‘Carvana. Kelley Blue Book. CarMax’: Man Trades Car In. Then The Salesman Shares A Little Known Hack For Getting More Money For It

When it comes time to trade in your car, everyone wants the best deal. This generally involves getting the most for your car as possible—and hopefully scoring a new and improved car in the process.

But given how much estimates on a car can vary, how can you be sure you’re getting the best offer? And once you get that offer, should you take it? Or use it as a negotiating point?

One car salesman recently sparked discussion after letting viewers in on a secret to car trade-ins. According to him, it involves getting not one estimate, but three.

How Can You Maximize Your Trade-In Value?

In a video, TikTok creator and Toyota salesman Josh Welty (@jawsellscars) explains what he says is the best method to maximize your car’s value.

“Do you want to know how to get more money on your trade? Get your appraisals done at Carvana, Kelley Blue Book, and Carmax,” he begins.

From there, he says to print out the appraisals and bring them to the dealership of your choice. Tell them you want the dealership to “beat these prices.”

“Now, here's the kicker: When you trade at a dealership, you save more,” he says.

The reason for this, he explains, is taxes.

“If you're buying a $30,000 vehicle, taxes in the state of Texas is gonna be 6.25%,” he shares. He then points to the number $1,875. “That's how much you're gonna be paying in taxes.”

“But, if you have a trade in, $30,000—the price of the car you're buying—minus your trade-in equals the amount that's going to be taxed,” he continues.

In short, if one had a trade-in worth $12,000, they would only get taxed on the remaining $18,000. This gives them a tax savings, he says, of $750.

“It might not be a crazy amount, but every little bit helps,” he says.

Is He Right About Taxes?

Welty’s advice is accurate in Texas. That said, this advice may not apply to every state.

For example, California taxes the total purchase price, including the fair market value of the trade-in. This means that, if you were interested in a $10,000 vehicle, then traded in a vehicle to bring the total price down to $6,000, you would still have to pay taxes on the $10,000 value.

Other states allow you to reduce your purchase value with a trade-in, but only to a certain limit. Michigan, for example, allows you to deduct the “vehicle value or $12,000.00, whichever is less” for the purposes of taxes.

This doesn’t mean that people in these states shouldn’t follow Welty’s advice. Instead, it should simply be used in your calculations to find the best deal. For example, if a car dealership makes a better trade-in offer than the appraisals, but doesn’t have a car in your price range, you may want to consider selling the vehicle elsewhere and putting the money toward a different car.

“Get It Appraised”

In the comments section, users disagreed about the best way to get a good deal on their trade-in.

“Or just sell your car on your own and get an extra 30-40% for it. That $12k trade-in is worth about $15-16k to a private party,” wrote a user. “It’s not difficult. Wash and detail your car, take some nice photos and list on FB Marketplace. All in, you’ll spend about 6 hours of your time. I think that time spent is worth an extra $3-4k.”

“Man, I went to trade in a car once. They wanted to give me 8k. Went to CarMax to get it appraised. It was valued at 16k,” offered another.

“Carvana lowballs and gives the lowest offer. Sell it on Autotrader and get the most money!” suggested a third.

Motor1 reached out to Welty via TikTok direct message and comment. This article will be updated if he replies.