I'm going to the dealership this upcoming week to buy my TSX and will be trading in my old '98 Corolla. It's in decent shape but was wondering if it would be worth spending the money getting it detailed prior to going to the dealership or if a simple wash would do?

 

I wouldn't even bother to wash it. Unless you have a relatively new trade in, the dealer will just wholesale it, and will base the trade in value on recent auction prices for the make and mileage.

For a 9 year old corolla I doubt they will give you any more or less based on how clean your car is. If you are selling the car privately it'd be another story. my 2 cents

 

private party it may be worth it but i wouldnt think dealer would care between a clean car and a prof detailed car...

 

It can be a good thing. They make look at it and see it has been taken care of and may assume the maintenance has been done as well. It could be a great idea for an extra 500-1000 bucks, depending on dealer and condition of the vehicle. If the vehicle is a darker color and cleaning it up may show nicks on the paint, scratches, door dings, etc.. you may want to rethink.

If the car cleans up nice and you can have it done for 100 bucks, I'd say go for it, otherwise hold off.

 

The dealers only thinks in numbers. They won't even care how it was maintained as long as the title is clean and any known problems can be fixed on the cheap. As a matter of procedure they'll probably get it detailed even if it looks like it just had been detailed. They probably see so many cars before and after washing that they see right through the dirt to what the car would look like if it were clean.

 

Negotiate your purchase price first and then have them look at your trade. Of course their first offer is a complete lowball... come in with some blue book, edmunds and carmax estimates for your trade so when you fight the dealer's offer, you have some numbers to fall back on so you prove you know what your car is worth. I got another $1500 because they lowballed me so bad at first since I was just over invoice in negotiations for the purchase price. I negotiated my trade in value sight unseen... just be honest with the condition and get a number that you are happy (or at least can live with). I wouldn't bother wasting more money on a detail... just run it through a car wash and vacuum the inside out.

 

Thanks for the advice. I ended up getting the car through Cars Direct for $31,039 out the door which I was very please with. I put half down, got a whopping $2100 trade-in (discovered that I was the fourth owner and that my old Corolla was originally a rental), and financed the rest through Costco.

It was quick and painless.