I have a car that I am financing right now and I want to trade it in for another car at a dealer. do I first have to pay off the car and get the title from the bank before I can trade it in?

 

Yes, you can trade in a financed car. You will definitely lose some money though. Always best to sell private.

 

The dealership can do all that for you. We have people do it all the time here at Honda.

say you owe 15k on you car. dealer gives you 14k for it. they pay off the car for you and you'll pay the difference on your new loan so the new car you're buying for 32k you'll get a loan for 33k.

or if you owe 15k and you car's worth 20k, you can either get a check back or use it for 5k down on your new car. either way the dealer can do everything for ya.

 

wait..they would just buy my car even if I don't buy a car from them???
if that's the case I wouldn't have to go all the way to carmax to sell my car

 

Yes, you can take your car anywhere and trade it in. However you have to be aware of the value of the car VS how many months left you have on your lease, the condition of the car and many other factors.

 

Not always. In some states you get a tax break on traded in cars. For example if you trade in a car and get 15k for it, they take that 15k subtract the cost of the new car and tax you on the remainder (instead of taxing you on the full price of the new car).

For me, even though my trade in value was less than private sale, the tax break I received on the new car made it the better way to go. Plus, I'd let go up to $1k just to not deal with the hassle of selling a car on my own (way too many psycho's out there).

 

exactly right on

 

yes you should be able to just sell it to them even if you're not buying a car from them. that's what i did with my element when i got the S cuz i bought private party and couldn't sell my car.

just if you owe more than they offer, you need to pay the difference to them. if they offer more than you owe, they'll cut you a check. Just know they'll probably offer you 2-3 grand less then you could get if you sold it privately because they have to put it through their shop and make it a profitable investment for themselves.

Good Luck!

 

I just sold a 2007 Civic SI sedan w (36,000 miles) for 15,500 to a dealer. Bought a different car from another dealer.