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97 F-150 Trade-In Value-Being Lowballed!

randallfrandallf Member Posts: 3
edited February 2014 in Ford
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?

Comments

  • stanfordstanford Member Posts: 606
    You're way off base.

    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.
  • stanfordstanford Member Posts: 606
    I just checked around a little more -- Ford is currently offering 1.9% financing on the new F150s. With that in mind, you may want to check the deal you're getting on your new vehicle. Your dealer seems to be offering you a very healthy amount for a trade in that it may be hard to make much on.

    Of course, if you really told him he was on drugs, that offer may not be around any more.
  • BrutusBrutus Member Posts: 1,113
    From my experience, dealers generally offer about 2/3 of the trade-in value listed in KBB or here for a vehicle in good condition. If you are being offered close to the trade-in value listed in these publications, I agree that you should maybe check out the deal you are being offered on the new truck. It sounds like the dealer is actually offering you more than he normally would, which makes me wonder if he's making good money off of you on the other side of the deal. Make sure you check to see if any rebates are being offered for the 1998 trucks. The 1999 trucks are coming in soon, so you should be able to buy a 1998 for very close to dealer invoice, maybe less if there are rebates.

    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.
  • davepercdaveperc Member Posts: 76
    Brutus covered that pretty well. Every dealer in the world will work the numbers based on sticker price and then compliment you with a good trade in value. Realistically, figure out your trade in value from a reasonable amount over invoice for the new car. For example, if the truck you want has a sticker of $20k and the real price they are willing to sell it for is $18k, then they will take that $2k difference and add it to what they are really giving you for your trade, $12.8k.

    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
  • randallfrandallf Member Posts: 3
    stanford

    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.
  • stanfordstanford Member Posts: 606
    You say your truck is really 2 years old. The dealer (and his prospective customers) don't care. They see brand new '98s, and your '97, and your truck becomes 1 year old in their mind. 20,000 miles in a 'one year old' truck is considered a bit high, and saying, 'No, the truck is really older than it looks' is hardly a good defense. Once the '99s are out, your truck will look a little older on the lot and the miles won't be a big deal.

    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.
  • stanfordstanford Member Posts: 606
    In the Dallas area, Doug Stanley Ford is selling a brand new 1998 F150 XLT Supercab Auto V6 and is asking $19,895. That also includes tow pkg, LS, etc. and can be purchased with 1.9% financing. A used '97 supercab is marked at 16,995 in the same ad. You could probably talk them down from that.
  • coralsea43coralsea43 Member Posts: 2
    No matter what, you are going to get wholesale
    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.
  • stanfordstanford Member Posts: 606
    Surely you mean 'Don't settle for more'? :-)
  • RoclesRocles Member Posts: 982
    Hmm, I'm a little late to this discussion but I have two pennies. I just bought a personal truck. 98 F-150, extended cab-short bed with the 4.6l eight. XL trim with class three hitch and heavy suspension. This came with the sale price of 17.5k.
    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.
  • JeramieJeramie Member Posts: 7
    Randallf is being screwed because he has a V-6. I recently tried to trade in my '97 XLT 4X4 V-6 with only 8,000 miles and the best offer I could get was $13,000. I don't know about most people but I would find it stupid to pass up a four wheel drive truck with only 8,000 miles on the odometer for $13K. I think the reason V-6's get pissed on is because buyers only want a V-8. They don't care that a V-6 will pull nearly as much as Ford's pathetic 4.6 V-8. I pulled over 5,000 lbs. of race car and trailer with little problem. On a V-6!. The truck has 3.55 rear end so getting moving is not a problem if you know how to not toast the clutch. Fortunately I found a buyer that knew a good deal. He bought the truck for $16,500. I think that's cheap considering the truck had four wheel drive and only 8k miles. My advice to randallf is to sell the truck yourself and never buy a V-6 regardless of how well they can tow.
  • kevimkevim Member Posts: 2
    I am brand new to the town hall conferencing. I would like to know if the prices stated in Edmunds used car are in American dollars or Canadian. I am from Canada and it would make a big difference.
  • stanfordstanford Member Posts: 606
    They're US, kevim. As a special bonus, the finance conversion rates were set some months ago (manufacturers use a long-term average rate rather than changing prices daily) -- folk in Canada are getting great deals right now.
  • kevimkevim Member Posts: 2
    To Stanford thanks for the information. Have a great weekend.
This discussion has been closed.