Trade-in Versus Private Sale

I get emails from AAA all the time. They're mostly about Disney vacations or other adventure beyond my financial priorities, and I delete them quickly. The other day, I gleaned the message and saw a few items worth noting.  One item was titled: Trade-in Versus Private Sale

We own three cars. When we got the Journey, I figured that the other two cars we had were worth more to us than we could get for them. Obviously, I didn't realize I'd lose my job and essentially have two cars sitting at home regularly, but I still feel as though having three cars makes sense.

First, the older two cars ARE PAID OFF, and have regular maintenance. I trust my mechanic, and I figure using the older cars until they cease to run or cost too much to repair to keep.

How much is too much?  I usually think about the cost of a car payment. If a car's repair will keep it going at a better rate in return of a car payment, then I figure it's worthwhile to get items fixed. Buying new tires is nothing to look short-term. One has to look at the history of the manufacturer's cars' longevity with regards to variable not limited to mileage.

The biggest fear I have for a car, is to have it die on the highway. We have AAA for that very reason.

Another consideration is the price of insuring the car. Insurance is affordable if you carry the minimum coverage allowed by law. It also makes sense on the cars that would yield a value less than the deductible upon being totaled. Why pay for full coverage if you won't get anything if you are in an accident?


Cars don't last forever. I always keep an eye on the classifieds to see what the going price on new and used cars is. I know I will someday need to replace one of our cars, so I like to gauge the market.
 
When the time came to upgrade our vehicle, we will either choose to trade in our current vehicle or selling it on our own. Craig's List makes the latter very worthwhile to ensure a higher resale amount, but the trade-in process is easier since the paperwork gets moved by the dealer and we wouldn't have to fix trivial matters that cause the "check engine" light to stay on.