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How to Sell or Trade Your Car When You Still Owe Money On It

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Thinking of trading your old car for a newer model? If you’re still making payments on your current ride, you might think you need to wait before selling or trading in for a new one. That’s not the case, though; you can sell or trade in a vehicle you still owe money on, and here’s what you need to know to get started. 

How Much is Your Car Worth?

The first step to take before selling or trading is discovering the value of your vehicle. Using Carnamic’s online tool, you can easily get an instant quote by entering information about your vehicle like its age, mileage, and other details. 

How Much Do You Still Owe?

Once you have an idea of your car’s value, it’s time to find out how much you owe on your loan. Because interest rates can change the exact amount owed by the day, you should get in touch with your lender to discover whether you have positive or negative equity on your vehicle.

Positive Equity

Having positive equity means that your car is worth more than you owe on it. Positive equity is ideal because it means that you can apply that equity towards the cost of your trade-in or get more for the sale. 

Negative Equity

With negative equity, you owe more than your car is worth. Negative equity can make selling or trading more difficult because you’ll need to pay off the outstanding debt before you can move forward with the trade or sale. 

White Caculator

Contact Your Lender

Now that you know more about your car’s value and loan balance, you can contact your lender to let them know that you’re planning to sell or trade. Depending on where you financed your original car, the company will advise you on what you’ll need to complete the sale such as paperwork.

Get Financing Pre-Approval

Although you can get financing at the time of sale or trade, you can speed up the process by getting pre-approved for financing. Simply enter your information on our website to get pre-approved for financing on the spot.

Sell or Trade at Carnamic

At Carnamic, we make the trade-in process simple. With our online tools and helpful team members, you can be sure that you’re getting the best deal possible when you sell or trade at one of our Bay Area locations. We’re here to help you every step of the way, so don’t hesitate to contact us before browsing our selection of new and used models. 

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