Can I Use My Old Vehicle as a Down Payment for a New Car?

Can I trade in my car for a down payment when leasing a vehicle? Yes, and it's not uncommon or complicated. Choosing to trade in your vehicle at a dealership and apply the credit to the purchase of a new car or truck is a common practice, and the process is simpler and more secure than selling the vehicle outright on your own.

Although you might get less for your trade at a dealership than you would selling it yourself, you will probably save time and get tax savings by trading to a dealership. This is not a single transaction, points out Tom Kadlec Kia. You will sell your car to the dealer, and then lease a car in a separate transaction. The purchase price of your sale is applied to your lease, making the two transaction related, but not the same.

If you own your vehicle outright, meaning you have the title in your hand and there is no outstanding loan or lease on the vehicle, you can trade in the car or truck to a dealership and use the trade value of the vehicle as a down payment.

Owning your vehicle outright also lets the dealership know that your car sale will be relatively easy to complete, because you do not have an outstanding loan that must be paid off in conjunction with your new car purchase. Bring your title and/or loan payoff documents with you to show the dealer (although he can probably look up and confirm your ownership using online tools and your vehicle's VIN number).

If you currently have an outstanding loan on your vehicle, the remaining balance on your loan must be rolled into your new car transaction. If you owe more than the dealership offers for your trade, you will actually carry a negative down payment into your new car purchase, meaning that you must finance the negative equity in order to pay off your old loan and get a new car.

If you owe a significant amount more than your trade is worth, you might be required to put money down toward your purchase. Bring in your loan paperwork to help the dealer determine how much you'll have to pay off and what type of terms she can offer you on your lease.

Although uncommon, it is possible to trade a leased vehicle and use the trade value as a down payment toward a new car or truck. In order to use a leased vehicle as a down payment, the dealership must purchase the vehicle from the leasing company and offer you more than this purchase amount for your trade.

When leased vehicles are turned in, they must be inspected for mileage, wear and tear and other issues. Dealer purchase prices for leased vehicles are often higher than market value, so the likelihood that this scenario would be to your advantage is slim.

In the event you trade your vehicle at a dealership, you save in taxes versus selling on your own. For example, if you receive ​$10,000​ for your vehicle and the sales tax rate in your state is 7 percent, you would save ​$700​ by not having to pay tax on the trade value of your old car. The amount of capital gains tax you owed will depend on whether the gain is considered short-term or long-term, explains the IRS.