When is the Best Time to Sell My Car?

Sand Mountain Toyota

Best Time to Sell Your Car in Albertville, AL

If you’ve been thinking that you’d like to part ways with your current car, truck, SUV or hybrid, the team at Sand Mountain Toyota can help. Many customers come to us with questions, including if there’s a good or bad time to sell their model. It’s a valid question! If the market is saturated with cars, you won’t always get the best price, and there are certainly other factors based on the individual or the market that will change our answer. To clear the confusion, our team has collected a few indicators that you can use to help you know when it’s a good time to sell your vehicle. You may be surprised at how many already apply to you! After all, today’s market has seen fairly high values for used cars. Consider these factors below:

When is the Best Time to Sell My Car?

1. Before You Need to

It’s a good idea to sell your model before it becomes necessary. Why? Not only will you be rushed during the process, making you prone to careless mistakes on the paperwork or title change, but you’ll be forced to compromise during negotiation. Don’t cost yourself more money with document revisions or hasty decisions. Sell your vehicle before its lowering depreciation forces you to.

2. Before a New Model Year Starts

The newest lineup always promises an exciting release, but when 2023 Toyota models begin to drop, so does the value of 2022 Toyota models. It’s normal, but in order to get the most out of your current vehicle, sell it before the new year rolls around. It doesn’t matter the model year or mileage, you can be sure that you’ll get more for your model.

3. Before Significant Mileages Hit

What do we mean by significant mileages? Yes, regular service intervals do count, but we’re mostly talking about those 100,000, 150,000 and 200,000 mileage markers on a vehicle. Everyone would say that there’s not much of a difference between a car with 149,950 miles and the same model year, make and model with 150,125 miles, but buyers will still consider the car with over 150,000 miles less valuable.

4. Before Your Next Major Service Interval

We’re not talking about the small stuff, like oil changes, wiper blades or tire rotations. Major service intervals will include a list of services that may include extensive maintenance. While keeping up with regular service intervals is always recommended, you won’t always get what you paid for in service repairs when you sell. Consider selling your model before its next major service interval to save a little extra money.

5. When Repairs Costs are Killing Your Budget

Startling repair costs are especially frequent if you drive an older model. You may want to sell your car and upgrade to a newer model! Enjoy your new car’s warranty and best years of its life instead of repair costs that are basically a monthly payment already. Stop the financial bleed — consider upgrading to a new car.

6. When You’re Not Upside Down

Don’t wait until you owe more than what your car is worth, or when you’re upside down on your auto loan. It’s not the best place to be when it comes to negotiation, and you’ll still have to pay the difference to your lender. But good news! The price of used cars has been rising, so the value of your model may have increased this past year. Receive an estimate of what your car is worth when you use KBB® or Edmunds.com.

7. When You’re in Danger of Defaulting on Your Car Loan

Sell immediately! With your credit score at risk, sell your car to avoid defaulting on your auto loan. It will make your next auto loan extremely difficult to get from another lender close to a decade, and it’ll be expensive. Don’t default — sell your car today!

SALE

If you have any questions about your model specifically, contact us online or give us a call! Sand Mountain Toyota is located at 9167 US Highway 431, Albertville, AL 35950, serving the automotive needs of our neighbors from Boaz, Guntersville, Scottsboro, Rainbow City and Gadsden. We can’t wait to help you drive away with an exceptional cash offer!

*For more information, please visit this article from the U.S. News and World Report.