I have a vehicle with 80K miles with a book value of ~$20,000 that I will be trading in later this summer.
The windshield has two nicks in in that I never took care of and they never grew at all(as well as a third nick that was previously repaired). And the inside is rather filthy (dusty and dirty).
One, is it worth it to have my insurance company take care of the windshield before I trade it in? One of the chips is eye level on the driver’s side and I heard they won’t repair those but rather replace the whole windshield. I’ve also heard windshield insurance claims won’t affect your rates?
Two, is it worth it to have the interior detailed for $200 before trading it in?
Will either of these two things affect the trade-in value or is it stuff they’re just going to overlook anyway?
When you say book value of $20,000 is that in excellent, good or fair condition? Yes, taking care of those small items can impact the value. The biggest factor on used vehicle values is the mileage and the age.
I disagree; if you’re trading it in to the dealer, don’t fix anything. They can fix things much cheaper than you can, so it won’t add as much value as you spend. Clean what you can and make it look nice, but don’t spend money on it.
General advice is to thoroughly clean the vehicle inside and out before trade-in, as this supposedly has an impact on how badly the dealer tries to screw you.
I wouldn’t pay for a professional detailing. Just take it to the car wash and vacuum it out really well. Then get some Armor All wipes or something similar from Auto Zone and give it a good going over to pick up the dirt, dust, and spilled sodas.
FWIW I’ve replaced 5 windshields in 5 years and one rear window, I don’t know how I was so lucky, One was a drop of water hitting the defroster heat and thermal-cracked it. Never a increase in insurance nor any out of pocket expense.