That's a good answer Kirstie. All of the points and factors you mentioned are valid, and nobody but the owner can decide when the time is "right" to trade it in.
To answer the question of trading it in without being upside down, you just need to be conscious of your remaining balance vs the vehicle's trade-in value at the same time. Once your remaining loan balance catches up to the depreciation then you can trade without being upside down.
Most car dealers will tell you, there are used car buyers and new car buyers, you can`t put a new car buyer into a used car anymore then putting a used car buyer into a new car.
What are you talking about? I've put used buyers into new cars many a time.
A lot of the times when comparing new car interest rates vs used car rates (1% vs 9%), it makes more sense to finance a new vehicle as your payments end up being same or less in some cases.
But yeah, what does this have to do with the estate CTS or the Equinox? Maybe just a general statement from phill :confuse:
Especially when he is wrong. You take the hit personally but if you look at late model used cars for sale on the dealers lot, the prices make no sense. Why would I spend 29-30k on a 2 year old Odyssey ex-l when I can get a new 2010 for very low 30's? And let's not even talk about the crv's and subaru's.
No, driving will not be free. I made a cash offer to assume the PREPAID lease in addition to paying the lease transfer fee. That offer was made believing the car was in good condition. Certainly NOT the case here.
This morning the car was completely inspected mechanically and cosmetically by leasing Caddy dealership, and mechanically, car is perfect. Car has been regularly serviced by dealership since delivery. They did find other needed cosmetic fixes I did not see upon my cursory exam. Now we have the $$$ estimate--$2350. This would have to be paid if car were returned from lease in this condition, as not considered "normal wear and tear".
Will know more next week once car insurance for repair is pursued. Nothing to decide until then.
I read these forums regularly and appreciate all the advice from everyone who has taken the time to weigh in. Thanks!
Estate rep is gym buddy who knows I like current gen CTS. He too is car obsessed. Deceased prepaid 36 month, 45K mile lease in June 2008. Have no idea why, but estate rep now saddled with car's disposition from household. Widow cannot drive--stroke victim--wants car gone.
I confess, I am a car junkie--I have 4 cars already. So, don't need this car; always wanted to have a Caddy. So, this current situation lets me drive one for 15 months and decide what to do when lease expires June 2011. IF I acquire this CTS, I will cull one of the other four from the herd.
I would come back in June 2011 and seek advice from you and other sage car experts. Car has less than 12K miles now; would most likely have 25 to 30K when lease is done. At that time, I would know the car well to better determine my decision to walk away or purchase, again depending upon value, etc.
I will be purchasing a new Buick Enclave in the next 18 months. Just curious on the best way to make an offer with a trade
1. MSRP and ask for top allowance on trade in.
2. 2 % over invoice and actual cash value for trade.
Rebates would also be subtracted from totals. The difference (net) being the all important number...which would be the easiest to get the bottom line number?
Shouldn't either method get to the same net?
Do the salesmens/dealerships have a preference?
Thanks for your advice. I read Edmunds almost everyday.
How important are those New Vehicle dealership buying experience surveys??? and i just recieved another one after my 1st maintenence and they resent it a week later because i didn't fill it out.......how important are they and what does it mean to the dealer and will they keep spamming my email inbox untill i fill it out
We just had our valve cover seals replaced by the dealer but we still smell oil so i looked under the hood and all around the covers it is still all oily and grimy . I have replaced seals myself in the past and the first thing I did after getting the old seals off was wipe off the block and get a new clean surface to work with! how can they replace the gaskets without cleaning the heads off. have I been played by a dealer? is there a second party I can bring the vehicle to to verify the work has been done? they only had the car for a few hours. I am now worried to bring it back there. '
jayrider is correct. You have to ride dealers sometimes and advocate for yourself. Don't assume treachery when there is a more likely explanation---the carelessness of one individual working on the car. If you don't get satisfaction the second time around, write a personal letter to the owner of the dealership, in plain calm, polite professional language, explaining what happened and your disappointment in the performance of the service department.
If this is an Audi dealer, he's just going to wholesale it. It'll be sitting on some dusty used car lot the next day with a new tail light from a wrecking yard. So fixed or not fixed, same price I think.
This is the type of car where it pays to fix it only if you are going to detail it all up and sell it privately.
And be careful when you get the trade in price---make sure they aren't just raising the price of the new car to compensate for their "generosity".
I've been searching for 2009-10 used impala's and it seems that everyone that has a carfax comes from an auction/rental source. I've rented cars and never had any problem but there is a bit of anxiety regarding usage. These are all less than 12k miles and are cpo'd by the dealer. Is the only source for used cars the rental companies? Enterprise sells cars as well -- at about 2-3k over market value in their no hassle pricing policy. Makes no sense.
Is the only source for used cars the rental companies?
No but look at it this way, you are looking for a used car that is only about a year old. How many people trade in a 1-2 year old car? I would say that if you really wand a '09 or '10 used car either wait a year or two or bite the bullet and buy that used rental.
Last year I bought an '08 Sebring ragtop that came from a rental agency. In a bit over a year I have had no issues what so ever. Plus I saved a ton of money :shades:
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Snake -- you make sense -- lots of these are cpo's which gives you an extra year of warrant anyway. I figure it saves almost 10k off new. The dealer checks them out -- I can spend another 100 to have it checked so probably not much risk. Only drive 8k miles per year. Engines and transmissions are old school reliable. Don't need the high tech stuff anyway.
I wouldn't hesitate to buy an ex rental with low miles. I used to be a heavy renter and (at least from National anyway) the cars appeared to be very well cared for. Most rental cars don't quite inspire spirited driving anyway..... well, except for the new Maxima I got in Montana a few years back
I would think cosmetically the biggest thing to look out for would be scratched up rear bumpers from careless people loading luggage and dirty mats/carpet. Otherwise, they are good buys.
All you [youns for p burghers] sales pros sell used as well as new. In all the years how often does a customer buy a cpo/low mile car and have significant problems that come to your attention. All brands. My guess is very rarely but am interested in experiences. Also, do folks who are pleased with their purchase report that as well. What is the unscientific ratio of good to bad.
The passenger side rear brake light is smashed out and will cost $435 to repair.
Cooper, I'm in the same situation you are, but worse. Some fool slammed into the back of my Maxima while it was parked, denting the truck lid and smashing the light. Our Max has 120,000 miles on it. Some folks have advised us to fix it and keep it, others say just call it a day and sell it.
I am shopping right now, leaning towards not fixing it and just trading it for whatever I can get at whatever dealer we buy something from. Very, very irritating, to say the least, because I loved that car. It might have brought a couple thousand or so in good condition; won't bring much now.
We are looking at small to mid-size SUVs and crossovers, so will be getting something other than a sedan anyway. But I hate the thought of our poor Max just going to auction. That's what will happen, though, no doubt.
The person who hit him should be responsible. Hit and run? Once your car gets that many miles it is not uncommon to drop collision or have a $500 deductible.
Just acquired a car for my son.. it was a gift, actually. It's worth around $5K, but insurance will only value it at $3500 max.. Thought I'd drop the collision/comprehensive to save money.... but, my total annual premium is only $214! Figured I'd just keep that on there.. :surprise:
I dropped collision on the older cars but kept comprehensive. Good thing - my daughter drowned her car. Comp covered that. I'll have to remember if I'm ever in an accident to push the car into the bay!
2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
Thanks Craig -- you confirm what I'd been thinking. Any anxiety that I may have re used vs new has been seriously minimized recently. And it comes in a generic. :shades:
Just remember that EVERY car on the road is a used car.
I will say that some car rental companies will skimp on maintaince so I would ask to see the records that they should have.
Sometimes it's not because they want to skimp. In a busy location sometimes the cars are constantly rented and the shop can't grab them as quickly as they would like for oil changes etc.
I've had good luck and I have never heard of anyone who got a bad one.
I did some research and was about to switch then decided to give my agent a chance to match. She couldn't match price exactly, but she did manage to save me over $800 annually when we combed through our policies with a fine-toothed comb.
And, like you, I probably wouldn't be dropped after a claim. Lord knows I filed enough claims as the kids were learning to drive.
Not too many years ago some elderly friends of my parents were rearended at a light in California. Not much damage and the guy who hit them was insured so it was covered.
By oddball chance, the same thing happened to them at another light a few months later. Same thing. The other guy's insurance paid.
Well Triple A DROPPED them after over 40 years!!
Told them they were "accident prone"!!
They fought it but AAA wouldn't budge! They had never had a ticket or an acident in their lives and they had to sign up for Assigned Risk insurance!
My in-laws got dropped by I don't know what company years ago with no claims at all. Essentially they were told that after all those years of no claims they were due. I think that what they were was not due but old. They continued never having claims. My FIL is gone and my MIL no longer drives.
2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
To me, insurance companies are like having a pet lion for 25 years...
The typical lifespan of a house lion is about 20-25 years. So, even if one was to turn their back, fall down, and have a seizure, the toothless gumed lion could do very little.
I keep my State Farm agent well fed... car, home, personal liability in an umbrella policy. Hopefully after 20 years he wouldn't sink his fangs into my jugular.
The typical lifespan of a house lion is about 20-25 years.
According to the Honolulu Zoo a lion in the wild lives 16 years and in captivity 10 more years. I wouldn't want to deal with a lion that still had one year left in it.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Comments
Just trying to figure out how this fits in this discussion??
To answer the question of trading it in without being upside down, you just need to be conscious of your remaining balance vs the vehicle's trade-in value at the same time. Once your remaining loan balance catches up to the depreciation then you can trade without being upside down.
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
LOL!
More importantly, where are the paragraphs in that post? :P
What are you talking about? I've put used buyers into new cars many a time.
A lot of the times when comparing new car interest rates vs used car rates (1% vs 9%), it makes more sense to finance a new vehicle as your payments end up being same or less in some cases.
But yeah, what does this have to do with the estate CTS or the Equinox? Maybe just a general statement from phill :confuse:
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
This morning the car was completely inspected mechanically and cosmetically by leasing Caddy dealership, and mechanically, car is perfect. Car has been regularly serviced by dealership since delivery. They did find other needed cosmetic fixes I did not see upon my cursory exam. Now we have the $$$ estimate--$2350. This would have to be paid if car were returned from lease in this condition, as not considered "normal wear and tear".
Will know more next week once car insurance for repair is pursued. Nothing to decide until then.
I read these forums regularly and appreciate all the advice from everyone who has taken the time to weigh in. Thanks!
I keep wondering why you are on this car instead of just buying a different one.
What do you plan to do at lease end? Do you plan to buy it for the residual or do you plan to walk away?
I confess, I am a car junkie--I have 4 cars already. So, don't need this car; always wanted to have a Caddy. So, this current situation lets me drive one for 15 months and decide what to do when lease expires June 2011. IF I acquire this CTS, I will cull one of the other four from the herd.
I would come back in June 2011 and seek advice from you and other sage car experts. Car has less than 12K miles now; would most likely have 25 to 30K when lease is done. At that time, I would know the car well to better determine my decision to walk away or purchase, again depending upon value, etc.
Again isell, I appreciate the feedback. Thanks.
1. MSRP and ask for top allowance on trade in.
2. 2 % over invoice and actual cash value for trade.
Rebates would also be subtracted from totals. The difference (net) being the all important number...which would be the easiest to get the bottom line number?
Shouldn't either method get to the same net?
Do the salesmens/dealerships have a preference?
Thanks for your advice. I read Edmunds almost everyday.
Kevin
Have a range you're ok with and be realistic with your trade in figure.
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
I have replaced seals myself in the past and the first thing I did after getting the old seals off was wipe off the block and get a new clean surface to work with! how can they replace the gaskets without cleaning the heads off. have I been played by a dealer? is there a second party I can bring the vehicle to to verify the work has been done? they only had the car for a few hours. I am now worried to bring it back there. '
I have a few questions.
I have a 2002 Audi A4 with 100,600 miles on it.
The passenger side rear brake light is smashed out and will cost $435 to repair.
Is it worth it to fix this before trade in?
I dont think the car is worth much to begin with, there are a few scratches on both front and back bumpers and it is a high mileage car.
I would appreciate any opinions!
Thanks
This is the type of car where it pays to fix it only if you are going to detail it all up and sell it privately.
And be careful when you get the trade in price---make sure they aren't just raising the price of the new car to compensate for their "generosity".
Having said that, I own a previous gen Impala and while not fancy, get the job done reliable and efficiently every time. No complaints about it.
No but look at it this way, you are looking for a used car that is only about a year old. How many people trade in a 1-2 year old car? I would say that if you really wand a '09 or '10 used car either wait a year or two or bite the bullet and buy that used rental.
Last year I bought an '08 Sebring ragtop that came from a rental agency. In a bit over a year I have had no issues what so ever. Plus I saved a ton of money :shades:
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
I would think cosmetically the biggest thing to look out for would be scratched up rear bumpers from careless people loading luggage and dirty mats/carpet. Otherwise, they are good buys.
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
The passenger side rear brake light is smashed out and will cost $435 to repair.
Cooper, I'm in the same situation you are, but worse. Some fool slammed into the back of my Maxima while it was parked, denting the truck lid and smashing the light. Our Max has 120,000 miles on it. Some folks have advised us to fix it and keep it, others say just call it a day and sell it.
I am shopping right now, leaning towards not fixing it and just trading it for whatever I can get at whatever dealer we buy something from. Very, very irritating, to say the least, because I loved that car. It might have brought a couple thousand or so in good condition; won't bring much now.
We are looking at small to mid-size SUVs and crossovers, so will be getting something other than a sedan anyway. But I hate the thought of our poor Max just going to auction. That's what will happen, though, no doubt.
Just acquired a car for my son.. it was a gift, actually. It's worth around $5K, but insurance will only value it at $3500 max.. Thought I'd drop the collision/comprehensive to save money.... but, my total annual premium is only $214! Figured I'd just keep that on there.. :surprise:
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You do realize that once you drop your comp/collision you will get into an accident.
Had that happen to me. I dropped the comp/collision on my sons car because it really wasn't worth anything and within the week he totalled it.
But in this case a broken headlight totals the car :sick:
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Impalas are pretty decent cars. they are NOT big sellers except to the rental companies who buy and sell them en masse.
In the past,we have owned two ex-rental cars and they were just fine.
I have sold, literally hundreds of used cars and except for a couple of brands that I try to steer people away from I have had almost zero problems.
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
I will say that some car rental companies will skimp on maintaince so I would ask to see the records that they should have.
Sometimes it's not because they want to skimp. In a busy location sometimes the cars are constantly rented and the shop can't grab them as quickly as they would like for oil changes etc.
I've had good luck and I have never heard of anyone who got a bad one.
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I keep Comp and Coll on our 1993 Explorer that seldom get's driven. I forget how much it costs but it wasn't much.
State Farm won't drop me or raise my rates if I should have an accident or a couple of tickets.
Try that with one of the companies whose name ends in a "CO".
And when I call SF I talk to a real person who knows who I am. I don't have to go through the..
Press One for English and so on phone loop to get connected to someone in India.
I've been with SF since my first marriage in '87.
I did some research and was about to switch then decided to give my agent a chance to match. She couldn't match price exactly, but she did manage to save me over $800 annually when we combed through our policies with a fine-toothed comb.
And, like you, I probably wouldn't be dropped after a claim. Lord knows I filed enough claims as the kids were learning to drive.
Not too many years ago some elderly friends of my parents were rearended at a light in California. Not much damage and the guy who hit them was insured so it was covered.
By oddball chance, the same thing happened to them at another light a few months later. Same thing. The other guy's insurance paid.
Well Triple A DROPPED them after over 40 years!!
Told them they were "accident prone"!!
They fought it but AAA wouldn't budge! They had never had a ticket or an acident in their lives and they had to sign up for Assigned Risk insurance!
Yes, a pet lion to be sure!
The typical lifespan of a house lion is about 20-25 years. So, even if one was to turn their back, fall down, and have a seizure, the toothless gumed lion could do very little.
I keep my State Farm agent well fed... car, home, personal liability in an umbrella policy. Hopefully after 20 years he wouldn't sink his fangs into my jugular.
According to the Honolulu Zoo a lion in the wild lives 16 years and in captivity 10 more years. I wouldn't want to deal with a lion that still had one year left in it.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
And I suspect the agent isn't the one making the decision to drop a client. More likely the fat cats in the big office.