How do you know whether a trade-in offer is fair?

To check whether a trade-in offer is fair, get a second and third standalone offer from other dealers or vehicle buyers, compare them against what genuinely comparable cars are selling for privately, and make sure the figure you are assessing is a standalone purchase offer rather than a trade number bundled into a new car deal. A fair wholesale offer sits meaningfully below retail, that gap is normal, not evidence of a bad offer.

Check one: is it even a real number?

Before anything else, establish whether the figure is a standalone offer to buy your car or a trade allowance inside a bigger deal. If it is the latter it may be inflated, with the difference taken out of the discount on the car you are buying.

Ask plainly: "what will you pay me for my car if I do not buy one from you?" That answer is the one to assess.

Check two: get two more

One offer tells you very little because it reflects that dealer's stock position, not your car's value. Two or three offers tells you a great deal.

Include at least one buyer who is not trying to sell you a car, and one dealer who actually retails your make, they will usually pay more for it than someone who would wholesale it straight on.

Check three: compare like with like

Look at what genuinely comparable cars are selling for privately, and be strict about it. Same model year, similar kilometres, same specification, comparable condition and history.

Remember that advertised prices are asking prices. A car listed at $38,000 may sell for $35,500. Compare against realistic sale prices, not the top of the listing.

Check four: be honest about your car

Service history gaps, damage history, high kilometres for the year, an unpopular colour or specification, a manual gearbox in an automatic market, or modifications all legitimately reduce what a dealer will pay, because they all make the car slower and riskier to resell.

If several apply to your car, a lower offer may be entirely fair.

Check five: what is the offer actually for?

A wholesale offer sitting meaningfully below retail is normal. That gap pays for reconditioning, warranty, advertising, floor plan finance and risk.

So "is it fair?" is really two questions: is it a reasonable wholesale number for this car, and separately, do you want to accept a wholesale number at all? Those have different answers, and the second one is where the money is.

General information only, current as of August 2026, and not financial, legal or tax advice. Vehicle values and market conditions change. Figures used in examples are illustrative and are not valuations or offers.