Real-World Trade-In Values

isellhondas · February 2014

@whitall said:
I have a 2014 Nissan Murano that we purchased near Thanksgiving. It has 1800 miles as of today.
I HATE having a black car. I am hoping I can trade it in and get the same car in a different color without taking much of a hit. I would consider a demo if it made it even.

Murano SL AWD with leather and Nav. I had them install remote start as well. Car is still perfect but it is always dirty (winter) and even before the snow it showed every smudge. I am in South Jersey. Any ideas on trade-in value or what a dealer might be able to do for me?

I think the rebates when I got it were better than they are now. I want a silver or blue but would even take white. I don't know if black is more desirable as far as the dealership goes and whether that would help me. We financed only 10k and we can pay it off early, so that's not really an issue.

I'm going to post this in the the prices paid forum also and see if anybody has any helpful ideas there as well. Thanks!

You are going to take a financial beating if you sell or trade that Murano.

I'm surprised you bought it in the first place if you HATE having a black car.

You can always ask your dealer.

qbrozen · February 2014

The difference between trade and retail is in the $3k range.

I like the wrapping idea.

stickguy · February 2014

A trade might work if the OP takes on more miles. Say a 15k white one for his 2k black?

qbrozen · February 2014

that's true, although finding a 2014 with high enough miles and the right color and equipment could be nigh impossible.

nyccarguy · February 2014

@robr2

Ha! I like the wrapping idea too!

@whitall

In all seriousness, if you HATE the color THAT much, then have it repainted. I'm sure with only 1800 miles, the car is perfect and it might be less expensive than taking a massive depreciation hit.

isellhondas · February 2014

No...don't do that!!

A quality paint job especially with a color change will be 4000.00 and it'll devalue the car!

Mr_Shiftright · February 2014

Changing from black to a light color would require engine bay, door jambs, etc---so it's engine out, glass out, trim off....probably more than $4K even.

stickguy · February 2014

I think the idea of putting a car wash on retainer is going to be the easiest and cheapest.

also, eventually (I hope, but won't swear to it) this winter from Hades has to end, and it will not be that hard to keep the black looking nice. Our RDX is dark gray and looks white. The other cars are dark blue, and look white. A white car just looks dirty white, so in the end, we are all just fruit.

whitall · February 2014

Hubby wanted black. I agreed just so we could get something and they didn't have the blue I wanted. I never ever wanted black. I realized after buying it that there really is no difference between the 2013 and 2014, but the 2014 price was good. I would never take off the factory paint except as a repair. I just get annoyed with the black and would rather switch now.

Perhaps I could get a new 2013 as an even trade for my used 2014. I just have to check if the 13's have the blind spot and lane departure warning. I do like those features.

suydam · February 2014

The blue is a dark blue and will show smudges and dirt too. The silver will not show as much, but I guarantee the vehicle will be virtually invisible in a parking lot (I have a small silver hatchback that I can never find unless I memorize its whereabouts). And right now in the eastern half of the USA I don't see a single car that doesn't look awful, even the silver ones. Wait a few months. You might find you can live with it after all.

explorerx4 · February 2014

@shifty
I would price the van a little below market to try to get people to look at it and let the buyer decide.
@whitall
How long to plan to keep the Murano? My wife only considers black vehicles.

whitall · February 2014

explorerx4, I bought it intending to keep it 6 years or so. I traded in my 2006 to get it. I only drive 7-8000 miles a year so cars last me a long time. First one was leased, but the mileage was so low I bought it at lease end. As far as this black one goes, I figure now would be the best time to get the dealer to work with me, maybe "trade" me down into a leftover 2013.

I just ordered a "foam cannon" and some good soap for it for my husbands birthday,maybe it will make maintenance easier. Besides the dirt, hairline scratches and stone chips really show easily on black. I just don't think it was the best choice and if I could have a do-over I would.

I got a really good price when I bought it, but got taken a bit on my trade, so I guess I got a decent price when you average it all out.

steine13 · February 2014

Subaru has announced they're discontinuing the manual transmission in the 2015 Legacy. It is generally assumed the Outback will follow suit. I made my displeasure known by ordering a 2014 Outback 6MT... that'll learn them!

This means I'll have to get rid of one of our cars, and I would like to know what the following would bring at auction... raw data would be much appreciated, and automatic cars will be fine to help me set the price... I suspect there won't be many sticks...

Car #1 2007 Pontiac Vibe
81,700 miles 5MT in dark gray metallic
ABS & side & curtain air bags.
AC of course, cruise, and the usual power equipment; no roof, leather, or stability control.
Clean carfax.
Tires are good but not new; extra set of Blizzaks; both on steelies with covers.

Car#2 2013 Chevrolet Cruze 1LT
18,300 miles 6MT in silver
No options; the LT is pretty well euqipped with air/cruise/pwr stuff.
No roof, no nav, no leather, no rear camera.
Alloy wheels.

Location is mid-Michigan.
We don't smoke, we don't have pets, and we take care of our cars.

Thanks a lot in advance, qbrozen, for your help!

suydam · February 2014

MT is a tough sell as it easily knocks out 80% of your potential buyers.

clm8 · February 2014

Looking for a trade value for a:
2010 Infiniti 4 door, G37xs (all wheel drive) automatic, nav, rear camera, sunroof, 70,000 miles, no dents, tires replaced 15,000 miles ago, clean inside gray exterior/black leather interior
Thank you!

clm8 · February 2014

Sorry, left off location, Indianapolis area

isellhondas · February 2014

@suydam said:
MT is a tough sell as it easily knocks out 80% of your potential buyers.

Probably more like 95%. On mainstream cars, a manual will make the car saleproof.

In the almost 14 years I sold Hondas I probably sold less than ten Accords with manuals.

Sold a few more Civic sticks but even those sold so poorly that a lot of stores wouldn't even order any.

steine13 · February 2014

@suydam said:
MT is a tough sell as it easily knocks out 80% of your potential buyers.

It's never been a problem for me; but then it's been 8 years or so since I sold a stick.
Usually there's two or three interested parties, and for them it's either my car or drive 100 miles to find another.

So it kind of cuts both ways.

I did the math once on Subarus, wondering why there are no manuals for sale, ever. What I found was that new Subarus hat approx. 10 percent market share, but at Manheim auctions, it was more like 2 or 3 percent. There are still people who like sticks, but they are almost forced to buy new.

Of course, I'm prepared to drop the price relative to he automatic version by the $1k I saved when new. And finally, this is a university town, which helps a lot. I'll let y'all know what happens.

Cheers -Mathias

qbrozen · February 2014

@steine13 said:
Subaru has announced they're discontinuing the manual transmission in the 2015 Legacy. It is generally assumed the Outback will follow suit. I made my displeasure known by ordering a 2014 Outback 6MT... that'll learn them!

This means I'll have to get rid of one of our cars, and I would like to know what the following would bring at auction... raw data would be much appreciated, and automatic cars will be fine to help me set the price... I suspect there won't be many sticks...

Car #1 2007 Pontiac Vibe
81,700 miles 5MT in dark gray metallic
ABS & side & curtain air bags.
AC of course, cruise, and the usual power equipment; no roof, leather, or stability control.
Clean carfax.
Tires are good but not new; extra set of Blizzaks; both on steelies with covers.

Car#2 2013 Chevrolet Cruze 1LT
18,300 miles 6MT in silver
No options; the LT is pretty well euqipped with air/cruise/pwr stuff.
No roof, no nav, no leather, no rear camera.
Alloy wheels.

Location is mid-Michigan.
We don't smoke, we don't have pets, and we take care of our cars.

Thanks a lot in advance, qbrozen, for your help!

Pontiac is a little tricky to interpret the data, but here you go:
02/06/14 ALBANY Regular $6,700 66,869 Above BLUE 4G A Yes
02/13/14 TX HOBBY Regular $7,100 91,005 Above BLACK 4G A Yes
02/05/14 LAKELAND Regular $6,500 93,436 Above SILVER 4G A Yes
02/06/14 NORTHSTR Lease $5,400 95,435 Avg WHITE 4G A Yes
02/19/14 SAN ANTO Regular $5,500 96,201 Avg SILVER 4G A Yes
02/05/14 ORLANDO Regular $6,500 97,414 Above WHITE 4G A Yes
02/19/14 SAN ANTO Regular $4,800 97,742 Avg GREY 4G A Yes

As you can see, they are all autos. There are also several "above average" examples, which a dealer would never concede to, of course. But if talking private party, have at it.

Many many Cruzes through the auction. All with 17k-19k miles are auto and have traded hands at $13,400-$13,900. So pretty tight grouping there.

steine13 · February 2014

Thanks a lot, qb, that definitely helps.
Cheers -m

100chuck · March 2014

What happen to this forum? I would think with everyone getting their tax returns new postings would be added everyday.

snoguitar0 · March 2014

Hi All!

I'm not sure how active this thread still is, but is has been extremely helpful in the past, so I'm giving it a try again...

I'm in the market for a 06-09 4runner Limited 4x4. I found the following one locally for $23500; but I'm working on getting them down to the $20-21k range.

Provo/Orem UT Area
2008 Toyota 4Runner Limited 4x4
Mica Grey Pearl Color
72500 Miles
Toyota CPO (~1 year left of the "7 Year" extended warranty)
On top of the standard Limited options, it has the Navigation system.
Interior is in Good-Very Good condition... some normal wear here and there.
Exterior Body is in Good condition. Has a decent amount of small scratches, but nothing that won't buff out with a good compound/polishing.
Underbody and engine bay has more rust/corrosion than I would like to see for a 2008, but I guess this is somewhat normal for the area.

The car has been sitting on the lot for just over a month now. From the carfax, it looks to be a 1-owner trade-in.

I'm guessing they paid around $16-17k for the trade in (then whatever Toyota charges them for the CPO stamp), so my offer of $20-21k should still yield them a decent profit... they have been pretty unwilling to budge on the price though, so I'm riding it out until they lower it or find another buyer. These are always popping up for sale, so not a big deal if I wait for another one.

Thanks for any info or advice you guys can give! :-)
Adam

boomchek · March 2014

@snoguitar0 said:
Hi All!

I'm not sure how active this thread still is, but is has been extremely helpful in the past, so I'm giving it a try again...

I'm in the market for a 06-09 4runner Limited 4x4. I found the following one locally for $23500; but I'm working on getting them down to the $20-21k range.......

>

Hi Adam,

From my experience I highly doubt that the dealer paid as little as $16-$17k for this 4Runner but I could be wrong. More often than not dealers will overpay for trade to push a new car deal out. Dealers don't strictly go by the book, as there are a gazillion variables involved that may have an effect on a trade in value. Realistically I think they put around $19k-$20k for it. Add another $1k for inspection, CPO, etc. etc. and it probably stands them close to $21k. If there aren't many used 4 Runner Limiteds in your region then they could be firm on the price because they know they'll move it. Jan and Feb are always slowest months in the car business, and typically used car prices won't be dropped drastically until they hit the 90 day mark on the lot.

How did you try to negotiate on the price? Did you actually go in, test drive it, and present a written offer, or did you send an anonymous email with an offer?

qbrozen · March 2014

you left out a really really important detail in your request. cue jeopardy music

In any case, boom is pretty close to the mark, depending.

snoguitar0 · March 2014

Thanks boom & qb!

qb, this is the 4.0 V6 engine. (Is that what was missing? Sorry!)

What boom said makes sense. I was just going off of the trade-in values on Edmunds, and wasn't really expecting them to give someone much more than that (without recouping it in the price of the new car, at least).

In the area, there are usually 3-4 similar Limiteds for sale at any given time, with asking prices ranging from $19-24k. There are maybe 10+ similarly equipped Sport Editions in the $17-23k range. From what I've been watching, anything over $20k will usually sit around for at least 3-4 weeks before selling. Anything decent under $17k will sell within a few days.

I'm not in a rush to buy anything, and am a cash buyer. I've mainly been looking for something around 100k miles, in the $18-20k range. A couple weeks ago, I just happened to see this one for sale when I was in the area, so swung by to check it out and take it for a test drive. Told the salesman that it was out of the range I was looking for, but that I would take it right then if the price could get closer to $20k. He "went to talk to his manager" and came back saying they'd need to let it sit on the lot a bit longer before letting it go for that price, no counter offer or anything. Made sense to me; I knew it was a long shot and I was ready to just forget all about it.

Since then, the salesman has been in touch with me every 3-4 days to let me know they still have it, and that he's still working on them lowering the price for me. I've tried to open the negotiation gates a couple times by asking what the lowest price they'll take for it is, and the only thing I've gotten back is "there's always wiggle room" then just telling me the sticker price and trying to get me to drive the hour over there to look at it again. It's somewhat comical at this point... I'm glad I'm not too invested in this specific on to cave into their tactics.

Thanks again!
Adam

qbrozen · March 2014

yup. needed to know the engine. Well, put it this way, an Ltd V6 with 99k miles sold for $19,500 at auction in CA just a week ago. Another in PA 2 mos ago with 56k miles for $20,600. You have to get up to 115k+ miles to see them for under $16k at the block.

snoguitar0 · March 2014

Great info! Thanks qb! :-)

boomchek · March 2014

@snoguitar0 said:
Thanks boom & qb!

qb, this is the 4.0 V6 engine. (Is that what was missing? Sorry!)

What boom said makes sense. I was just going off of the trade-in values on Edmunds, and wasn't really expecting them to give someone much more than that (without recouping it in the price of the new car, at least).

In the area, there are usually 3-4 similar Limiteds for sale at any given time, with asking prices ranging from $19-24k. There are maybe 10+ similarly equipped Sport Editions in the $17-23k range. From what I've been watching, anything over $20k will usually sit around for at least 3-4 weeks before selling. Anything decent under $17k will sell within a few days.

I'm not in a rush to buy anything, and am a cash buyer. I've mainly been looking for something around 100k miles, in the $18-20k range. A couple weeks ago, I just happened to see this one for sale when I was in the area, so swung by to check it out and take it for a test drive. Told the salesman that it was out of the range I was looking for, but that I would take it right then if the price could get closer to $20k. He "went to talk to his manager" and came back saying they'd need to let it sit on the lot a bit longer before letting it go for that price, no counter offer or anything. Made sense to me; I knew it was a long shot and I was ready to just forget all about it.

Since then, the salesman has been in touch with me every 3-4 days to let me know they still have it, and that he's still working on them lowering the price for me. I've tried to open the negotiation gates a couple times by asking what the lowest price they'll take for it is, and the only thing I've gotten back is "there's always wiggle room" then just telling me the sticker price and trying to get me to drive the hour over there to look at it again. It's somewhat comical at this point... I'm glad I'm not too invested in this specific on to cave into their tactics.

Thanks again!
Adam

Yeah, they want you to come in because there's a better chance you'll buy when you're there in person than haggling over the phone and the manager will be more motivated to deal. Otherwise dealing on the phone, even if they agree to bring the price down to your budget, it's all meaningless because you're not there in person to sign and drive away in it. From experience, any place I worked at, the manager was always more flexible and willing to deal when the customer was in the dealership, committed and ready to buy, than with some guy who's on the phone who you may never hear from again after you agree to a deal.

Your other approach to this, if you really want the truck, is to present them a reasonable offer over the phone (not asking them what they can do, but tell them a specific number you're willing to pay), and tell them if they agree to it you'll give them a credit card deposit to hold the vehicle/deal, and then go and finalize the transaction.

Asking a dealer their best price is basically asking a dealer to counteroffer themselves on their own asking price. I mean the price is on the window/internet, so now it's your move to make an offer. They're not going to be guessing what your offer is by dropping their price until you say yes.

Good luck!

isellhondas · March 2014

Excellent advise from Boomchek!

snoguitar0 · March 2014

Thanks boom!

I've made an offer of $21k to the salesman, and told him that I can cut a check right now at that price (plus tax/title). He's still working with "managers" on the price... I'd expect at least a counter of around $22-22.5k from them, but haven't heard anything new. We'll see when I hear back from the salesman... haha.

boomchek · March 2014

Good luck and let us know how it plays out.

snoguitar0 · March 2014

Will do! Thanks again! :-)

pdome · March 2014

Hi all. I'm considering buying a used 2007 Lexus IS250 off a family member. They are asking for $17k. The car has about 45k miles, low miles for a 7 year old car. The car was bought new and is still in pretty good shape. The car hasn't been abused and has been garaged most of the time he's had it and has gone through regular maintenance. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles and is not fully loaded. It does have wood trim, heated seats, HID's, 18" stock rims. Otherwise it's pretty much base. As far as buying it off him vs someone else via private party, i know how the car has been driven and i could potentially avoid the 'Use Tax'(essentially the same rate as the sales tax) when transferring the title in my name since it can exchanged as a gift at DMV between family. is $17K a fair price? Too much? Would love to get some thoughts and opinions. Being that it's a 7 year old car, are there any major maintenance or parts i should be weary about due to the age?

stickguy · March 2014

AWD or RWD?

boomchek · March 2014

@pdome said:
Hi all. I'm considering buying a used 2007 Lexus IS250 off a family member. They are asking for $17k. The car has about 45k miles, low miles for a 7 year old car. The car was bought new and is still in pretty good shape. The car hasn't been abused and has been garaged most of the time he's had it and has gone through regular maintenance. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles and is not fully loaded. It does have wood trim, heated seats, HID's, 18" stock rims. Otherwise it's pretty much base. As far as buying it off him vs someone else via private party, i know how the car has been driven and i could potentially avoid the 'Use Tax'(essentially the same rate as the sales tax) when transferring the title in my name since it can exchanged as a gift at DMV between family. is $17K a fair price? Too much? Would love to get some thoughts and opinions. Being that it's a 7 year old car, are there any major maintenance or parts i should be weary about due to the age?

First thing I would do is check what people are asking for these in your area. Check dealer and private listings and if you feel that this one is substantially cheaper, or better deal because of the low mileage and you feel its a good deal then go for it.

qbrozen · March 2014

assuming its RWD, I'd say that's actually a little high. Low-mileage examples (under 60k) are around that $13k-$14k range at the block, which would put retail at at $17k number. I think $15k would be more in line with a special family deal, IMHO.

pdome · March 2014

Its a RWD. I checked Craigslist and it really varies by features and miles but its about 17-20k from what I've seen. I wish I could get a special family deal lol

Mr_Shiftright · March 2014

Remember, "asking prices are the seller exercising his First Amendment Rights"

pdome · March 2014

I totally agree. Originally they were asking for 18k. When I declined, they thought about it and came back with 17k. Its tougher to negiogate with fam

boomchek · March 2014

Well do you like the car? Are you buying it to help them out or because you actually need to buy something? Or are you buying it so that you can flip it and make a few bucks?
Buy it only if it's the car you want with the equipment you want. Personally I hate and try to avoid selling cars to family or close friends. If there are issues with the car I sold I'd never hear the end of it.

steine13 · March 2014

Pontiac is a little tricky to interpret the data, but here you go:

02/06/14 ALBANY Regular $6,700 66,869 Above BLUE 4G A

02/13/14 TX HOBBY Regular $7,100 91,005 Above BLACK 4G A

02/05/14 LAKELAND Regular $6,500 93,436 Above SILVER 4G A Yes

02/06/14 NORTHSTR Lease $5,400 95,435 Avg WHITE 4G A Yes

02/19/14 SAN ANTO Regular $5,500 96,201 Avg SILVER 4G A Yes

02/05/14 ORLANDO Regular $6,500 97,414 Above WHITE 4G A Yes

02/19/14 SAN ANTO Regular $4,800 97,742 Avg GREY 4G A Yes

qbrozen, I promised to let you know how it turned out.

First up, a big Thank You for the above numbers. The spread is large, but it really helped set the scale.

I posted the car on craigslist last night around seven p.m....
... and 24 h later, it was sold. For the full $6.8 asking price, and I threw in an extra set of snow tires & wheels. Edmund's had the car at $6k even private party in "clean" condition. Which mine is, except for a grapefruit-sized shallow dent below the pass side A pillar from a turkey strike. Really.

I've since removed the craigs ad; it was pretty much like this:
https://www.msu.edu/~steine13/07vibe.html

The only flakes I got were two emails; the phone calls I got were all legit, and nobody called after ten p.m.
I was amazed; I really had debated not putting my phone number in the ad.

In the end, the lady who bought it knew from cars; she appreciated the maintenance records and the cleanliness of the car, and she could have cared less about the occasional ding or scratch.

MT is a tough sell as it easily knocks out 80% of your potential buyers

I had four "grown-ups" calling who, upon being asked, affirmed that they knew how to drive a stick AND had the money readily available.

Two of the four were looking to replace a manual-transmission Saturn they had wrecked. There are people out there who prefer a stick, and there are no cars for them.

Submitted for everyone's edification. I have no idea if it means anything. Four enthusiastic phone calls means bupkes, but in the end, you can only have one buyer for one car.

Cheers -Mathias

steine13 · March 2014

(It took a while, but I did figure out how to edit. Yay for me. This mouse-over stuff is for the birds. I don't mind the new format, but I thought the old one was fine.)

stickguy · March 2014

nice ad. That is the type of car (well, not necessarily a vibe, but one presented like that) that I would be all over when I saw the ad. Once you are getting into a more well used (and lower priced) car like that, you are just as much buying the previous owner and the history as what you can see of the car.

Seems like a fair price.

and you are right about the stick people. We are out there, and a clean unit like this tends to get snapped up quick.

robr2 · March 2014

Looking at getting a new "sales rep" vehicle:

Boston,
2010 Mazda 5 Sport,
Black exterior,
Black leather interior,
2.3L and automatic,
44K mile,
Heated seats, sunroof, auto HVAV,
Tires are good snows on curbed OEM rims,
Body is 99% with one small ding,
I'm going to say everything else has been checked as it's on the lot of a big dealer group.

They are asking $12,798 under their "Smart Price."

What say the great one?

tifighter · March 2014

The 5 didn't come with leather or heated seats in Sport trim, so I'd guess that was dealer installed. How that affects the value, I don't know.

robr2 · March 2014

@tifighter said:
The 5 didn't come with leather or heated seats in Sport trim, so I'd guess that was dealer
installed. How that affects the value, I don't know.

I dug a little more. It has an a headlight adjustment knob so I'm guessing it has HID's. So this model must be a Grand Touring.

qbrozen · March 2014

hmmm... well, I'm going to hit it at $9500. Figure it hits their lot at $10k or so. Price is just OK.

robr2 · March 2014

@qbrozen said:
hmmm... well, I'm going to hit it at $9500. Figure it hits their lot at $10k or so. Price is just

OK.

That's on the Mazda? Thanks for the input.

qbrozen · March 2014

yes, that was the mazda

mcrrt · March 2014

Hi all!

I'm considering selling my 1995 Pontiac Firebird, which I've owned since 1997. It's dark green metallic, 3.4L V6, auto trans, 75K miles, T-tops, all options except leather and power seat. The car is up to date on all maintenance, garaged every winter, and rust-free. The only blems are a couple of minor scratches, and a faint crease in the driver-side rocker panel. Edmund's TMV is putting it at about $1,500 private party in "good" condition, which just sounds awfully low to me. Anyone care to offer an opinion?

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