Real-World Trade-In Values

steine13 · February 2019

>> 2015 Mercedes GLA 250 4MATIC [..] 138k miles,
Must be nice to drive! That's an average of 4 miles per hour, around the clock, or fast walking speed.
Take a deep breath; not a lot of love in the market for miled-up Germans.

qbrozen · February 2019

tottenham_coys said:

...looking for realistic trade-in value for our 2015 Mercedes GLA 250 4MATIC Black/Beige leather, panoramic sunroof, heated seats, 138k miles, in MA, tires decent, exterior clean, missing front badge, interior ok, some dog hair from our Eskipom...thanks in advance...

$11k would be pretty fair.

qbrozen · February 2019

sfrat said:

8500 and 9500, respectively, as long as they check out and need nothing.
Seems pricey? Wouldn't leasing a new one make more sense?
I think the new ones are ugly. Besides, I prefer buying used and the flexibility of ownership and not dealing with mileage restrictions and damage.

Food for thought: a 2013 Pious C III with 75k miles could be had for that same $9500.

Sandman6472 · February 2019

138K on a 2015 GLA? Hell, where the heck do you drive that thing? Thems a whole lot of miles to be honest. Guess my 12K to 13K is a lot.

Mr_Shiftright · February 2019

I wouldn't touch that car.

nyccarguy · February 2019

Sandman6472 said:

138K on a 2015 GLA? Hell, where the heck do you drive that thing? Thems a whole lot of miles to be honest. Guess my 12K to 13K is a lot.

That is impressive indeed! I thought I drove a lot!

corvette · February 2019

Mr_Shiftright said:
I wouldn't touch that car.

Didn't Terry used to say there's a rear end for every seat, or something like that?

At that mileage, it's getting close to being BHPH lot fodder.

Mr_Shiftright · February 2019

Well sure, any car will sell if the price is right. But that car is in the last 1/3rd of its life, and it's not going to be the best "third" either. I'd hit that car at about $9500 tops. That would give me about a $2K cushion to invest for current needs and also allow me to bail and break even if the car proves troublesome.

tottenham_coys · February 2019

...dealers are hitting me at $6-8k for the 2015 GLA with the light year mileage...assuming they're going to send it straight to the auction...anything I can do to squeeze more juice out of this lemon?

stickguy · February 2019

Private sale it? Maybe shop it to some local BHPH lots. Or, depending on why you are dumping it, if that is the best you can do drive it a couple more years a whole lot cheaper than buying a new one and getting slaughtered on depreciation again

Mr_Shiftright · February 2019

It's hard to bargain away high miles.

qbrozen · February 2019

tottenham_coys said:

...dealers are hitting me at $6-8k for the 2015 GLA with the light year mileage...assuming they're going to send it straight to the auction...anything I can do to squeeze more juice out of this lemon?

Wow. You sure it has a clean history? That is way way low. I have 3 examples with 99k miles that each got $14k on different dates at different auctions. Meanwhile, 60k-mile units are only $2k more. Well...do the math, right? I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised by $10k offers, but 6-8? Something is wrong with the car you don’t realize or aren’t telling me.

tottenham_coys · February 2019

...the Millennium Falcon mileage 2015 GLA is clean inside and out - the reason we are dumping it is that the turbo was recently replaced, and our mechanic advised us that it is a ticking time bomb...no way for the dealers to know this and what they don't know can't hurt me - can it?

stickguy · February 2019

That’s why dealers don’t want it. They have to dump it at auction, which is a crapshoot. And if something goes wrong with it before it Dan sell, they are stuck.

So, if it is something they would never buy at auction, or sell on their lot, they are knocking trade offer down to build in a cushion for unexpected gotchas, and some profit.

Try carmax or some local places that advertise they buy cars. New dealers often seriously lowball trades.

kyfdx · February 2019

stickguy said:
That’s why dealers don’t want it. They have to dump it at auction, which is a crapshoot. And if something goes wrong with it before it Dan sell, they are stuck.

So, if it is something they would never buy at auction, or sell on their lot, they are knocking trade offer down to build in a cushion for unexpected gotchas, and some profit.

Try carmax or some local places that advertise they buy cars. New dealers often seriously lowball trades.

138K miles.. I'm surprised you even received $8K for an offer.

Mr_Shiftright · February 2019

Once the odometer rolls over 100K on a German car, you are in entirely different territory. It may all be psychological, but perception is reality in the used car market. If that same SUV had "Toyota" written on it, it'd be gone in a flash.

corvette · February 2019

Craigslist, ebaymotors, or one of the Mercedes specific forums would probably be good places to list it.

sptyp90 · February 2019

Qbrozen, do you have any recent auction data for a 2010 BMW 328i sedan RWD, gray/gray, automatic, looks pretty loaded with sport/premium/cold pkg, 44k miles, 2-owner clean carfax, San Francisco area?

Looks clean inside, outside small parking lot scrape on the front bumper. Otherwise looks great. No records though. He is asking 11k private sale. What do you think?

thanks in advance

qbrozen · February 2019

low miles, but that price is insane. That is double trade-in value and $5k over auction value. Even a dealer would be brazen at that price. I'm afraid that owner has little interest in selling and you won't be able to get it for a reasonable or fair price. $7500 is what I'd be looking to pay. $8500 would be the absolute max I would suggest if you just can't live without it.

sptyp90 · February 2019

qbrozen said:
low miles, but that price is insane. That is double trade-in value and $5k over auction value. Even a dealer would be brazen at that price. I'm afraid that owner has little interest in selling and you won't be able to get it for a reasonable or fair price. $7500 is what I'd be looking to pay. $8500 would be the absolute max I would suggest if you just can't live without it.

Wow thanks, Q. Didn't imagine how far away 11k was from reasonable. Thank you for setting me straight, I really did like the car since it is loaded with M-sport and even rear door shades which are rare, but not 3k worth.

corvette · February 2019

I agree, but there aren't many 2010 3-series with such low mileage. It might be closer to being worth paying more than book if it were a higher end model.

Mr_Shiftright · February 2019

Low miles aren't by definition always a good thing, so if you're pursuing a car because of ultra-low miles, that shouldn't blind you to a complete PPI, regardless.

sptyp90 · February 2019

Mr_Shiftright said:
Low miles aren't by definition always a good thing, so if you're pursuing a car because of ultra-low miles, that shouldn't blind you to a complete PPI, regardless.

You are right on the PPI regardless. What called my attention was that its a super loaded example, with the rare M-Sport package even. Most 3 series are very basic on options, so I need to keep looking I guess.

kyfdx · February 2019

spacetigerfx said:

Mr_Shiftright said:
Low miles aren't by definition always a good thing, so if you're pursuing a car because of ultra-low miles, that shouldn't blind you to a complete PPI, regardless.
You are right on the PPI regardless. What called my attention was that its a super loaded example, with the rare M-Sport package even. Most 3 series are very basic on options, so I need to keep looking I guess.

If it only had a stick-shift....

I don't think it's as overpriced as the rest of the crew, here. Yes, it's high, but that doesn't mean you can't make a reasonable deal on it. Does it have xenons?

Mr_Shiftright · February 2019

My attitude is that if it's really the car of your dreams, with all that special equipment you've found so hard to find, then paying a reasonable premium over book is fine---presuming you're in for the long haul. I wouldn't pay over book on a car that you might get bored with in 6 months.

kyfdx · February 2019

Just for kicks..

Autotrader
BMW 3-Series (newest year 2014)
Within 100 miles of Cincinnati
Under 60K miles
Under $20K asking

Search results in:
33 units.
Exactly two of them are under $10K. ('06 330, '08 wagon).
Next cheapest unit is $12,900.

Obviously, it's the mileage that really whittles down the field.

kyfdx · February 2019

If I cut the mileage at 75K, and just search 2009-2011, I get 27 cars.
And, four of them under $11K

sptyp90 · February 2019

kyfdx said:

spacetigerfx said:

Mr_Shiftright said:
Low miles aren't by definition always a good thing, so if you're pursuing a car because of ultra-low miles, that shouldn't blind you to a complete PPI, regardless.
You are right on the PPI regardless. What called my attention was that its a super loaded example, with the rare M-Sport package even. Most 3 series are very basic on options, so I need to keep looking I guess.
If it only had a stick-shift....

I don't think it's as overpriced as the rest of the crew, here. Yes, it's high, but that doesn't mean you can't make a reasonable deal on it. Does it have xenons?

Yes on Xenons. vindecoder lists Premium, Cold weather, M-Sport, lighting packages. If it were manual, I would definitely pay a premium.

kyfdx · February 2019

spacetigerfx said:

kyfdx said:

spacetigerfx said:

Mr_Shiftright said:
Low miles aren't by definition always a good thing, so if you're pursuing a car because of ultra-low miles, that shouldn't blind you to a complete PPI, regardless.
You are right on the PPI regardless. What called my attention was that its a super loaded example, with the rare M-Sport package even. Most 3 series are very basic on options, so I need to keep looking I guess.
If it only had a stick-shift....

I don't think it's as overpriced as the rest of the crew, here. Yes, it's high, but that doesn't mean you can't make a reasonable deal on it. Does it have xenons?
Yes on Xenons. vindecoder lists Premium, Cold weather, M-Sport, lighting packages. If it were manual, I would definitely pay a premium.

Sounds pretty nice. I'm not in love with that engine. My wife had that one in her 2011 X3.

andres3 · February 2019

Need a quick price review.

2004 B6 S4 with the V8 and auto transmission. Red, clean, 99,100 miles.

Cons: No timing chain service yet, and said to need new front control arms (other then that, said to be tip top and looks clean in photos.

Asking $4K. What's it worth? San Diego CA

henryn · February 2019

WTH is a "B6 S4"???

28firefighter · February 2019

Audi's code for that generation of S4.

Mr_Shiftright · February 2019

Oh, gee, that S4 is a grenade with a loose pin. Unless you find a starry-eyed buyer who is willing to risk the timing chain failure, you should just take the first offer, whatever it is.

Basically, a timing chain tensioner repair will total the car, as you know, since you have to remove the engine to do it. And they do fail quite regularly, so you're wise to bail out now.

If you wanted to do the cruel math to come up with a value (book value minus chain repair), then $4K seems optimistic.

andres3 · February 2019

Mr_Shiftright said:
Oh, gee, that S4 is a grenade with a loose pin. Unless you find a starry-eyed buyer who is willing to risk the timing chain failure, you should just take the first offer, whatever it is.

Basically, a timing chain tensioner repair will total the car, as you know, since you have to remove the engine to do it. And they do fail quite regularly, so you're wise to bail out now.

If you wanted to do the cruel math to come up with a value (book value minus chain repair), then $4K seems optimistic.

I wanting to do the cruel math as a buyer! LOL.. I don't mind a grenade if I can do the repair and put the pin back in the grenade before it explodes! But, I want to temper my offer accordingly.

Mr_Shiftright · February 2019

Quite frankly, and in all seriousness, they should give you the car for salvage value.

Meet your opponent:

I think the repair cost at the dealer is in the range of $6,000 to $8,000.

qbrozen · February 2019

andres3 said:
Need a quick price review.

2004 B6 S4 with the V8 and auto transmission. Red, clean, 99,100 miles.

Cons: No timing chain service yet, and said to need new front control arms (other then that, said to be tip top and looks clean in photos.

Asking $4K. What's it worth? San Diego CA

And you complain Chryslers are unreliable? hahahahah.
Anyhoo... worth high 3s at auction, so $4k wouldn't be hurting nobody... for now.

Mr_Shiftright · February 2019

Here's the easy way to do it:

stickguy · February 2019

While you’re in there....

28firefighter · February 2019

Holy ****

nyccarguy · February 2019

Mr_Shiftright said:
Quite frankly, and in all seriousness, they should give you the car for salvage value.

Meet your opponent:

I think the repair cost at the dealer is in the range of $6,000 to $8,000.

Unreal

andres3 · February 2019

Mr_Shiftright said:
Quite frankly, and in all seriousness, they should give you the car for salvage value.

Meet your opponent:

Yes
I think the repair cost at the dealer is in the range of $6,000 to $8,000.

It's more like a nuclear option than a grenade.

Remember I have one of the best and lower cost Audi shops at hand near me.

Even they said $4,500 labor with a $4K to $8K range for parts to fix things "while your in there." That's very possibly over $10K... for a very efficient shop!!!! Not the dealership!

Never mind.

Mr_Shiftright · February 2019

Not sure why they put the timing chain facing the fire wall, but......

henryn · February 2019

Mr_Shiftright said:
Here's the easy way to do it:

Holy Smoly Batman! That looks like what you had to do, back in the day, to replace the head gaskets on a Northstar Cadillac. Which is why I junked mine back around 2005. And it was a VERY nice car, really, I loved that car. But ...

explorerx4 · February 2019

One of my ex neighbor's had a yellow S4. Saw it for sale on craigslist...'Probably needs timing chain'.

pensfan83 · February 2019

28firefighter said:

Holy ****

+1

pensfan83 · February 2019

And here I thought the timing belt on my B5 was bad...

Mr_Shiftright · February 2019

Oh B6 is much worse due to engine config. Everything on an Audi seems to be a royal pain. They aren't designed to be easy to work on, that's for sure. My friend has a nice older TT and geez, it's $1,000 bucks every time he drives in for service---and that doesn't include the $1600 timing belt and the worn bushings in the shifter, which was extremely expensive to fix. (couple thousand I think). The Haldex needs frequent maintenance, too. Audis strike me as very fussy cars.

corvette · February 2019

It appears the suspension on my coworker's old A8 has given out. Front end is riding the ground and she usually drives a different vehicle. It's old enough that I'm sure it's not worth fixing. Ever since I've been at the company, it's gone in for a yearly service at the Audi dealer, which generally takes a week, because that's how long I see the loaner car in the parking lot.

tottenham_coys · February 2019

...update on the Millennium Falcon 2015 Benz GLA with 138k miles...started stalling and running rough a week after the turbo was replaced - was able to limp it on back roads to a VW dealership where we got $8k on it as a trade on a certified 2016 Tiguan SE AWD with 21k miles for which we paid $18.7k (~$20k total with additional 5yr/100k CPO warranty - it has a turbo, timing chain, and haldex to worry about)...were lucky to be able to show them an $8k trade-in offer from another dealer...dodged a bullet - for now...

andres3 · February 2019

A8 is pretty rare so parts are sometimes going to take awhile. Still, a suspension job seems easy and not very expensive, but who knows with an A8.

I imagine the '16 Tiguan has an easy Timing Belt/Chain job.

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