Part Exchanging Your Car - A Guide

If you are thinking about part exchanging your car, you’ve certainly landed in the right place.

In recent years, part exchanging your car, as appose to getting cash for your car, has become increasingly popular. This is mainly because choosing to part exchange your car will not only save you the hassle of selling your car privately, but it can also help you to save money too.

We’ve created a helpful guide outlining everything you need to know about part exchanging your car…

What is part exchanging your car?

Part exchanging your car involves coming to an agreement over the value of your old car and using the equity to help finance another.

Once all parties are satisfied with the value of the old car, the dealership will then organise the return of your old car, and a new date will be set for you to receive your new car.

This allows many drivers to enjoy the convenience and practicality of enjoying a brand new car every three to four years, which is great for drivers whose circumstances change.

What are the advantages of part exchanging your car?

There are many advantages of part exchanging your car, which is why this has become one of the most popular ways of exchanging your old car for a new vehicle.

One of the main benefits is that it will immediately cut down the price of your new car, and if you are part exchanging because you want to downsize, this can remove a huge part of the price.

Of course, part exchanging your car will also take the time and hassle out of having to sell your car privately, which can often be a long and stressful process.

How can you part exchange your car?

If you want to part exchange your car, you can take it to the dealership, or there are a number of dealerships that are happy to do the part exchange online too.

Once you have decided on a dealership, you will then need to take your car to be valued and inspected. And, once this has been completed, you are happy with the offer amount and picked out your new car, you can then proceed with the deal.

However, it’s worth remembering that part exchanges completed online often get lower offers than those completed directly in the dealership. This is because vehicles can’t be inspected in advance in order to reach an accurate valuation.

What do you need to do before part exchanging your car?

Before beginning the part exchange process, It can help if you have an understanding of the value of the car you have to exchange. You could look online and search for cars that are similar to yours for sale, and this may give you an indication - however do take into account that cars being sold at dealerships will have a profit margin on top of the actual valuation.

It is a big help in getting a more accurate part exchange valuation if you have your service history information, any spare keys and your V5C and MOT certificates to hand.

Oh and before you take your car in to be valued, it’s definitely worthwhile cleaning the inside and outside of your car, as it can't do any harm.  It may actually encourage the dealership to consider that your car is one which has been looked after, and is worth a few pounds more.