What's my car worth?
What's my car worth?
Before you let anyone appraise your car, know roughly what it's worth. We'll show a dealer trade-in range and a private-party range from our published value model, deduct for the things an appraiser actually deducts for, and check your payoff so you know whether you have equity or negative equity.
Your range shows up here
You'll get a dealer trade-in range, a private-party range, what the difference is worth, and an equity check against your payoff.
Before you get appraised
Know your number before anyone offers you one.
Trade-in versus selling it yourself
A dealer has to recondition your car, floor it, market it and warranty it, so a trade number is always below what a private buyer will pay. That gap is the price of convenience, and it is worth knowing before you decide.
Trading is instant and there are no strangers in your driveway. A private sale usually nets more but takes weeks, invites tire-kickers, and puts the paperwork on you. Neither is wrong — going in blind is.
What appraisers actually deduct for
An appraisal is not about how much you love the car. It is a short list of costs the next owner will face, subtracted from clean retail.
- Tires at the wear bars — a set is the first thing deducted, every time.
- Dents, scrapes and paint work, because body shop time is expensive.
- A warning light on the dash, which a buyer will assume is the worst-case repair until it's diagnosed.
- No maintenance records, which turns a well-kept car into an unknown one.
- A branded title — salvage, rebuilt or lemon law — which cuts value sharply and permanently.
- Aftermarket modifications, which narrow the buyer pool no matter what they cost you.
Negative equity, in plain English
If your payoff is higher than the car's value, you are upside down. Dealers will happily roll that difference into your next loan, which means financing money you have already spent, on a car that starts out worth less than you owe.
Sometimes rolling it is the least bad option. But you should know the exact number first, see it written on the worksheet, and understand what it does to the new payment.
This is an estimate, then a real person
No online tool can see your car. Our range is a well-built estimate from a published model, not an appraisal and not an offer. When you want a firm number, a real Car Dog will get you one and tell you honestly whether trading or selling privately is the better move for your situation.
Read the full valuation methodologyWork out what to pay for your next car
Questions we get
Straight answers about car values and trade-ins.
How accurate is a free online car value estimate?
It is a range, not an appraisal. Ours is built from a published depreciation curve, your mileage against the 12,000-miles-a-year norm, condition, and deductions for the specific problems appraisers price. No online tool, including ours, can see rust, a worn transmission or a bad repair, so the firm number always comes from a person who looks at the car.
Why is a dealer trade-in offer lower than the private-party value?
Because the dealer takes on reconditioning, floor plan costs, marketing time and warranty risk before they can sell it. That gap is the cost of an instant, no-hassle sale. On our estimate the trade range runs roughly 78 to 87 percent of clean retail, while a private sale lands closer to retail.
What if I owe more than my car is worth?
That is negative equity, and it is common on longer loans. Get the exact payoff from your lender, see the deficit written on the worksheet, and consider whether keeping the car until the loan catches up costs less than rolling the difference into a new loan at a new rate.
Should I fix things before trading my car in?
Do the cheap things: clean it thoroughly, replace burnt-out bulbs and wipers, top the fluids and gather your service records. Skip expensive repairs — you will rarely recover a transmission or body shop bill in a trade number. New tires are the one judgment call, and only if the current set is truly at the bars.
Do I have to trade my car in where I buy?
No. Get separate written offers on your car and negotiate the purchase and the trade as two independent transactions. If a store gives you a strong trade number and a weak price on the car, or the reverse, you can still walk away with only the half that is good for you.
Ask a Car Dog (AI)
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Straight answer first, then the reasoning — free, and it remembers what you've already told us.
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