What Should I Repair Before Trading In My Car

So y'all're gear up to buy a new vehicle. Bold you lot take a car now, you're probably wondering whether trading it in is a viable option. Fifty-fifty if yous have an older vehicle, you lot tin take advantage of your used car to chip abroad at the cost of your new car, resulting in a lower car loan or downwards payment and potential tax savings.

The improve the condition of your old car, the better its private party sale and merchandise-in values, obviously. Nosotros can all easily imagine that a make-new-looking automobile free of engine problems is going to fetch a higher toll than an older automobile, a non-running car, or a damaged car. What's not obvious is how much work you should put in to your older car before bringing it to the dealership for a merchandise-in valuation. Major repair piece of work is best left to the pros—they can do the work for less money, and they won't add the toll you paid for repairs to the trade-in value. Small fixes, however, are worth the attempt.

Wash and Detail Your Car

Equally a basic rule of thumb, making a adept first impression at the machine dealership means thoroughly cleaning your vehicle, both the interior and the exterior. No corporeality of cosmetic improvements can hide a blown engine, of form, but buyers desire to know that your car has had proper upkeep. It volition be hard to convince a dealer (or whatever potential car buyer) that your trade in has had regular oil changes and is worth good money if information technology looks like a junk machine.

Beginning, hand wash and wax the exterior. You can pay a professional person or do it yourself. If you're taking the launder into your ain hands, make sure to utilise an actual car-wash product and not dish soap, laundry lather, or any other household cleaners. It's also all-time to use a specific car-wash sponge, microfiber textile, or lamb'due south wool washing manus, and be sure to regularly re-moisture that sponge, towel, or mitt in your bucket of automobile-wash suds as you clean each section of the vehicle.

Waxing your car after it'southward washed will add an highly-seasoned shine. The newer synthetic, polymer-based waxes are easier to use than carnauba-based waxes, but either will work as long y'all apply it with a cream applicator pad using tight, circular strokes. Once you've covered the entire car, remove the excess wax with a make clean microfiber towel.

Climb inside and become rid of those empty fast-nutrient bags and discarded mucilage wrappers. Then, clear out any personal items or papers that may take accumulated over the years. The only paperwork you lot should have in the vehicle is an organized pile of maintenance records stored neatly in the glove box.

Finally, take your machine to a professional detailer, or, if you desire to relieve a few bucks, you can detail the interior yourself—shampoo the carpets, make clean the drinking glass inside and out, apply ionizers and neutralizers to eliminate any foul odors, and become inside the door jambs. Employ a toothbrush to extract those stubborn crumbs and a screwdriver to reach the difficult nooks and crannies.

Supercede Headlamps and Clean Foggy Headlights

Check all your lights, inside and out, and supercede any bulbs that accept gone out. Bulbs are inexpensive and easy to find at any auto parts shop.

Foggy headlights are also fairly piece of cake to prepare, and clean lenses will give your car a fresh expect. You can pay to have the headlights buffed out, but you tin exercise it yourself by rubbing toothpaste (yes, toothpaste—the whitening kind works especially well) on the lens cover with a rag and an extra helping of elbow grease, rinsing it off with water, and then letting it dry.

Change or Refill Fluids

Bank check (and top upwards, if necessary) the oil, radiator, brake fluid, transmission fluid and windshield-washer reservoir. Sure, the automobile dealer can easily fill and supervene upon the fluids, merely if your oil is low or you've run out of windshield-washer fluid, the dealer may wonder whether you've properly maintained your car, which could consequence in a lower trade-in value.

Accept Expert Care of Your Windshield

In addition to filling the washer fluid, you lot should also make certain your wiper blades are in skillful status. If not—if they're dried out or cracked—buy a new pair of inexpensive wipers. You can install them yourself, only if y'all're not sure how, the motorcar parts store where you purchased the wipers volition normally install them for yous at no toll.

If at that place'south a crack in your windshield, don't ignore it. Your insurance visitor may replace the windshield for free, but even if it'south non covered by insurance, replacing the windshield should not be too expensive and, again, it will give the impression that your car has been well maintained when you gyre upward to the car lot.

Use Touch-Up Pigment on Scratches and Dings

If your paint job is dinged, purchase the matching touch-upward pigment and color in those scratches. You tin find pocket-size bottles of affect-upward paint at dealerships or online for less than $20, well worth information technology for the improvement to your automobile's value. We have more information nearly fixing paint scratches and dings in our guide to Piece of cake DIY Car Maintenance Jobs Anyone Tin can Manage.

The Bottom Line

Don't waste your money on significant repairs before trading in your vehicle. The dealership you will be negotiating with is in the business of fixing cars for resale, so get out the heavy lifting for them. Bigger-ticket items like mechanical problems, air workout issues, or new tires oft aren't worth the hassle or the cost of repairs, just taking the fourth dimension to make clean inside and out, replace some bulbs, and refill some fluids will help you lot get the most competitive offer when you trade in a car.

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Updated on: February thirteen, 2022