Find out the fair value of your car
Tuesday, February 8th, 2022The sale of any vehicle should start by getting a reasonable estimate of its value. Kelly Blue Book or Edmunds are two trusted sources for car valuations. In fact, you should get estimates from both sites.
Enter as cash net pay day loan much detail as you can about the car in order to get the most accurate value. You should focus on “private party,” since this is the sales route that you will be taking. They also provide “trade-in,” in case you want to go down that path, and “dealer retail,” which wont apply since you aren’t an auto dealer.
An accurate estimate of the value will be very important in pricing the car, particularly if there is a loan on the vehicle.
Get your loan payoff balance
Contact the lender who holds your car loan, and ask for the payoff balance. (Note: This will be slightly different than the balance on your last statement, as interest accrues daily.) Then compare the loan balance to the estimated value of the car. That will tell you whether the car has sufficient value to pay off the loan, and allow you to walk away with some cash, or if you will need to write a check upon the sale of the car in order to pay off the loan.
This is an important step if you determine that the likely sale price of the car will not be sufficient to pay off the loan and/or provide you with enough cash for a down payment on the next car you want to buy, you will have to come up with that cash or you won’t be able to sell the car. But you want to know that before accepting an offer from a buyer.
Naturally, the fact that you have a loan on the car will be a complication. Even if there is sufficient value in the vehicle to make the sale worth it, it’ll be harder than it would be otherwise because the lender holds the actual title to the vehicle. (more…)