<prompt> Human: I recently wanted to see what the trade in value of my vehicle was at a local dealership. The salesman asking me what did I want to buy and I said I was unsure at this point but was curious about my trade in value. He said it depended on what I was going to buy. Is this a legit practice, and if so, what does the purchase have to do with the trade value?Thanks all.  <response>: Although his answer is somewhat true it is absolutely not a legitimate business practice.The reason hes asking what you wanted to buy is he wanted to know how much profit he could move around. Cars with larger profit margins allow you to inflate the trade-in value because you can hide the extra cost in the profit of the car you sold.By contrast some other models have relatively low profit margins and they have to hold the line on your trade-in value because they cannot hide the extra expense.In the end it is a bad idea to get a trade in value from a dealership as they will always have ulterior motives. There are any number of online resources you should consult. 