Should I Sell My Car to a Dealership or Privately in New York?

When you’re ready for an upgraded ride or you’re just ready to let go of the current one, you have two options: sell your vehicle to a local dealership or to a private party. So what should you do? While there’s no correct option, you might find one to be best for you in Schenectady and nearby areas! Overall, going to a dealer is the most straightforward way for most drivers while selling privately requires more from you. See both sides of each coin below with Ford of Latham to figure out what your answer to “Should I sell my car to a dealership or privately?” is!

Pros & Cons of Selling to a Dealership

Pros:

• Simple Process: When you work with a dealership, they will do all the heavy lifting for you, especially with the paperwork, which includes the bill of sale, title transfers, and DMV documents. All you have to do is to find out what your car’s current market value is and ensure you’re getting a fair offer! See the whole process here.
• Saves A Lot of Time: Almost all of the time, you can complete the whole process in one visit, so when you leave our Latham lot, you’ll have the trade-in money in your hands.
• Less Risk: Chances are your local dealerships have already established themselves, so you know that you can trust them when you decide to sell your car to them. If you want to take more precautions, you can always look up online reviews and customer testimonials of the dealer you’re thinking of working with. There’s also legal protection that you can find peace of mind in if you just want the sale to be done with.
• Open for Negotiating: While you can easily get in and out of your local dealer and sell your vehicle in one go, you can always reserve the right to negotiate and if anything, dealerships tend to welcome that! If you feel your model is worth more than what the dealer is offering you, then there is room for you to bring that up and discuss it with them. You can also get the vehicle appraised by several dealerships near Albany to ensure you’re taking the highest offer!
• Avoid Car Sales Tax on Trade-In Amount: If you are upgrading to a different vehicle and you choose to trade in for one at a dealership, the trade-in amount won’t be taxed!

Cons:

• Potential Lower Offer: The only disadvantage would be getting an offer that is less than what you could potentially get if you sell to a private party.

Bottom Line: Whether you’re unfamiliar with the legal paperwork behind selling a vehicle or you simply don’t want to spend that much time and effort, you’ll find that going to a dealership is the ultimate choice. While you might not earn back as much money as you can, you’ll be able to get rid of your car swiftly and securely, so you can move on to your next ride in no time!

Pros & Cons of Selling to a Private Party

Pros:

• Potential Higher Offer: Selling to a private party in New York State means there’s more flexibility in how much someone might want to pay you for your car. If the demand and desire are there, it’s possible that you can get a higher price than expected, whereas dealerships still need to resell the car and make a profit.

Cons:

• Takes More Effort & Time: Since you’re cutting out the middleman (the dealership) to do all the work for you, now you’ll have to do them yourself. This can either sound exciting or annoying depending on how you see it. You’ll need to take care of the advertising, the vetting, the negotiation, the paperwork, and more. You’ll also need to be reachable, so potential buyers can ask you questions about the car and ask to set up a test drive.
• Takes More Patience: When you want to sell your vehicle to a private party, it’s almost like fishing– you have to be ready and wait for the right person to come along. There’s no set timeframe to when you’ll be able to take this car off of your hands if you’re searching for the best offer possible in Schenectady. Sometimes, you might even come across scammers and you’ll need to be level-headed if it’s mostly scammers reaching out to you.
• More Risk: You’re meeting up with strangers who say they’re interested in buying your car. There’s no guarantee that they are, and in the worst scenario possible, you might put yourself in dangerous situations.

Bottom Line: If you have the dedication, the time, and the skills to be your own salesperson for your car, then you might find all this effort to be worthwhile. Also, consider how long it might take you to realistically find the right buyer and if you’re ok with holding onto your vehicle during that time. Other things to consider include how savvy you are with legal processes/paperwork and how your people skills are.

While there’s a better chance that you’ll get a higher offer from a private seller than a dealership, you need to understand that it’s not a guarantee and that the potential buyers will also try their hardest to get the best deal possible. This might be different if your model is vintage or in high demand in the area.

Ford of Latham Would Love to Buy Your Vehicle!

So should you sell your car to a dealership or privately? For most people, working with a dealership is the best solution since you can successfully finish the sale without much effort on your end. If you’re near the Troy area, you should partner up with Ford of Latham! Our team of friendly faces will be able to help you earn some cash back for your next vehicle the same day you step foot into our dealership. Got any questions? Reach out to us today!