A friend of mine totalled my car while I was on vacation, not at fault, and my insurance company used these sites to lowball me. Being a used car, about 10 yea

A friend of mine totalled my car while I was on vacation, not at fault, and my insurance company used these sites to lowball me. Being a used car, about 10 years old at the time, there were very few comparable vehicles for sale in my area. The insurance company wouldn't even accept one out of state. I dickered for a few weeks until I found one on Craigslist for $1k over the offering price -- I called my adjuster immediately, and he was happy to pay it out and never hear from me again. If you actually want a fair price on a trade-in, you'll need to sell it on commission. Less parking, advertising, and expenses to get it into saleable shape -- and you don't get the money upfront while you're trying to whittle down your loan. If you want to just walk away from the car and deduct it from your purchase, you pay dearly for that convenience.