Trade-in Question
 

So I've been mildly considering trading my car in. I've kind of lost interest in it, and would consider something comfier like an LS400 or something along those lines.

My question is if my car/loan is somewhere valued around 20k, and I want to trade it in for something like an LS400 around 10k.. What happens with that filler? Is this something people even do...

I mean if not, maybe I'll sell it or something..

:scared0016:

In most cases I think the dealer would write you a check for the difference. It does depend on how much you actually owe on the car, you mentioned you have a loan so that should also be taken into consideration.

If the loan amount is greater then the value of the car then you are "underwater" and some dealers will let you roll that excess amount into your next car loan, although it typically is harder to get approved for these types of loans.

If it is less then the amount of the value of the car it depends on how much. If it is less then the 10k you hope to spend on your next vehicle, it will simply credit towards that, if greater than the dealer will write you a check for the difference.

It's a fairly common thing. If you fully own the car they'll write you a check for the difference.

If you have a loan on the car that obviously needs to be paid with the money from it then you can either take out another for the new vehicle or pay with cash.

I'm really unsure what you mean by "my car/loan is somewhere valued around 20k".

the first post answered my questions.

I meant to say I owe 16k, and I'd assume my car valued around 18-20k, not sure about for trade in, but yes.

thanks for the answers to my questions, they've been very helpful.

I would wait one more year. Depending on mileage your barely gonna break even. If you do want to do this sell it via private seller

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I sold mine to Carmax for $21K. No i didn't do a trade in & buy a carmax vehicle. I went in, got it appraised for $21K which is way more than I expected, went back a couple days later to turn it in and do some paperwork & got paid.If you wait a year I would expect the value to depreciate a lot more. It'll be a year older, more miles, new models will be out etc...

Unfortunately, there isn't a Carmax in the Seattle area.. Not sure if there is anything equivalent to it. That would be very convenient though.