If you have bought a car that is brand new or nearly new then you may be tempted to change it after 3 years as this is often when the manufacturer’s warranty expires and MOT’s etc become due. You may have also taken out a three-year service plan meaning that you have not had to pay for services to your vehicle over the time you have owned it. After three years you may need to all of a sudden spend quite a bit more on your vehicle than you had before. For this reason, it often makes sense to trade it in and start again with a new one often giving you peace of mind that you will have hassle free motoring for the next few years.

If your car has finance on it you can often trade it in at a garage and they will add the existing finance on to the new car, but you cannot privately sell it until the finance has been paid off in full. When trading in a car at a garage you often get less than you would if you sold it privately, so it may even be worth taking out a loan to pay off the car allowing you to sell it privately rather than part exchange it. Always check if you will be charged to settle the load early though.