Should You Sell Your Toyota or Trade it in at a Dealership?

So, you want to get a new car, but you need to sell your current Toyota in order to afford your new vehicle. What’s the best way of doing that? You have three main options: sell your Toyota privately, sell it to an online retailer, like Carvana, or trade it in at a local dealership. But what are the pros and cons of each option? And how do you know which option is best for you?

Don’t worry, we’ll sort out all of those things below to help you understand your options and select the right one for your situation.

Pros & Cons of Selling/Trade-In Options

Selling Privately

Selling privately (particularly over websites like Craigslist) can be a good option if you want to cut out the middleman. In this scenario, you list your vehicle online and/or in local publications, and potential buyers reach out to you directly. You could also sell the car to a friend, neighbor, or relative, if you know someone who’s looking to purchase a used car.

One benefit of selling your Toyota privately is that you get to set the price yourself. You can negotiate directly with the buyer, which can feel easier than negotiating with the dealership staff or an online trade-in company. The biggest benefit of this option is that you pocket all the money yourself.

While those benefits make selling your car privately sound like a really easy option, it does have some major downsides. For starters, you need to do quite a bit of research to understand how to price your car correctly. And if you sell it to a stranger, you need to be on your guard to make sure you stay safe during the process. Also, the buyer could reach out to you directly if the car develops any problems after they purchase it, which isn’t fun.

Overall, of the three options, this one requires the most personal responsibility from you. Is that something you’re comfortable with? If not, read on to learn about the two other options.

Selling to an Online Dealer

Selling to an online dealer like Carvana is the opposite of selling your car privately. When you go to one of these dealers, they set the price, and you have nearly no ability to negotiate because they have policies in place limiting haggling over vehicle prices.

While that may seem like a major downside, it has its benefits if you don’t want to deal with all the responsibility of selling privately and you don’t want to contact multiple local dealerships. If you contact Carvana or a similar online dealership and accept their offer, they’ll have someone pick up your car, and then it will be off your hands. You don’t have to worry about meeting up with a buyer or pricing your vehicle correctly. Ultimately, this option requires the least amount of responsibility from you.

Trading in with a Local Dealership

When you trade in your car with a dealership in your area, you’re choosing the middle option in terms of personal responsibility. Similar to when you sell your car privately, you will need to do some research into your car’s worth. However, since you’re not pricing it yourself, you need to know your vehicle’s estimated worth so you can judge it against dealership offers. In this case, you can use instant car appraisal calculators on sites like Kelley Blue Book or by using trade-in calculators (powered by KBB) on your local dealerships’ websites.

The one element of the trade-in process that could be considered a downside is that you need to call multiple dealerships for quotes, which can feel a bit time-consuming. However, getting multiple trade-in quotes is ultimately a benefit because this process allows you to compare the quotes to your online estimates, so you can make an informed decision.

From there, you have room to negotiate with the dealership that you choose. Overall, this option combines the best of the two other options so you can negotiate a good value for your Toyota without taking on too much responsibility.

Complete Your Vehicle Trade-In Deal in Kansas City

If you read through all the pros and cons of each option above and decided you want to trade in your car, you’re in luck. You can bring your car to Molle Toyota, and we’ll give you a great offer. Then your car will become part of our pre-owned inventory, and you can purchase one of our new vehicles if you choose. Reach out to us online or at (816) 678-0593 when you’re ready to start the trade-in process!