Trade-In Value at Westlie Ford in Washougal, Near Camas and Vancouver

Selling privately in Clark County means photos, listings, test drives with people you've never met and a title transfer you handle on your own. Trading at Westlie Ford wraps the sale and the next purchase into a single visit.

• You don't have to buy from us to sell to us, and the vehicle doesn't have to be a Ford.
• Still paying it off? We help you through the payoff with your bank or credit union.
• Our sales floor keeps hours every day of the week, Sunday afternoons included.
• One trip down SR 14 covers the appraisal, the paperwork and a look at our used vehicles and new Fords.

The online offer leans on the details you type in. The confirmed figure also reflects these:

• Miles on the odometer, compared with what's normal for the model year
• Condition inside and out: paint, glass, tires, upholstery and any warning lights on the dash
• History: accident repairs, title brands, how many owners it has had and whether service records come with it
• Equipment: trim level, 4x4, engine choice such as a Power Stroke diesel, factory towing gear and, on a Bronco, the roof and doors it came with
• Demand around here: what similar vehicles are bringing in Clark County and the Portland area right now feeds into the figure

On a Washington sale, the value of a like-kind trade comes off the price before retail sales tax is figured. The Department of Revenue rule behind that, WAC 458-20-247, requires that the trade be handed over in the same transaction as your purchase, with both vehicles named on the sales documents.

Three details in that rule are worth knowing on this side of the Columbia. Trade two vehicles toward one, and the exclusion covers both of them. Bought the car you're trading in Oregon? The rule says sales tax need not have been paid on the trade for it to qualify. And on a lease, Ford Credit or otherwise, the rule wants you to purchase the vehicle first; only then does it qualify as your trade.

Live in Oregon? Different Washington rules can apply to a sale to a nonresident, so ask our finance office how your purchase will be taxed. This is general information, not tax advice.

Negative equity means the loan balance is larger than the vehicle's value. According to the FTC, that leftover amount can end up added to your next loan or subtracted from your down payment, and you pay interest on whatever gets financed.

Know your payoff before you shop, ask exactly how any shortfall will be handled, and check the contract's disclosures, where the down payment and the amount being financed show how it was treated. When negative equity is rolled in, the FTC recommends the shortest loan term you can afford, and it lists waiting while you pay the balance down as another route.

If the payment itself is the problem, read our page on options to give your car back, and see how bad credit car loans work at Westlie Ford.

The Department of Licensing wants a Report of Sale filed no later than 5 days after any trade to a dealership. A registered Washington dealer may file it on your behalf, but DOL leaves it to you, the owner, to make sure it was filed. Live outside Washington? When you sell to someone here, DOL says you can file either Washington's Report of Sale or your own state's.

Paid off a loan with an out-of-state lender? DOL notes that a vehicle legally owned by a lienholder outside Washington has to have that resolved in the other state before a Washington title can be issued, so bring the release paperwork.

• The title, or the lender's name and your loan account number if it's still financed
• Current registration and a photo ID
• Every key and fob, plus anything that came with the vehicle, such as a Bronco's removable doors and roof panels
• Service records, and paperwork for any lift, tonneau cover or other add-on

Westlie Ford is on South Marina Way in Washougal, just off SR 14 east of Camas. We also serve Vancouver, Battle Ground and Ridgefield, and Oregon drivers can reach us across the Columbia; our areas we serve page lists the rest.

Shopping while you're here? Look through our used trucks near Vancouver, start the credit application before you drive over, and if your Ford Credit lease is ending, read our Ford lease return guide first.