Trading in two cars

Claude Burgundy

Hi all,

Just wondering will most or any dealers take two cars as a trade in to buy one?

We are looking to change our two cars for one newer and to buy a cheap van for cash.

Aint Eazy Being Cheezy

All depends on what cars you're trading in, whether they agree or not. If they're desirable models, in good nick, then possibly. Either way, you'll get a poorer deal than if you just sold them privately yourself because a dealer has to either pass them to another dealer as a trade sale cheaply, or sell them with a warranty plus his profit.

colm_mcm

As above really.
The way it usually works is that the car you're buying has a certain amount of discount built into the asking price. Say it's advertised for €15k, and if you are buying straight and push the dealer, they might sell it for €13.5k.
You have car A and B to trade in. For arguments sake they could be sold on to the trade for €5k each.
Trade either of these in and you could buy the new car for €15k minus €6.5k, or in real terms €13.5k minus €5k.
Introduce both cars into the equation and you're talking €13.5k minus €5k minus €5k.

Often the cheapest way to go about it is buy the new car for €13.5k, then sell the two cars privately for anything over €5k each. This means you have to go through the work of selling both cars, and by the time you do that, the car you're after could be gone.