Introduction
Want to know what a dealer might offer for your car before you trade it in? This free trade-in value calculator estimates it from the car's model year, its price when new, its fuel type, whether it is a car or a light truck, whether the brand is mass-market or luxury, and its mileage. It also shows the private sale and dealer retail values the trade-in sits between, and walks through each step of the math.
Use this tool before you visit a dealership. Knowing a fair trade-in figure helps you negotiate a fair deal and avoid leaving money on the table.
How to Use Our Trade-In Value Calculator
Model year: Pick the car's model year. The calculator counts the car's age from it.
Price when new: Enter the window-sticker price (MSRP) for the car's trim and factory options, or what was paid for it new. The make, model, trim and options all enter the estimate through this price. For a plug-in hybrid or electric car, take off any federal tax credit it had.
Current mileage: Enter the number shown on your car's odometer right now.
Fuel type, body and brand: Choose gas, hybrid, plug-in hybrid or electric; car or light truck (SUVs, minivans and pickups are light trucks); and a mass-market or luxury brand.
Repairs needed: The estimate is for a car in clean condition. If the car needs work, enter what the repairs would cost, and the amount is taken off.
Click Calculate to see the trade-in estimate with the private sale and dealer retail values beside it, a step-by-step breakdown and a chart.
What Is a Vehicle Trade-In Value?
A trade-in value is the amount a car dealer will pay you for your current vehicle when you use it toward buying a different one. It is almost always less than what you could sell the car for on your own because the dealer needs to make a profit when they resell it.
How Trade-In Value Is Calculated
The calculator first estimates what the car would sell for privately. Argonne National Laboratory measured how the private-party values of vehicles in clean condition fall with age, separately for each fuel type and for mass-market and luxury brands.5 For a mass-market gas vehicle the first-year factor is 80.3% and the yearly rate is 11.3%.5 Each extra 10,000 miles lowers a conventional car's retention rate by 4.64% at the same age.6 The calculator compares your mileage with 12,000 miles for each year of the car's age.
Used-car prices are then moved to recent levels. The consumer price index for used cars and trucks was 141.493 in July 2020, and the index for new vehicles was 147.803.8 In August 2026 the used cars and trucks index was 184.580 and the new vehicles index was 179.715.9
Research using Kelley Blue Book prices found that the gap between suggested retail and trade-in values rises from approximately 15 percent for one-year-old cars to more than 50 percent for cars more than ten years old.7 The calculator draws a straight line between those two points and places the private sale halfway between trade-in and retail, so the trade-in estimate is the private-sale value less half of that gap. That split is an estimate.
Other Factors That Affect Your Trade-In Offer
The estimate is an average for cars of the same fuel type, body and brand type, in clean condition. A particular model often trades for 10% to 25% more or less, and a dealer's offer also depends on its stock and the rest of the deal. Location, colour and accident history are not included. Keep in mind that sales tax savings are another benefit of trading in, since many states only charge tax on the price difference between the new car and the trade-in credit.4
Tips to Get More for Your Trade-In
Clean your car inside and out before you visit the dealer. Fix small issues like burned-out lights or chipped paint if the repair cost is low. Bring your service records to show the car was well maintained. Finally, know your car's estimated value before you negotiate so you have a fair starting point.
If you still owe money on your current vehicle, it is important to know your payoff amount. When the trade-in value is higher than your loan balance, you have positive equity you can put toward your next car.