97 F-150 Trade-In Value-Being Lowballed!
I have 97 F-150 V-6, A/T, Power everything,
Supercab, XLT Package and shortbed --19,300 miles.
Dealer offered me 14800 as trade-in today. I told
him he was on drugs!! I think it is worth at least
16,500. Is this a lowball offer or am I way off
base?
Supercab, XLT Package and shortbed --19,300 miles.
Dealer offered me 14800 as trade-in today. I told
him he was on drugs!! I think it is worth at least
16,500. Is this a lowball offer or am I way off
base?
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Comments
Waaaaaay off base.
A brand new 1998 F150 XLT supercab V6 auto with power everything runs about $19,500. That's with 0 miles. You're wanting the dealer to give you $3,000 less than new cost for a truck with 20,000 miles on it. Include the dealer holdback and it drops down to just under $19,000. I don't think you can expect your 20,000 mile truck to be worth only $2,500 less than a brand new one.
The $15,000 your dealer offered is very close to the trade in value listed by Edmunds. Including your high mileage, it could even be considered generous. Remember that they're going to have to fix it up and still sell it for more than they pay you.
Of course, if you really told him he was on drugs, that offer may not be around any more.
As far as your truck, check out the local paper. See what people are asking for similar trucks. If you placed an ad in the paper, do you think you could sell your truck for $16,500 when compared to the other trucks in the paper. Anyone willing to pay over $15,000 for a 1/2 ton truck is usually going to get financing, so they figure they may as well go in debt a few grand more and get a new truck. A true cash buyer is usually looking for something under $10,000. Most people will tell you that you probably can't get your money's worth out of a used car unless you own it for at least three years. Remember that it loses value the minute you drive it off the lot.
Do keep in mind that when trading in your vehicle, you are taxed only on the difference between the new price and the trade. So using easy numbers, new truck = $20k and trade =$15k , you get taxed on $5k. If you decide to sell your truck yourself, when buying the new truck you get taxed on the whole cost, $20k. Difference being $15k. In my county of NY, tax is 7%, so by trading in, you would save $1050. So you sell it yourself you would need to sell it for $1050 more than the trade in. So in this example above, you would need to sell your truck for $16k just to break even. And trading in, you know what the final cost is going to be, if you hold your truck and sell it after you buy a new one, you are leaving yourself open to lose money.
Just a thought.
Dave
Where do you get $19,600 for a new 98? MSRP is $21200. This truck is almost two years old (purchased in DEC. 96) and ONLY has 19,300 miles on it. Since when is 10,000 miles a year considered high miles???? They can retail that truck for $19,500 and make money.
I would never pay MSRP for a new truck. Especially with the improved '99s coming out, I'd want invoice at best on a '98 this time of year. That still gives the dealer his 3% profit. If they tried to sell a 20,000 mile used truck for the same amount, well, they might find a sucker but they'd probably be laughed out of town.
Brutus does bring up a good point. You really want to look at the difference between what you're offered for your trade and what the dealer wants for the new vehicle. I'm buying my new F350 at invoice. This means getting screwed on the trade in if I take it to the dealer. Alternatively, if someone wanted to sell me a new truck for MSRP but give me $5,500 extra for my trade in, I'd take that too. As far as I'm concerned, its a wash.
I still say that you were offered a very good price for your truck, all things considered. If you don't mind, what sort of deal had you worked out for your new vehicle? Taking a look at both ends is mandatory when talking about deals like this.
for a trade-in at the dealership. And with high
mileage, even less. You always come out better
selling your vehicle privately. It may take
longer, but you'll do better. And you can make
a better deal at the dealership with no trade and
using Edmunds facts and figures for shopping.
Shop for invoice and don't settle for less. It
can be done.
Why would I be stupid and pay 1,000 less on a truck with 20k miles and a six cylinder? The dealer would love that.