Fix body damage on a trade-in vehicle or take the hit?

[Tim K]

We're about to trade in my wife's '07 Infiniti G35. It has some light body damage from where a deer ran into the side of the car and where I backed into our retaining wall. Though it doesn't look like much, I'll bet it's at least a $1500 fix, probably more.

Should I get it fixed before trading or just take the hit on the trade value?

[crashdown]

Just traded in a new car that had 11,000 in body damage.
Wife got caught in a horrible wind storm and whole car was blasted with rocks.
Dealership gave us 500 over book in trade, nobody really even looked at the car very close.
At least worth going and seeing what they will give you.

[ruthabagah]

it depends how much you owe (if any) on the car. If there is a pay off on your car and you are expecting some "equity" to help you on a down payment on a new car, then you may want to at least get an estimate for the amount of the repairs.

[Tim K]

Car is owned free and clear.

[ruthabagah]

Car is owned free and clear.

get a KBB online estimate, using the "describe my car" feature. it's usually pretty close. I wouldn't "add money" to my car, but would take a "loss" of value on a used, owned car. Just my 10 cents. Good luck.

[thvigil11]

At best you might get an increase in the trade offer that would offset the cost of doing the repair. That being said, seems like it wouldn't be worth the time or effort.

[thvigil11]

Looks like the trade in value of an 07 g35 sedan with 100,000 miles has a low end of about 7500 and high end of 9600. So with a potential spread of 2000, you could? make a little money with the fix, but is the possibility of an extra 500 worth the time and effort? Then again other factors such as color, and accessories could be a potential factor.

[TFOGGER]

"Trade in value" is dealerspeak for discounting. Take the hit on trade value, get it back during negotiation on price.

[Rooskibar03]

In most cases with a car that age and miles it's best to trade with damage. The dealer can at least see the damage and fix for less. If you fix and claim against insurance it may pop as an accident on the Carfax and that will drive down the value more than the damage will.

[Zach O]

Take it in at night. That's what I did. They never even seen it. Park it in a poorly lit area of their parking lot.