What to Bring to Trade-in Your Car
If you’re going to trade your current vehicle in when you buy your new car, you’ll need a little extra paperwork and preparation to make sure everything goes smoothly.
Before heading to the dealer, ask them “what do I need to bring when buying a used car?” Odds are, they’ll have you bring these things to streamline your car buying and trading process:
1. Current certificate of title
The dealership should help you prepare to transfer your car’s title to them. If you can’t locate your title, contact your local DMV to get a duplicate, but be prepared to pay a fee. Your lender may also be required to hold the title until the loan's paid off, depending on the state you live in.
2. Current vehicle registration
Unless your current car is going to be junked after you trade it, you need to provide the current registration. You should be able to trade it in with expired vehicle registration, but the dealer will probably give you less for it since they’ll have to make it current themselves.
3. A clean vehicle
It's a great idea to get the car washed and detailed, and you’ll also want to pull out all of your personal belongings so you don’t get caught up in the deal and forget something that matters to you.
4. Service records
Have all service and repair information ready, as the dealer will want to know of the vehicle’s previous maintenance beyond the vehicle history report they’ll pull.
Buying a Car Out of State
If you’rebuying a car out of statethere may be additional fees and paperwork, so it’s a good idea to look up that state’s requirements on their DMV website so there aren’t any surprises.
In fact, it pays to do a little extra research on state special requirements, as some states have smog and emissions testing or safety inspections, while others do not.
Auto Insurance for Your New Car
At American Family Insurance, we want to make sure your new ride gets you from point A to point B without any hiccups in between. Get in touch with your agent and they’ll help youget insurance for your new carandadd other optional coveragesthat’ll give you the peace of mind you deserve while you’re on the road.
This article is for informational purposes only and includes information widely available through differentsources.
