Is it worth it to repair my car before I trade it in?

Here is why you don't fix your car before trading it in.

1) Even with Full Coverage insurance you still have a deductible. That deductible is money out of your pocket.

2) Any claim against your insurance policy will probably raise your rates.

3) Any paint or body shop work done on your car will show up on a Carfax report, lowing the value of the vehicle.

4) The difference in the price before or after the repairs that the dealer will offer you as a trade will not offset the money you lost with items # 1,2 & 3.

And keep one thing in mind, those Internet value guides are not accurate. The actual value you will be offered will be much lower than any of these guides price your car at.

There are a few things to keep in mind.

to fix the damage that is on you car through the insurance will show that you have been in an accident and might raise your rates ,if you have it fixed by a body shop and not report it to insurance and not report it to the dealer ship could have a recourse back to you.

once a vehicle has been in ANY KIND of an accident it can not be certified,and if it is and you held back info,the dealer and the new buyer can both come after you for the damages.

you might just want to have the car detailed and take it to the dealer like that.

don't use edmonds to figure the trade in value of your truck, they are too leniant, the car dealers use NADA.com and will give you wholesale price for your truck, also consider that in 3 to 6 months your truck will be worth less than it is now as the prices change monthly, so you take it from here to figure if it's worth fixing up or not and having a blemish on your insurance.

The dents and dings that you describe are not considered "good condition" this puts the vehicle below average. Shop around and find out if you can get it fixed cheaper, then it would be worth it.

I might suggest you to visit this web site where you can get quotes from different companies: http://quotes-for-insurance.net/index.html?src=5YA...

RE :Is it worth it to repair my car before I trade it in?

I have a 2005 Chevrolet Silverado. With my options, low mileage, etc. Edmunds.com puts me around 15000 for a trade in at "good" condition, which is the average car.

Now, I have several small dings and one relatively large dent caused by a concrete bank pole that got me on the right rear door (crew cab) as I turned too early. I am guesstimating that the repairs for this would be about at least $3000 USD.

I owe about $10000 USD on the vehicle, and am looking to trade it in relatively soon (3-6 months) for another vehicle.

Is it financially worth it repair the vehicle (using my full coverage auto insurance) and restore the condition to "new" or should I just trade it in as is?

Additionally, all damage is superficial. There is no frame damage, engine damage, electrical damage, water damage, interior damage, etc. Besides the minor damage the car is pretty mint.

Thanks.

Update: I meant I used "good" condition as a starting point as the condition below that sounded much worse. Then I subtracted the damage vs. the owed amount.

And are you saying since they know that it has been repaired due to carfax, etc. there isn't any point?

1 following 7 answers

they will pay the same for your truck on trade it won't matter if you fix it or not.

Not

no. no .no and no...the dealer will unload it whatever u do...no no no