#TradeIn

Just 25 years ago car buying was relatively simple, if still a headache. Unless you were after a high end luxury, sports, or collector car, all your new car choices were on the lot at your local dealership; and there were 100 pages of used car classifieds at every checkout. Or you could always bring your wallet down to Yetarian’s Premium Deluxe Motorsport and take your chances with their low, low, prices. Only a few diehards would think about having a car shipped in from somewhere or taking European delivery of their Volvo or BMW.

Trading up for the newest model used to be the norm, but a faltering economy and widely improved reliability are both stretching how long consumers keep their cars.

Last year in May, Hyundai launched a guaranteed trade-in program to pay a fixed value amount to buyers of new Hyundai vehicles if those buyers wanted to trade-in those vehicles three of four years later. That program officially ended last month, but the Korean automaker will retain it for their upscale models including the Equus sedan, Genesis sedan, and Genesis coupe.