Estimate your vehicle's trade-in amount.
The best way to calculate a car's trade-in value is to use an Internet-based appraisal guide to start your research. Appraisal guides do not take current market conditions or new car prices into consideration. For example, your two-year old car is not worth $10,000 for a trade-in amount if a brand-new one offers $3,000 in rebates and costs only $12,000 for purchase. Or, when gas prices are up, SUV sales decline. The NADA Guide is widely used by dealers to figure trade-in and dealership retail values.
Choose the make of your car, the year, model and trim level from the proceeding pages.2. Enter your exact odometer figure--check the car if you need to.
Instructions
1. Go to the NADA Guides website to start your appraisal. Click on "Start Here" from the main page and enter your ZIP code in the space provided in the pop-up box.Review the optional equipment and select any that are in your vehicle. Boxes that remain unchecked on the page signify that the features were optional, while prechecked boxes signify standard features for the model you chose.
3. Choose the right trade-in condition from the menu. The "Average Trade-In" value should provide you with a fair estimate. Your trade offer should be right around the price you see. If it is significantly off from the NADA value, ask why--you may want to wait to trade your vehicle to a dealer or try to sell it on your own.
