Should I trade in my car or sell it privately to get more money?

In almost all cases, a private sale yields more money than a trade-in offer from a dealer. The difference is typically 10-20% depending on the vehicle, demand, and how motivated the dealer is to acquire that specific car. However, a private sale requires more time, managing strangers and test drives, accepting payment risk, and handling your own title transfer. A dealer trade-in is simpler, faster, and lets you apply the value directly to your next vehicle, which in NJ also reduces the taxable sale price on your new car purchase (the trade-in tax credit). When the NJ sales tax savings on a trade-in are factored in, the gap between private sale and trade-in narrows meaningfully on higher-value vehicles.