in plain sight and once you know how to read it, you have the upper hand.

7.Odometer Reading- If you are thinking about trading your car you should do it before the odometer rolls over the next 10,000 mile increment. For example, 139,000 is better mileage than 140,000.

Article Source: http://depositarticles.com/

Pam Neely writes about donating a car to charity for www.DonateaCarToday.com.

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