Unfortunately, most dealers go by "galves", which governs the wholesale market. Galves shows the lowest value when it comes to trade in, but there's reasoning behind it. A stealer, who is in business to make money, like all other business, would like to make a profit when they take in a car. Many times the stealer would "wholesale out" the car, which means selling it to another wholesaler. If that wholesaler sends those cars to auction (i.e. manheim), he needs to make a profit as well, and so on.

Anyway, most are surprised that many options are not accounted for when it comes to trade-in value. That's why sometimes it pays to sell privately. Options like rear heated seats, xenon lights, PDC, privacy glass, heated steering wheel will not fetch you a higher trade value. For the most part, sport package (with upgraded wheels), navigation, premium sound (DSP), are the options stealers will "add" for when giving you an appraisal. Heated seats often do not command a higher trade in value, as that car might be sold to somebody in, for example, Arizona, who doesn't need heated seats. It also varies by model year. Take, for example, my MY01 4.4i: Until the end of last year, activity package (which was headlight washers, etc.) was a $500 add for trade in. It no longer is an add.

So, if you have a car that's "loaded-to-the-gills", you're probably better off finding a private party to buy your car (somebody who appreciates your comfort seats, xenon lights, rear heated seats, heated steering wheel, PDC, running boards, etc.). Don't forget, though, in most states, when you trade in, you're also saving the tax, so you can add that to the trade in value (i.e. in a state with 6% sales tax, a $20,000 car traded in will save you $1,200 in tax)

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