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Key to Trade-In Values: Early and Accurate

Thu, Mar 11, 2021

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The trade-in process continues to be a point of dissatisfaction for new and used car buyers. Luckily, we already know that you can win more trades and create more satisfied customers by adjusting how you present your complete trade-in offer. Now, there is an opportunity to improve the process even further: finding the best time to provide an estimated trade-in value.

When do buyers want to get an estimated trade-in value?

We asked new and used car buyers at what point during the car shopping process they would like to receive a trade-in value and 70% told us they want to get a value before they visit the dealership. Half of those customers want their trade-in value before they even decide if it’s time to buy. Vehicle buyers also don’t see a difference between getting a trade-in estimate and getting a precise value. This means that your customers not only want to receive values early, they also expect them to be accurate.


Why do buyers want a trade-in value early?

Knowing their car’s value early is important for buyers because the amount they can get for their trade impacts everything about their next steps. The top three reasons buyers want their trade-in value early is because it will help them decide:

  1. if it’s time to buy another vehicle
  2. if they should trade in their current vehicle
  3. what they could spend on their next vehicle

Receiving an early trade-in value could be the difference between a customer moving forward with buying a vehicle or them not knowing how much they can afford and they avoid the process all together.

 

How will this win you more trades?

Trading-in is often promoted as the easiest way for car buyers to sell their current vehicle. But, 2 out of 3 car buyers first learn about their trade-in value while negotiating the price of the vehicle they’re buying and these customers aren’t any more satisfied with the process of selling their old car than those who sold privately or to another dealership. Car buyers who got a trade-in value earlier on in the process were – this is the key difference! Providing a value earlier in the process will make trading in at your dealership more appealing than taking it somewhere else.

 

An early trade-in value is a win-win

Trading in a car doesn’t need to be a point of dissatisfaction for car buyers. By providing estimated trade-in values earlier in the shopping process, you’ll be able to help potential car buyers move forward with their vehicle purchase and make trading in with you a better option than selling to someone else. Ensure you’re providing accurate values online and that your customers know this is something you can do, even if they’ve just started shopping

Explore how our research can be applied at your dealership to help you win more business - request a consultation with a CARFAX Canada Rep:

Driving Insights
Driving Insights takes your questions about Canadian car owners and finds the answers! Our proprietary research looks closely at the motives and behaviours of today’s car owners to uncover exclusive insights you won’t find anywhere else. To date, we’ve surveyed over 9,000 Canadians to identify their biggest pain points when buying, selling, and servicing their vehicles. If there’s a question you’d like us to address, email insights@carfax.ca and we’ll get you some answers!

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