If you want to get the most money for your trade, don't trade it!

Sell it!

Now, in order to sell it you'll have to do things like run a classified ad, field phone calls and have strangers come to your house so that you can go on test drives with them. Then of course, negotiate!

You'll also have to keep your vehicle spotless so that it makes a good first impression.

If you don't feel comfortable doing these things then trade your vehicle in to a dealer and forget it right here and now!

Of course, if you do, you'll be giving up perhaps $2,000 or more!

1) Get your vehicle professionally detailed.

It will cost you $75 to $100. Believe me, this will make your vehicle really stand out from the crowd. Then all you have to do is try to keep it looking good until you sell it!

2) Write a simple classified ad emphasizing all the strong points of the vehicle. Don't lie, but don't go out of you way to point out what you may think are weak points either. The person considering your vehicle may not see them as weak points at all!

Put a price in the ad, and a phone number. Don't put your address in the ad unless you want people popping in on you unexpectedly all hours of the day and night.

If you're at all concerned about being alone when someone comes to look at your vehicle, set up appointments when a friend or family member can be there with you.

Use your head, and put safety first.

A sample ad could read something like this:

"1996 Ford Thunderbird LX.  Exceptionally clean and very well cared for.  Fully equipped including sun roof! Only 39000 miles.  $10,000.  For more information Call 123-4567."

Emphasize any unusual good points and let people know how clean your vehicle is. Keep it simple and positive.

3)  Go to: Yahoo! Autos and look up the retail value of your vehicle. Now understand that this price is not carved in stone, and is probably high. You'll have to use your own judgment on how much to settle for, but it will be far more than a dealer will give you.

You can also check trade-in values, but these figures will be higher than actual wholesale which is what the dealer will give you.

4) If you owe money on your vehicle don't use your payoff as a selling price. It probably has no bearing on what your vehicle is actually worth.

5) The only place where this could get complicated is if you owe more on your vehicle than you could ever hope to get for it.

You should arrange financing for your new vehicle in advance, and tell your lender what you are doing, and that you may have a certain amount left over from your previous loan that you need to carry on the new loan.

Dealers do this all the time when you trade your vehicle in and you are "upside down" in your loan. Whatever is left over on your loan after the trade-in allowance, gets tacked on to your new loan.

For some great tips on this and for some excellent sources of low rate financing go to Car Financing Tips.

6) One last thing . . . before you show your vehicle to anyone make sure all the fluids are at their proper levels, especially the oil. In fact, have your oil changed just before you sell your vehicle so that the oil is nice and clean.

People will look at the oil, rub it between their fingers, smell it and even taste it!

I can recall on two different occasions when I was attempting to sell used vehicles that the prospective buyers actually tasted the oil! They were both women who apparently knew a lot more about oil then I did! So change your oil! You want it to taste "good and clean!"

7) When you sell your vehicle you'll have to take your customer to your bank if you have an outstanding loan on the vehicle.

Let the buyer pay the bank the balance of your loan so you can get the title to sign over to them. If you're lucky enough to have any money left over after the payoff is taken care of get it from the buyer, and put it towards your new vehicle.

Remember, by selling your vehicle instead of trading it, YOU WILL get much more money for it. Will it be as easy as trading it in? No! And if you don't want to deal with the extra trouble involved then trade it and don't feel guilty about it! Good luck!