Donate, Sell or Trade-In Your Vehicle? Kelley Blue Book Helps You Decide

What to do with your old vehicle? Most of the time it makes sense to trade it in or sell it privately. However, there are times when you may want to donate your old vehicle to charity.

Vehicle valuation Kelley Blue Book is stepping in to help vehicle owners decide which of these options works best.

Trade-in, sell or donate -- all are viable options, but the level of effort and average timeframe to dispose of the vehicle varies.

Now Kelley Blue Book offers the tools and information in one place with its redesigned owners pages on desktop and mobile to help buyers get into their next vehicle with confidence.

The company has offered consumers trade-in and private party values online for more than 20 years.

For the first time ever, Kelley Blue Book has teamed up with Charitable Adult Rides & Services (CARS), a full-service non-profit, to add an all-new Donate feature that allows owners and dealers to easily and seamlessly take care of unwanted vehicles.

In 2017, more than 100,000 vehicles were donated through CARS, helping more than 3,500 nonprofits and charities benefit from vehicle donations nationwide, including St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Special Olympics, The Salvation Army, and more.

"Depending on the value of your vehicle, the amount of time you have before it must be sold, and your preferences around disposing of that car, Kelley Blue Book's KBB.com offers car owners a variety of options on how to move on from their current vehicle," said Michael Sadowski, general manager for Kelley Blue Book. "This enhanced section of KBB.com puts these options into perspective and gives consumers all the information they need to make a confident decision."

Donate a Vehicle

Owners may choose to donate for a variety of reasons. Sometimes there's not much life or value left in an old car, and rather than go through the hassle of trying to sell it for little return, donating the vehicle to a charity offers tax benefits while supporting a good cause.

The donation will be a deductible item (as opposed to a tax credit) on your filing next year for the current calendar period. Typically, if a car is worth $1,000 or less, it's worthwhile to go this route, especially with free pick-up.

Get a Redeemable, Transaction-Ready Offer with Kelley Blue Book Instant Cash Offer

Using the Kelley Blue Book Instant Cash Offer tool on KBB.com, the seller types in the vehicle model and trim information, mileage, condition and other helpful details, and receives a cash in offer that is valid for three days.

The seller then has the option to receive cash for the vehicle or apply the amount towards the purchase of a new or used vehicle at a participating dealership.

Trade-In with a Dealership 

Many new-car shoppers tend to trade in their existing vehicle, making it part of the transaction for their new ride. Smart shoppers will check KBB.com for the trade-in value, so expectations of what the dealer may offer are in line with the market.

Knowing the Kelley Blue Book Trade-In Range of your vehicle helps owners understand if they are getting a fair deal, making conversations with the dealer faster, easier and more enjoyable.

Sell Private Party

If you look up the value of a car on KBB.com, the Kelley Blue Book® Private Party Value reports the fair price when selling the car to an individual instead of trading it in. Updated weekly, these values are the result of massive amounts of data, including actual sales transactions and auction prices, which are then analyzed and adjusted to account for seasonality and market trends.

The private party value is traditionally higher than trade-in values.

In addition, the redesigned owners pages include consumer ratings, Kelley Blue Book editorial content, estimated monthly payments for trading up to a new car and more.

Find out more at www.kbb.com.