How Much is My Car Worth? Get the Real Trade In Value of Your Vehicle in Minutes

How Much is My Car Worth?

So, you want to sell your car, truck and SUV and get top dollar and want to know how much is my car worth? If so, you've come to the right place. You can use our free car appraisal tool above to get an idea what the market value of your car is in just a few minutes.

In addition, in the article below you will learn a few simple things you could do to boost the resale value of your car as well as 3 ways to sell your car with their pros and cons.

What Determines Your Car's Value & How is My Car Worth Calculated

Most online car appraisal tools work in a similar way. They use multiple data points to determine how much is your car worth. Knowing what they take in consideration will help you prepare your vehicle to get top dollar. 

1. Location of the vehicle. A car is a car and its value should be approximately the same no matter where in the States it is, right? In reality certain used vehicles command higher prices in certain areas of the country than other.

For example, trucks and SUVs are valued more in the Midwest (because of the long, harsh winters) and in rural areas (where places are far from one another and the terrain is rough). On the other hand, in places like Orlando and Florida in general, used convertibles and sports cars command higher prices.

2. Mileage and condition. Mileage is straightforward - the more miles a vehicle has the less it cost. No one would pay top dollar for a 200,000-mile car when he/she can buy a well-maintained vehicle with 50,000 miles in it.

Condition on the other hand is more subjective. The seller might describe his well-maintained, accident-free car with a few scratched and dents here and there as in excellent condition while the buyer might grade it good.

Regardless, condition is an important factor when determining a used vehicle's value

Generally speaking, condition is closely associated with mileage. However, the two are not directly correlated. There are low-mileage vehicles that have sustained a lot of wear and tear in a relatively short amount of time (think about ripped leather seats, navigation or cd player that doesn't work or scratched and dented body). Needless to say those used vehicles will be worth less even if they don't have a lot of miles on them.

3. Make and model. There are certain makes and models cars and SUVs that are in higher demand that other vehicles and will be worth more when sold as used. There's nothing you can do about that. You've got the vehicle that you've got and that's it. Focus on things you can do to boost your car value (discussed later on in the article).

4. Options and add-ons. Not all options and add-one will make your car worth more simply because they are not valued by a lot of people (a noisy exhaust anyone).

On the other hand, there are options that hold their value. A few examples are an automatic transmission, all-wheel drive, leather seats, premium factory sound system and panoramic moon roofs.

At the same time the lack of features that are nowadays considered mandatory such as air-conditioning, door locks and automatic windows will decrease the value of your car, truck or SUV.

How to Increase the Resale Value of My Car

We all want to get the most money possible for our used rides, don't we? Good news is there are certain things that can be done to increase your car's worth that don't take a lot of time, you can do them yourself (for the most part) and don't cost a fortune.

1. Interior detailing. It makes sense that no one will pay top dollar for a car with dirt ground into the carpet and crumbled greasy fast food bags on the back seat. That's the bare minimum anyone trying to get the most their car must do - clean their car.

Sometimes that's not enough and you might need to hire a professional detailer. It will cost you a few hundred dollars but it will also help you sell your used car faster and maybe for more if it looks newer on the inside.

If you are set on not paying for interior detailing here's the most important things you should do to increase the value of your car.

a/ Clean the clear plastic in front of the speedometer and gauges. Why? Because that's the first place buyers are going to look and you won't have a second chance to make a good first impression.

How do you do that? Easy. Get a microfiber towel and a bottle of interior quick detailer from the auto parts store near you and wipe them down.  

b/ Make sure your car seats are stain-free or don't expect to get top dollar for your car. As above, you can buy a fabric or leather cleaner and try to get the stains out yourself. Most likely than not you'll need to hire a detailer for that. Just because they work with more aggressive cleaning products they can make almost any stain disappear and any seat look like new.

c/ Clean floor mats. This one is probably the easiest one. If the original ones have holes in them just tossed them out and buy new ones from a place like O'Reilly Auto Parts or Advance Auto Parts in Orlando. Or if you want to go all in consider purchasing custom-fit OEM mats.

2. Exterior detailing. Exterior detailing can be as simple as running your car through the car wash and cleaning the wheels with a wheel cleaner bought from your local parts store.

Or you can do one better to increase the worth of your car by waxing the paint. You can do it yourself. All you'll need is a car wax and towels.

Depending on the vehicle though, you might want the exterior detailing performed by a professional. If you are getting your 2017 Volkswagen Atlas appraised a pro detail would be a smart investment.

Remember, all online tools for determining what is your car worth will give you an estimate of the value of your car. For a final offer you will have to bring your vehicle to the dealership for a final inspection. Even if you are selling your car yourself, you'll still want it to look and run great.

3. Perform all required maintenance. The fastest way a good car goes bad is by skipping mandatory maintenance.

If you have been diligent about replacing the timing belt, tires and brakes as recommended by the manufacturer - kudos to you. Just make sure you keep the receipts for the work done. If you are missing some - call the repair shop. They should be able to print you a copy. Having proof for a $400 set of tires bought a year ago will help your charge for your vehicle.

Best Way to Sell a Used Car

It's one thing to know what the value of your Volkswagen Jetta in Orlando, FL is, and completely different thing to sell it for top dollar.

Below we have listed three ways to sell your vehicle after you have determined what it is worth. They all have their pros and cons and it's up to you to decide what works best for you.

1. Sell your vehicle as a private seller. If you want to get top dollar for your Volkswagen car or SUV in Central Florida that's the way to go. Before you list your car on Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace or apps like OfferUp know what you should expect:

a/ It will take a while for your car to sell. Why? Because these online platforms are where bargain hunters go.

b/ You will be getting a lot of messages from people interested in test-driving your vehicle. The majority of them won't show. Most of the ones that show won't like your car because of the color or million other reasons.

c/ Expect to haggle. The ones that like your car the way it is will try to nickel and dime you.

d/ Expect the process of selling your car to take weeks. It takes a lot of time to find the perfect buyer - the one that loves your car and is willing to pay what your car is worth.

2. Use car consignment service. If you are not in a rush to sell your car and are more concerned with getting top dollar for your vehicle that might be the one for you. All you have to do is look up consignment dealer on Google.

These dealers advertise the vehicles on their lot thus attracting more potential clients. Furthermore, the dealer can offer the buyer financing making it easier for the buyer to say yes.

All that is good but expect to pay a cut for the convenience when your car sells. Just like with when selling on online marketplaces you might need to lower your price at one point to sell the vehicle.

3. Sell it to a dealer. Most if not all dealers have a free appraisal tool on their websites powered by KBB, Edmunds or NADA making it easy to find what the value of your car is. To get a final offer you'll need to take the car to a dealership for a final inspection.

You will get a bit less than if you were to sell the car yourself but you can't beat the speed and/or convenience. And here's the kicker. Most times you don't have to buy a car from the dealer in order for them to buy yours.

So, if you are looking for quick sale - that's the way to go.

Now you know how to find out how much is your car worth. And it's important to set realistic expectations regardless of whether you want to sell it for cash or trade-in.

Knowing your car worth will help you decide whether or not will help you decide whether having it detailed and performed some basic maintenance is worth it.