Over the years in the automotive industry, I have taken in more vehicles on trade then I could possibly count.

The following news may shock you.

The majority of the cars I have seen that people are trading-in are completely filthy!

When a car dealer presents a car for sale to a customer that visits their store, they do everything within reason to make that car as presentable as possible.

The reason is simple when you think about it. A clean car implies that it has been well taken care of and that adds 'value'. Yet when people bring their car into a dealer to be appraised, they are unwittingly showing the dealer a "lower value" in their car.

There are a few things you can do that will help to set your car apart from the others dealers see every day.

1 A Quick Bath - I'm not saying you have to go spend a fortune having it detailed, but I've seen a clean car bring in a few hundred more because the owner ran it through the 7/11 car wash for $5.

2 Straighten up a bit - You don't have to vaccuum it and clean it from front to back, but just imagine you were going to have a friend you hadn't seen in a few years ride in your car. Same thing, anything disposable, used fast food cups, that bag from mcdonalds the other night - throw it away.

Dealers don't expect it to be perfect, infact we will just have it cleaned anyway, even if you did spend a fortune having it detailed!! So keep in mind there is no reason not to bring your car in, but if you have a spare second to take out the trash.. it can show.

3. Anything wrong with it - Honesty is a two way street, better to know up front. If you hear a knock and don't know what it is, let us know. When you tell us the big and little things up front, we can tell our appraiser ahead of time so they aren't surprised when they discover it during the walk around/drive.

4. Create an owner package - If you have all the manuals, any of the maintenance records handy, the spare key, etc. Let the dealer know that they are available and that you can bring them in at a later date. Don't feel bad if you lost some of these items, the majority of cars we buy/take on trade have missing items.

Each of these steps might seem small, but together they will add a great deal of 'value' to your trade-in, and it will set it miles apart from the other half dozen trade-ins that car dealer has appraised that day.