Real-World Trade-In Values

steine13

Now I know there's a carmax in Grand Rapids, an hour away from me.
And I know we're back to recession pricing on used cars -- those numbers are sky high! It puts in perspective some of the local pricing i see, which is insane. Good thing I don't need anything right now...

stickguy

hopefully by the spring when I might be shopping again prices have settled back down. Otherwise might be back to a cheap lease!

sda

Reviewing some of the local used car listings it doesn’t appear that prices are softening, they actually seem to be on an uptick. Are new cars a better buy than used?

stickguy

might be, depending on what they have a supply of late next month. But if the new vs. used delta shrinks a lot, I will just pay for new, get the warranty (and new car smell!) and move on.

100chuck

Sky high !!!!! Hey now Big Red might hear you:) I tried Vroom and it was only $5300 so maybe it's a Carmax thing. My manager asked what did I think of working from home permanently so do I need a daily driver? Hmmmm!!!!!

28firefighter

Hey Q, can you give me an idea of values for a 2018 Mini Cooper John Cooper Works 6MT with 26.5k miles? Black with red stripe over black cloth, premium package, upgraded wheels, HK stereo. Mini certified. Asking is $27,8 which seems a bit dear...vroom says they’d buy it for $23,5.

qbrozen

28firefighter said:

Hey Q, can you give me an idea of values for a 2018 Mini Cooper John Cooper Works 6MT with 26.5k miles? Black with red stripe over black cloth, premium package, upgraded wheels, HK stereo. Mini certified. Asking is $27,8 which seems a bit dear...vroom says they’d buy it for $23,5.

Is this the standard 3-door? Manheim doesn’t have much to go by. Most recent manual with similar miles was 4 mos ago and on the opposite coast. It hit $25.6k.

28firefighter

Yup. 3 door. So then perhaps priced fairly!

stickguy

Depends on how greedy Mrs. Breld gets, right? 😀

breld

@28firefighter - nice! I found what I’m assuming is the listing for the car you’re looking at Seattle MINI. Love those seats.

For whatever it’s worth, our 2020 was $32,990 with about 1,600 miles. So I don’t know, about $5,000 less for 2 model years, age appropriate miles, plus the CPO? Doesn’t seem all that bad. Especially the CPO part!

budsbrother

For @qbrozen 2018 Corolla SE, silver black interior, moon roof, push button start and only 14,000 miles. Good tires, a couple of small scratches otherwise clean. Just wondering what the auction value is. Thanks for your help

Michaell

budsbrother said:

For qbrozen. 2018 Corolla SE, silver black interior, moon roof, push button start and only 14,000 miles. Good tires, a couple of small scratches otherwise clean. Just wondering what the auction value is. Thanks for your help

What is your location?

budsbrother

Doh, I forgot, the Corolla is near Boston. It's tough to lose your memory!

qbrozen

budsbrother said:

For @qbrozen 2018 Corolla SE, silver black interior, moon roof, push button start and only 14,000 miles. Good tires, a couple of small scratches otherwise clean. Just wondering what the auction value is. Thanks for your help

somewhere in the mid $14k range.

budsbrother

Thank you qbrozen! Great info as always. I helped a friend lease the Corolla 3 years ago and now the lease is up. They love the car and the buyout is $12,853, so it sure sound like a keeper to me!

qbrozen

no problem.

It is a good buy for them. They obviously didn't use near the miles they paid for. Alternatively, could sell it and use the cash towards something else if so inclined.

xwesx

@qbrozen Hey, sir. Will you please check the auction information for JF2GTABC2JG256671? It is a lease return, and I think this one went through a few weeks ago. I'm just curious about the sale price and rated condition.

tjc78

xwesx said:

@qbrozen Hey, sir. Will you please check the auction information for JF2GTABC2JG256671? It is a lease return, and I think this one went through a few weeks ago. I'm just curious about the sale price and rated condition.

I hope you plan to ship that thing! That’s one hell of a road trip.

xwesx

Curious situation. My wife must spend some significant time in the Erie area, so I'm considering just buying this thing for her while she's down there. Biggest problem is that we *can't* do a road trip right now to get her there in her car.

My other option is to ship her car, but we're looking at 4-6 weeks on that with ~$3,000 in shipping cost. So, add a rental on that at $300 per week (~$1,800) and now buying a car for possibly six months before selling, but maybe just keep the thing, doesn't look like such a bad financial decision.

stickguy

Up by Rochester, that place is way up in snow country. Probably 1/2 between Driver and Farmer.

xwesx

stickguy said:

Up by Rochester, that place is way up in snow country. Probably 1/2 between Driver and Farmer.

Yea, it's the nearest manual tranny Crosstrek I can find (that I'm willing to buy). Only a couple hundred miles away from Erie, and the dealer rep was not opposed to delivering in the Erie area. My wife wants me to ship her car, but, honestly, I'm not getting good vibes from the shipping company, and it wouldn't take much for me to get this car to her and set up the way she wants (winter tires, etc).

qbrozen

Autocheck says last event was in August. No go on finding it in the auction listings. Similar ones are around $18k. But if that’s a manual, I’d deduct $1k.

xwesx

Okay, thanks. Yeah, I realized a little while ago that it was unlikely once I looked at the Carfax. The dealer says they recently got it from auction, but I think he was going on memory, so it may not be that car. He called back a little while later that he wasn't sure if this is the car I wanted, because this one has a stick (he did a walk around and sent me some extra info on it).

Uh, yeah.... my wife actually does prefer cars with the MT!

I ran an "offer" on it via Vroom (I think it was this one), which came back at around $16.7, so I figured it was probably in the $17K range.

stickguy

nice looking car. I am fond of those, at least the rare manual trans one. But that one is too skimpy on features for me.

xwesx

stickguy said:

nice looking car. I am fond of those, at least the rare manual trans one. But that one is too skimpy on features for me.

Yeah, it's pretty basic. But, my wife only complains about the stuff that most everyone else wants, so I figure she won't be too upset with this one. It even still requires the key be inserted and turned to start it! How quaint.

I was going to get her essentially the same thing except a new 2021 version, but I couldn't really see that there was anything different about it (you can't even get the new 2.5L engine with the MT), so what's the point of spending an extra $6K on it?

stickguy

depends on what you have to pay for the 2018. at their asking price, it is only $2-3K less than brand new. Maybe less, plus the 0% financing.

If you can get it for $17k bigger spread.

28firefighter

While I normally would advocate for new, I have to agree with Wes going used here especially if it may be sold again before long.

xwesx

stickguy said:

depends on what you have to pay for the 2018. at their asking price, it is only $2-3K less than brand new. Maybe less, plus the 0% financing.

If you can get it for $17k bigger spread.

Man, I wish. MSRP on the base level of the Premium is $24,500, and the biggest discounts I could find were about $1,300 through Heuberger in Colorado. I talked with one dealer in New York that basically had a new version of the one I found, and he told me to pound sand when I suggested a similar discount. I know, it's a sample size of one, but the MT, especially, is not plentiful as new so my options are limited.

corvette

IIRC, Subaru has financially discouraged dealers from selling new cars outside their local markets. May make it more difficult to find one willing to play ball.

stickguy

I forgot how limited the MT supply is on most cars that even offer it. So smaller discounts are nota surprise. I checked the bigger dealers by me, and found zero sticks in stock.

explorerx4

Just checked 6 dealers within 50 miles of Erie and not 1 new Crosstrek/Manual.
Easier to find here in CT.

andres3

A guy that can afford to own 3 Audi's, not one, not two, but three, all under warranty (indicating they are relatively new recent models), says he can't bare the thought of owning an Audi past its warranty?

How does that financial math compute? I own two Audi's, not 3! Both of mine are out of warranty though, and not super duper expensive. Still, 3 is 50% more than 2. How can you own 3 relatively new Audi's, and be afraid to own a car out of warranty?

breld

Q, would you mind giving me an idea of auction values on a 2018 X3 m40i?

This particular one is equipped nicely, with premium package, driver assistance and driver assistance plus, harman kardon, adaptive M suspension.

18k miles at a non-BMW dealer in CO.

Seems to be priced fairly well at $42,999 based on KBB trade, but thought I’d check with you on actual values.

Thanks.

28firefighter

lol

qbrozen

breld said:

Q, would you mind giving me an idea of auction values on a 2018 X3 m40i?

This particular one is equipped nicely, with premium package, driver assistance and driver assistance plus, harman kardon, adaptive M suspension.

18k miles at a non-BMW dealer in CO.

Seems to be priced fairly well at $42,999 based on KBB trade, but thought I’d check with you on actual values.

Thanks.

$40k ballpark

breld

Thanks Q.

$40k ballpark auction? If so, they're at a pretty fair price, huh?

qbrozen

breld said:

Thanks Q.

$40k ballpark auction? If so, they're at a pretty fair price, huh?

if clean and no previous paintwork, yes.

breld

May as well ask this too...

They’re offering $59,250 on trade for my Cayenne - 2019 base model with premium package, adaptive cruise, sport chrono and 20” wheels. 17.5k miles.

That’s $4k over Carvana and consistent with KBB “very good” trade - seems like a strong offer combined with the fair pricing on the X3.

What do you think?

breld

And one more option if you don’t mind...

If I stay with a larger SUV, I like this...

2018 Volvo XC90 T6 Momentum. Momentum Plus package, Convenience Pkg, Head-up Display, 20” wheels. 30k miles.

CPO at a Volvo dealer - they’re asking $41.3k. They did put new tires on it and brake pads as part of the CPO process, but still seems perhaps a couple grand high?

stickguy

sounds like a strong deal overall. Basically a value swap. Meaning, instead of buying retail and selling wholesale, you are basically selling retail and buying retail. So financially, not losing anything. If you want to try the X3, go for it.

But, what do I know?

Oh, I think in this case (my HO of course, but again, what do I know?) the X3 makes sense but the Volvo doesn't really.

breld

Thanks for the feedback @stickguy. It does strike me as a relatively painless deal on the X3 - and this particular X3 is equipped so well for what I want. I may have mentioned already somewhere, but the used car manager at this place is a Porsche enthusiast - so it seems he’s more than willing to pay up for the Cayenne.

The Volvo would simply be a similar sized but less sporty SUV, at a much lower cost. Still something I appreciate after having had that V90 - but yes, not the same level of enthusiasm as with the X3 M40i. And the Volvo dealer may have a little room to give, but as it stands, their car is not priced nearly as well as the BMW, and from personal experience, that dealership is not aggressive at all on trade values.

qbrozen

Your Cayenne would be knocking on the door of $62k at auction. Did you also try Vroom?

That is quite high on the xc90. That’s right around $35k at the block.

breld

Thanks Q - I always forget the general expectation of trade vs auction. Do dealers generally try to stay back of auction values a bit?

I’ll give Vroom a try as well.

qbrozen

breld said:

Thanks Q - I always forget the general expectation of trade vs auction. Do dealers generally try to stay back of auction values a bit?

I’ll give Vroom a try as well.

Yes because they either want to sell to a wholesaler or cover their expenses of getting it to auction. If they are going to keep on the lot, they SHOULD be willing to step up on it, but that rarely seems to happen. That’s why carvana and vroom are sometiMes good options: they are paying as if they bought at auction.

xwesx

stickguy said:

Oh, I think in this case (my HO of course, but again, what do I know?) the X3 makes sense but the Volvo doesn't really.

Since when did you have humble opinions?! I worry about you....

breld

If nothing else but for purposes of follow up, I’ve now had several trade appraisals on the Cayenne - Carvana was $55k, Vroom $57, Land Rover dealer $58k and an autonation store at $59,250.

Both the dealerships have X3 M40i’s I’m looking at that are priced very fair (so their trade values seem legitimate). The Autonation store has been following up with me but haven’t budged from their trade offer, knowing I had said I’d do it for a $61k trade.

xwesx

breld said:

If nothing else but for purposes of follow up, I’ve now had several trade appraisals on the Cayenne - Carvana was $55k, Vroom $57, Land Rover dealer $58k and an autonation store at $59,250.

Both the dealerships have X3 M40i’s I’m looking at that are priced very fair (so their trade values seem legitimate). The Autonation store has been following up with me but haven’t budged from their trade offer, knowing I had said I’d do it for a $61k trade.

Trade values are currently falling, so maybe they are just trying to cover their exposure on it. From a percentage difference (from the # Q provided), the offer seems pretty strong.

breld

Carvana and Vroom seemed to be offering crazy buy offers for so many months now, I wonder if they’re forced to revert and go the other way to make up for some of it.

With values falling, I am a bit tempted to “take the money and run” and get this particular X3 while the getting is good.

stickguy

you want it, you got the itch, the deal on both ends makes financial sense. So go for it!

xwesx

stickguy said:

you want it, you got the itch, the deal on both ends makes financial sense. So go for it!

Haha; yeah, I think this is the most reasoning @breld has ever had to do on a car! Maybe he should wait another week, though, and punch this thing in January if the deal will hold. Start the new year off right and all... forget about any sort of "New Year's Resolution" regarding cutting back on vehicle purchases....