Should I trade in my car if it has a lot of equity?

Having strong positive equity gives you flexibility, but it doesn't mean you have to trade it in. Compare the trade offer, plus any state sales-tax credit, with private-sale and instant-offer quotes, since equity is money you keep. You can apply it as a down payment to lower the amount you finance. On OffLot, the Trade-in and Sell my car pages estimate equity as value minus payoff, which you can weigh alongside vehicle pages showing out-the-door estimates.