When to reveal to a dealer that you have a "trade-in"?

When buying a new car at a dealership, when is the best time to reveal that you have a trade-in?

I am trying to maximize my negotiations and feel it might be better to hold that card until the lowest price has been negotiated. Any theories behind that?

 

I tell them right up front... at the end of the day, the sale price and the trade in price separately don't matter, it's the differential that really matters. For example, they may show you that you're buying the vehicle 10k below sticker but then turn around and rape you on your trade. It's all smoke and mirrors until all negotiations are made.

 

I partially agree. At the end of the day it is the differential that matters; this is absolutely true.

However, I'd suggest only telling them you have a trade after the price of the car has been decided. The three most important parts of setting this up properly (in order) are as follows.

1) Never drive your own car to the dealership if you can help it.
2) Decide what you want for your trade before you ever drive to the dealer lot. This is VERY important.
3) If they ask why you aren't considering trading it in it's because you think you can sell it for more than they'll give you. Tell them that and then move on to another topic like it's not even a consideration.

Then towards the end, after you've decided on a price for the new car. Tell him that you thought about what he said the other day (duh, never buy a car the first freaking day) and you thought it might be worth at least having him appraise it. Don't tell him what you need for it to be worth it because that's your bargaining chip.

When I traded in my Lexus IS300 for my truck he wanted to give me $5k. The car was in bad shape but I knew it was worth more. He asked me how much I needed for it and I told him $7,500 and proceeded to look up auto trader ads for my exact same car (winning). I requested $7500 because I built in a 500 buffer knowing he (on principle) wouldn't give me what I asked for. I really wanted $7k for it to be worth it for me. He came back with an offer for $7k and I signed the papers. The rest is speedway blue history!