Are you wondering, when should I sell my car? In this article, you’ll learn the best times to do so and signs you’re at that point.
There are hundreds of millions of cars on the road. Chances are, you own one or two of them.
While buying a car can be fun because, at the end of the day, you get to walk away with something, selling can be more of a headache. People that are asking themselves, “when should I sell my car?” are often dreading comparing offers and potentially leaving money on the table.
Waiting till when it makes sense to sell your car can help every other aspect of the selling process fall into place. To help with that, our team shares five times where we feel it’s most appropriate to cash out your vehicle.
1. Late Spring/Early Summer
Believe it or not, there’s a verbatim answer to “when should I sell my car?” That answer for standard vehicles is late spring/early summer.
Summer is the busiest time of year for car dealerships since the weather is nice and people are looking to hop in a road-trip worthy vehicle.
Given that demand, dealerships need inventory and a need for inventory means more purchase competition. That competition raises the rate that you’ll be offered during trade-ins, dealership sales, and even direct-to-consumer sales if you choose to go that route.
2. When You Have Positive Equity
The moment you drive your car off a lot, its value goes down. That means if you were to sell it immediately after buying, you’d likely have to do so for substantially less money.
Over time, the payments you make on your car will eventually make it so you owe less on it than it’s worth in the open market (positive equity). A car with positive equity puts money in your pocket upon sale rather than making it so you need to pay additional money to complete the transaction.
3. If You Can’t Keep up With Payments
Sometimes, you can’t wait to gain positive equity in your vehicle before selling it. If your life circumstances have changed and you can no longer keep up with your car payments, rather than defaulting on your loan, consider selling.
Selling your car and getting out from under your loan rather than having your vehicle repossessed will protect your credit.
4. When Your Lifestyle Changes
Did you move closer to work? Did you have a baby? Is your job providing you with an employee shuttle?
These are all great reasons to assess your driving situation and potentially part ways with your current vehicle.
5. Before It’s a Must
Selling under duress means getting less money. Always try to get ahead of your car selling needs by parting ways with your vehicle before you need to for financial or even mechanical reasons that would make it so you need to go the cash for junk cars route.
Only You Can Fully Answer the When Should I Sell My Car Question
“When should I sell my car?” is a personal question that only you can answer. As a key takeaway, just try to put yourself in a position of power when selling by doing it when demand is high and when you don’t need the sale.
If you’d like additional information on cars and the selling process, we welcome you to read the newest blog content we have available!
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