10 tips on selling vs trading your car

Putting a shiny new car in your driveway or garage is crazy exciting. The new features to play with, the new-car smell, and the jealous looks from friends and strangers—it's all good!
But making a bad financial decision with your old car can put a serious damper on those positive feelings. Did you get ripped off on the trade-in price? Should you have taken more time trying to sell it yourself?
Learn more about how to sell a used car.
The question of what to do with your current vehicle is something that can keep you up at night before, during, and well after you get your new car. You could get a great deal on your new car and lose all the savings—or worse—by making the wrong decision on your old one.
You typically get the most money by selling your car yourself. But trading it in to a dealership is such a low-hassle option that many people think it’s worthwhile even if they don’t get the big bucks. Here's a look at some pros and cons of each approach.

Trading in	Selling it yourself
It’s an easy way to dispose of your current car. Just turn it over to the dealership, walk away, never look back.	This requires considerable effort, including placing ads, taking phone calls, dealing with strangers, and giving test-drives.
You will get less money than you would selling it yourself. At best, you can hope to get the vehicle’s wholesale value.	You could reap hundreds, maybe thousands of dollars more.
You can use the trade-in amount as down payment on the new car.	You might not be able to sell your current car until after you buy your new car. If so, you won’t be able to use the money as a down payment. If the old car isn’t paid off, you could have an overlap of car payments until you sell it.
To get the best price, you will probably have to haggle with an experienced saleswoman over the trade-in value.	You will have to negotiate with a buyer, but most usually aren’t as experienced at haggling as a professional car salesman.
There’s a tax advantage. Most states charge sales tax only on the difference between the trade-in value and the new-car price.	You will probably have to pay more sales tax on the new car, but if you get more money for the old car by selling it yourself, you could still come out ahead.