Trade my car in or sell it privately?

[goodcase]

I'm going to be buying a new Chevy Colorado in about a years time so I'm just planning a head. I don't know if I should trade my car in and take a lesser amount or sell it privately and use that cash as a down payment.

Here's what I'm thinking. My car is a 2010 GS with the 6spd. It has around 98,000km so I should be around 120ish by the time I'm going to be making my new purchase. So it's not going to be super low in KM's. My car has also been in two accidents with a total repair amount of around $8000. My front bumper is also cracked and my fog lights don't work. Other than that it's in excellent condition. I like the idea of just trading it in and not having to worry about anything, but I'm going to be a recent grad so any money will help.

Reason for the truck: I'm going into the trades and will likely need a bigger vehicle.

What're your thoughts?

I also forgot to mention that I have $0 owed on the car.

[Slade]

Wait and get the diesel, a lot of guys on the forums are really looking forward to it.

I have 0 complaints about my truck.

Usually for teh trade in you pay less tax...

Have you checked out the price of them, you can get a fullsize for the same $$$$.

[Jsquared]

I just went through this and decided to trade in to save the headaches. I personally can't stand selling used vehicles. People want to low ball you and find reasons to bring the price down. They set up appointments with you and they do not show up. They promise you they will buy it and you never hear from them again......etc. However, with that said you can get a few more dollars on a private sale.

For me, the dealer was offering me 15k on my trade in on my speed 3. Speed 3's similar to my condition and milage were selling for 16-17,500 on autotrader so I took the hit and yes...I saved on the taxes as Slade mentioned.