Getting the most money for your trade in

or "How to lose hundreds of dollars on my trade in because I'm too lazy to sell it myself"

Most car dealers will promise you "top dollar" for your trade in. Trust me on this one...you will never, ever get the best deal on your trade-in by giving it to the car dealer. Most people know this already, but they don't realize just how much money they throw away because it's so convenient to sell it to the dealer.

Take a look at this Sienna in the picture above. This van was traded in at a new car dealership and sold to a wholesaler. Judging by the condition of the van, the previous owner was probably thrilled to have the new car dealer "take it off his hands".

Without touching this vehicle, the new car dealer sold it to a wholesaler. The wholesaler then brought the vehicle to my detail shop to be reconditioned.

Now this is where it gets interesting!

We gave this vehicle a complete interior and exterior face lift. We painted the faded bumpers and side mouldings. We also brought the faded blue paint back to a brilliant shine. On the interior, we removed the two rear bench seats and scrubbed the carpet and upholstery. The carpet was loaded with dog hair and chewing gum and God knows what else. The last step was to use our hot water extractor to remove all the grease , dirt, and soap residue. After the carpet dried, we called in the mobile interior guy. He dyed the faded section of the carpet, which left the interior looking "brand new".

The final job to be done was getting the mobile dent guy to stop by. These guys can remove all dings and very minor dents along the side of the car. When he was done the car looked like it was in "mint condition". Later in the day, the tow truck came and took this vehicle to the auction. The car was purchased at the auction by a used car dealer who will sell the car on his used car lot. I'll bet if the original owner was to see this car on the used car lot, he'd have no idea that it was originally his van.

Now, I have no idea how much money the original owner was paid for this van. But I do know this:

• the new car dealer
• the wholesaler
• the detailer
• the interior guy
• the dent guy
• the tow truck company
• the auction (they charge a fee)
• the used car dealer

all made a profit on this Sienna. Doesn't it stand to reason that if the first owner brought his van to my shop and then sold it himself that he would have greatly increased the money he received for it? Click here to sell your car online at eBay!  

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