Things you should know when preparing your car to trade

Kia Country of Charleston makes it easy to trade in an existing vehicle, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a little work you should put in first. There are a few key things you should know to take care of before bringing your car in to the dealership to trade.

Fully clean the interior and exterior

Bringing your car to the dealership in clean condition does a lot to show that you care about your car, and thus believe it holds value. So put a generous effort into spot-cleaning your vehicle, inside and out. As with most things we’ll discuss here, the more you show that you value your car, the better it will look as you trade it in.

Check for small, repairable issues

These mostly include issues that you can handle yourself for cheap or free. Don’t sweat certain dings or bumps that will end up costing you more in repairs than the dealer will take off your trade price. It is expected that a vehicle, especially one with high mileage will have accrued some wear over the years.

Gather up important documents

Make sure to bring all sets of your car’s keys, the owner’s manual, your driver’s license, proof of auto insurance, and the vehicle’s original title and registration. The list of important documents includes maintenance and repair records from throughout your time owning the car. If you have an outstanding loan, you’ll need to have that information as well.

On a similar note, you should clear out any personal information stored on your car’s system. With modern cars, you may have paired your cell phone or other devices, which can leave sensitive personal information stored in the car’s technology system. It’s always safe to clear out or factory reset systems like this when selling any kind of technology.

Track down the extras you may have set aside

If you’ve upgraded the interior of your car over the years, or have set things aside, you should gather these up before taking it to trade. 

If you’ve swapped out the floor mats for upgraded designs, be sure to remove your upgrades and reinstall the originals.
On the other end of this, don’t forget to take out your small personal items. Things like garage door openers, cell phone mounts, and anything in your glove compartments. The dealership won’t keep or steal these things from you, but it saves everyone time and effort during the trade-in if personal belongings are already removed.

The sooner the better

Depreciation can affect the value of your car much quicker than you might expect. So while it may be tempting to hold on to your vehicle while you shop around for the best price, this can slowly deteriorate the amount you’ll get.