#tradevalue

There are always factors that can be cited as to why "now" is a good time to buy, trade or sell a vehicle. Generally, this is closely related to incentives offered by a manufacturer an or dealer. A significant consideration should be given to the value of your current vehicle, whether you plan to sell it yourself or trade. In recent years we have seen record values of used vehicles. Certainly they generally go up over time because of inflation but as a percentage of their original cost, they have held their value at record levels. We seem to have generally softening. This will likely only continue because a record number of vehicles are coming off lease. Combine that with trades for new cars and what we get is a growing supply of used cars. This isn't a warning to run out and sell or trade your car now but rather a message to set expectations. If you trade your vehicle, the dealer will have to consider what prices are likely to do over the next 45 days. This is impacted by seasonality, the number of trades and lease returns expected, etc and will vary by model. Definitely do your homework, understand the value of your car the best you can and decide if you want to give selling it yourself a whirl or enjoy the convenience of trading it in. Another consideration is that the number of negative equity loans has been growing over the last few years to high levels. The reason it matters is because these loans are riskier. As lenders get more of these loans on the books they will reach a point where they need to back off. If your vehicle is declining in value and your payoff is more than the car is worth, your down payment requirement just went up. This situation will continue for the near future. A little good news: Data suggest there is a lower percentage of negative equity loans in Montana, perhaps one factor contributing to an overall lower APR paid by Montanans. Montanans auto loans are slightly longer on average than the US overall and the amount financed its higher too. Since there is less negative equity rolled in, that means Montanans are getting more car. And that makes sense since you need 4wd or AWD!