Real-World Trade-In Values

lharkn01 · May 2003

Terry,
I am new to this site. I'm selling a 98 Ford Mustang, 2 door coupe. It's dark green, 5 spd, has CD player, cruise control, spoiler, power windows and seats. The car is in excellent condition and has only 52000 miles on it. The NADA guide tells me that the average retail value is $8850, while the Edmunds.com True Market Value says $8947 for the Private Party and $10,488 for the Dealer Retail value. The first fellow that came to see it yesterday offered $8200. I advertised it for $8900 obo. I paid $14,000 for it 2 1/2 years ago. I think I may have priced it too low. I want at least $8900, but I think people need to feel as if they have negotiated in order to feel they got a good deal.

Your thoughts?

Thanks for any insight you can provide!

Lisa H.

yaman · May 2003

As a follow up-we asked the owner of the garage what he would suggest we do with the 92 Lebaron.He said he gets lots of people asking for fixer uppers and would $500 net to us be an acceptable price.

Given that this is about $499.99 more than I thought the car was worth we thanked him profusely and said okay.

Zues you are right about not assuming-my better and smarter half was the one who suggested just asking what he thought we should do.

rroyce10 · May 2003

.... Are you nuts ....? - quite posting, and start collecting that $500 .. Hey, a baby lottery ticket .l.o.l..

Terry :-)

rroyce10 · May 2003

.... Ok this a 99 base Stang, V6, the color is just fair, it's handshaker, a power package with a little "eye candy" and the miles are ho-hum .. and you say it's in good shape.

          The 6 bangers are all over the place and a dime a dozen, plus the handshakers are a little hard to sell .. on a trade, you are lookin' in and around the high $4's, low $5's .. $8,900 is a fair "asking" price (kinda) .. if you "turned down" $8,200 on this vehicle, then must be snorting Draino (no disrespect intended) .. thats ALL the money and then some .. $7,900 is more like it and grab $7,2/$7,5 is more like ---------- Get that guys phone number and call him right now, go pick him up, take him to the bank, get the money, introduce him to your sister and make him lunch - Then say goodbye ..! -- $8,200 ..? -- go slap yourself.! I could see it if it had auto, leather and 25/30k.

        This is from a post I dropped a few days ago ....

         *** when folks sell their vehicles on their own, they need to stop and think, do good research and put their ego and their emotions in the circular file .. they look at KBB, Edmund's, Nada, National Geographic, American plumber, Oprah, then they pick the highest retail figure they can find .. of course, everyone punches the "excellent" condition column - hey no such thing ***

              Not trying to be smart here - grab the bid and run .. or .. raise the retail asking price, then in 3/4 months you can go to Home Depot, and buy 300 pounds of potting soil and you can then make a planter out of it .. :-))

                           Terry ;-)

rroyce10 · May 2003

..... Perfect time to unload this dude in Chi-town .. right color, right miles, bun warmers, tunes .. IF - it's a clean one, top doesn't have the meteorite shuffle, no-repaint, no experiments in the seats -- depending on the dealer, you should be seeing the high $15's, low $16's on a trade, "maybe" a little more if it's ultra nice and it's "jam-up" perfect ... down Retail Rd, $19,9 in the paper and $18,5/$19,5 sends it to a new driveway.

Let me know ....

Terry.

rroyce10 · May 2003

..... Folks do like their imports in that Milwaukee area .. actually I send a lot of vehicles up that way.

             It's an 02 V6 EX 4dr Accord .. good color, miles are right -- no kisses, no love taps .. $17 in that area is a little light, I would be thinkin' $17,5/$17,9 no sweat ..

            You got my interest, let me know.!

                       Terry.

rroyce10 · May 2003

..... This is a 03 Element (Oh golly ghee, the new Aztek from Honda .. Yuk.!)

            $2,700 miles, title has been broken, it's a 4WD .. they are doing the high $18's, low $19's at the auctions ..... $19,200 ..? is that the buy price ..? seems Real cheap, check the service history and do a Carfax .. if all is well, then buy it.

           All you will need now, is a white cap and a MR Humor sign on the sides and your all set to go for the summer action. .. ;-)

                     Terry.

qbrozen · May 2003

$19s at the auction on that Element? Really? When dealer invoice is $19,700? I'll never understand Honda (new model) resales.

rroyce10 · May 2003

..... Crazy isn't it ..? Man they are sooo ugly, that you have to sneak up on em' just to put gas in em' ------ but, they do seem to be selling quite well, to say the least.

Terry :-)

qbrozen · May 2003

out of curiosity, what are Pilot EXLs pulling at auction?

lol... sneak up on em to put gas in em .... well, it does take some getting used to. Believe it or not, I started out thinking they were butt ugly, but now I think they are kinda "cute". Really, the price and functionality are the most attractive points. Tried to talk my sister into one, but her response was "what are you smoking??!!"

akangl · May 2003

We shopped the car around yesterday, nobody really wanted it which puzzles me. I mean it looks like an new car its in such good shape.

Offers I got ranged from no thanks, to $5500, to the highest at $6200. I decided its best to just pay it off and take it with me (40 mpg vs 10 mpg). So, I will have a paid off 2001 Corolla to start my new life with. He is going to pay off the truck and keep it, but I told him if he gets tired of it to send it to me, I'll take it, he said he will.

Now, if I'm smart (haven't always been accused of that) I will drive that little Corolla until it dies. So, if I post in here about trading in my Corolla, somebody please smack me, HARD. I figure that Corolla has 47k on it, I should be able to get another 100k out of it. Its time to learn to live below my means and save money.

Gonna get that little car checked out for the trip by the Toyota dealer in the next couple weeks. Then I have to put new tires on it and one new wheel......I hit a pot hole last week and bent a front steel wheel, amazingly enough though the tire didn't blow and is still holding and the hubcap is still there.

lharkn01 · May 2003

Terry,
Interesting answer. If the NADA guides and edmunds.com, etc. don't have the correct values, then what good are they? My car seems to be priced at or below what others around the country are asking. You say I should be happy to sell for $7200 to $7500. How can a car depreciate in value from $14k to $7k in just 2 1/2 years? Seems a little drastic to me.

Thanks for your answer!

Lisa H.

robr2 · May 2003

I'll interject a bit and then Terry can improve on it.

The guides are just that - guides. They report historical data. How old that data is - who knows. Terry gives you auction prices - what buyers are paying right now.

"How can a car depreciate in value from $14k to $7k in just 2 1/2 years?" Because buyers can buy brand new ones for invoice and get cash back or finance it for nothing for 5 years. Not only are you competing against other used cars, you are competing against new cars. Also, because of incentives, the market is flooded with used cars.

I read somewhere recently that for every $1000 in new car incentives, it drives similar used down by $600.

lharkn01 · May 2003

Terry,
Interesting answer. If the NADA guides and edmunds.com, etc. don't have the correct values, then what good are they? My car seems to be priced at or below what others around the country are asking. You say I should be happy to sell for $7200 to $7500. How can a car depreciate in value from $14k to $7k in just 2 1/2 years? Seems a little drastic to me.

Thanks for your answer!

Lisa H.

butchbr73 · May 2003

one post is enough...

Sorry to dissapoint, but the good'ole American cars seem to tank in the used car market, rarely do they hold their value real well. Also, not saying you did, but you may have overpaid for the car when you bought it.... it could of been worth, lets say, $10-11k when you paid $14k, who knows, but then it makes a little more sense as well.

Now for the Mustangs, there are PLENTY available, and the new ones are being given away, literally. at invoice - $3k rebate with low, low, low financing available.

The guides are just guides, Terry is supplying actuals current data from wholesale auctions to us (how kind he is). Use the guides just as that (gives you a decent idea of a range), but you definately don't want to live by them.

sandman46 · May 2003

Again, many thanks. They got my car from West Palm Nissan and test drove it today. Drives fine and they're throwing on a pin stripe, door edge guards, and the wheel well moldings. Will be detailed tomorrow early a m and will pick up the new ride about noon. Cash deal here so they were happy to deal.
Again, thanks so much for EVERYTHING and I wish for you and yours that every day should be better than the last!

The Sandman :-)

zueslewis · May 2003

that '03 Element is an EX two wheel drive.

hammen2 · May 2003

Armed with the black book and KBB info I dug up for him, my friend went back to the dealer, and they upped their offer on the Accord to $18,250. Done deal! His new wife-to-be is now driving a Toyota Tacoma extended cab (V6 SRT et. al.).

Thanks for your assistance,

--Robert

victord1 · May 2003

It's funny how I end up posting here when only a few months ago I was spending lots of time posting on the new car buying post!

Anyway, I had bought a '03 Maxima SE with everything(auto, leather, sunroof, titanium, heated heats, splash guards, trunk mat and net)and had put only 3700 miles on it. Unfortunately, my taste has changed (for the worst reason), and I want to trade it in for something else.

Can anybody give me an approximate price I can get for it??? I checked Kelly Blue Book, but they didn't have prices for '03 models yet. Thanks a bunch.

rroyce10 · May 2003

.... I do like the AWD's on the Sub's .. they made me a believer and folks LOVE them up north .. but, the miles are a little stiff.

          The LX Protege' is a great little vehicle, it's a 99 so you have the new body style and all the power stuff .. and only 51k, so your lookin' at another 100k properly serviced (and if the previous owner was good to it) .. he's lookin' at $7, I'm thinkin' $6ish will make it go away ...

               Let me know ...

                     Terry.

rroyce10 · May 2003

........ >>> I have driven it since day one. It is FWD, pwr windows/locks/mirrors, ABS, cruise, CD, AUTO, 16 inch alloys $10,500 which I think is a bit high considering it is a fleet vehicle that has had the interior beaten up a bit. I carry lots of boxes which has ruffed up the cargo area a bit. They are throwing in a 75K GM extended warranty. ..<<<

              Stop me at anytime ... but aren't you the one that drove this dude, put all the miles on it and banged it up ~ or was the first part of your post a mirage ...?

               All kidding aside, $10,5 is a fair price with the warranty, that's about wholesale .. or maybe if you whine enough, they will send you on a all expense paid trip to Rio for 2wks, then give you the Aztek .l.o.l..

              Good luck, your doing fine ...

                     Terry.

rroyce10 · May 2003

..... You are quite welcome .. those are nice vehicles, enjoy it. The next time your on Fed Hwy in Pompano, stop at Pickles and have a beer on me ... :-)

Terry.

sandman46 · May 2003

When you get down here, it's on me!

The Sandman :-)

rroyce10 · May 2003

.... Hey Robert, Congrats .! .. $18,2 why doesn't that surprise me .. I knew that had to happen, considering they will pay that All Day Long .. you did real Good.!

Terry.

rroyce10 · May 2003

...... Aaaaah, a 2WD huh .. I knew that pup was too cheap .. I was thinkin' to myself, they will pull a Carfax and "Wango Tango" a very small, minor $5,000 hit to the broadside .. hehehe .. that 2k 2wd will still do the low to mid $17's, right now they are doing STUPID money .. I could understand it maybe, if they painted them or, or, or .. something.

Terry ;-)

zueslewis · May 2003

they're trying to sell the rig to the person at new vehicle invoice ($19,200, I think).

steine13 · May 2003

They went to the store wanting a 2WD, and were offered this lightly used 4WD EX instead. Really.
Zues, you're confusing the help again.
-Mathias

zueslewis · May 2003

2WD - as you were, Terry. You can't send me to my room 'cause you're not the boss of me!

thel · May 2003

They went to look at a new 2WD and the dealer had the "new" 4WD w/ 2,700 miles.

BTW Terry, I don't know why, but I kinda like the Element. I don't think I'd have guts enough to buy one but...

zueslewis · May 2003

can't remember stuff half the time.

rroyce10 · May 2003

.. >>* #12434 of 12499 Q to Terry and anyone else who has an idea about this by anamikagupta May 27, 2003 (1:25 pm)
Hi,
What would be the right amount to pay for a 2003 Honda Element 4WD EX with 2700 miles on it?
Thank you for your help

           IT'S A 4WD ................>>

          Thank you Mathias, Thel for being the thoughtful gentlemen you are.

           Zues - Nice going Bozo .. that's ok, I have fulltimers, I forget everything.

                   Terry :-)

zueslewis · May 2003

tboner · May 2003

to go to the meetings and get togethers?

What were you talking about???

Think of it this way, sometimes it's much better to forget than remember. There is a guy on the Contour boards I roam around in whose signature essentially says, to paraphrase,

"It's best that a husband forgets his mistakes, no sense in two people remembering them forever."

Hosts, notice I got a car reference in my message. BTW, that model car has horrible resale value, to stay on topic. 8^)

TB

zueslewis · May 2003

but since it's 3 years old, it has lost some value..

On topic?

rroyce10 · May 2003

.... >> It's best that a husband forgets his mistakes, no sense in two people remembering them forever." ..l.o.l... I like that one.

Terry.

rroyce10 · May 2003

...... Hey Robert, just curious .. what did you trade the 02 EX on .. the reason why I ask is, the 03 Accords (new body style) are running through the auctions and they don't seem to be pulling much more money than the 02's (the old body style) .. I'm just "assuming" that folks aren't getting hot on the new style ..(?)

Terry.

rroyce10 · May 2003

..... You gotta try to remember the Nada, KBB, Edmunds, etc is a source of info that can give you a "ballpark" figure only, and when I say ballpark, I do mean ballpark .. and depending on the vehicle, season, miles, options, color and where you live, it can make a Huge difference .. the market on the "Left Coast" is indigenous to itself, folks drive alot more there and average miles on a 2yr old vehicle can be 40k, now in Charlotte they like em' super low .. there are some vehicles that are Very popular in AZ, TX, CA, etc, but in Boston you can't give them away .. there is certain trucks that sell super Hot in Orlando, but in Chicago you better start getting ready to make a planter out of it ...

           There is nothing wrong with the sites, but it's a TON of information and it's very hard for a staff of folks that do it to be accurate, it can all change in a hr, 2 days 21 days, there is no science to it .. depending on the vehicle, sometimes Edmund's is more accurate than KBB, sometimes Nada is more accurate than Edmund's - sometimes they are ALL way off .. it depends, and I look at all the sources everyday .l.o.l.

            I'm not flaming any sources .. but, why do you think one dealer put's $10 grand on your vehicle and the guy down the street put's $8,5 .. that's cuz' one guy doesn't know what it's really worth and that doesn't mean the guy that put the most in it either.!

           If you really want to get a laugh sometime, you need to go with me to an auction .. it "sounds" like a paper shredding party at Watergate .. 500++ dealers ripping through pages of black books and asking their buddy "Hey, what do you think it's worth" .l.o.l. you can always tell the difference between the guys that know what it's worth .. they don't have any paper cut's

)

Terry ;-)

rroyce10 · May 2003

..... Thank you, I appreciate that .. also thanks for a great description.

            Your on the money here .. right color, no miles, L pack, the abs and 4x4 is Not a deal breaker in your area, as a matter of fact they do "almost" as much as a 4x4 .. these things are still strong, I'm not sure what the AM leather might, or might not do for you (I would have to see it) .. but if it's a nice clean one, lookin' kinda 03ish, you know, "Sharp" .. then trade side, you gotta be seeing the mid to high $13's, "could" "might" be seeing some $14,0 action if it's Jam up .. let me know on this, I'm interested on what you get hit at, cuz' I'm lookin' at the last 2 months at the AZ auction reports .. down Retail Rd, $16,9 in the paper $15,5/$16,5 gets a new owner.

             I hope this helps ....

                         Terry.

zueslewis · May 2003

Priceless...

thel · May 2003

Sounds like some of the local dealers. One has a red Xterra bought at auction about 8 months ago rotting on the lot. The carfax on this one was to say the least interesting, it's been all over the place.

A local Ford dealer has had a yellow 2001 Xterra SE w/ 24,000 miles that has rotted on the lot for waaaay over 8 months. They originally had it for $22,900 now they are down to the $18's somewhere and been there for weeks.

I guess Xterras have lost their luster around here.

kyfdx · May 2003

Terry: just one opinion.. My wife has leased '97, '99, and '01 Accords. Her lease is up in January, and she says there is no way she will get the new body style. I suggested a Civic, but somehow she thinks a suitable replacement is Acura TSX, BMW 325i, or Saab 9-3. Go figure.
Also, from watching these boards, '03's are selling for invoice or below, which would depress their used prices, but you would think that would hit the '02's even harder. As Forrest Gump would say: 'Ugly is as ugly sells'.
regards,
kyfdx

beechman · May 2003

Thanks very much for the info, Terry, I appreciate it and will be sure to let you know how I make out if we trade/sell it. The numbers are better than I would've thought, always nice to hear some good news these days. Looking at going into a van for some more room/practicality (yawn)...too bad that 04 Siennas are so new and 04 Odysseys (when they get here) are on brink of redesign.

explorerx4 · May 2003

Terry,
You're really pi**ing my wife off. I've had so many lol's reading your posts, she keeps asking me 'what's so funny?'. at least i'm not on some other type of site the internet is known for.

isellhondas · May 2003

When is your Alaska cruise? Is it out of Seattle?

One of our F&I guys is going June 7th on the Star.

We've taken the same cruise twice...you'll love it!

suzukij8 · May 2003

I'm seriously looking at buying my first used car - a 4 door Bordeaux Pearl 2000 Infiniti I-30 STD , pretty clean with 26,000 miles in Minneapolis. Includes a spoiler. Can you clue me in to what I ought to target for a price, Terry? The dealer quoted $19,900 with new tires and an added 12/12,000 warranty in addition to the existing original warranty good thru 10/31/03.

rroyce10 · May 2003

... I'm lookin' forward to it .. I was going 3 summers ago, but I flipped that trip to my Dad .. then 2 years ago, but he loved it so much I sent him again and I went to Costa Rica .. this time I'm going, and he can wave bye bye .l.o.l.. we are leaving out of Vancouver in the 2nd (?) week of Aug - A Beautiful City, I love that place ..!

Terry.

rroyce10 · May 2003

...... Bordeaux Pearl and the miles are low .. I30's look sharp in that color, I'm thinkin' they have $16,5ish in it with the warranty, $18,9ish should do it ... nice vehicles, you should enjoy it.

Terry.

anamikagupta · May 2003

is still available for $19000. The dealership reduced the price after trying high pressure tactics like "This price is good only for today. We won't be able to honor it later etc." I am glad we didn't fall for that one!

Also, they put 300 miles on it over memorial day weekend! Employee pleasure vehicle!!
Is it common for dealerships to allow their employees to keep vehicles over the weekend?

I wanted to thank everyone for their input & for clearing the confusion...:)

We are now looking at other brands also, like the toyota matrix

I think it looks ugly too, but love the idea of not having carpets!

chile96 · May 2003

Hey Terry! Have you seen any 2003 boxsters at any auctions and what prices are they going for? I know I didn't list any options as the boxster option list is about as long as the list of girls I wish I'd slept with......lol

Thanks for any info
fo

roadranger · May 2003

This is a strange situation, but I need help.

My wife wants a mid-size SUV. We decided to get an inexpensive one for now, then pass it down to our daughter in a year or so and my wife gets to pick out her new one.

Here is where things get out of the ordinary...

We were at the dealer getting parts for my van and noticed a 95 GMC Jimmy and a 97 Grand Cherokee, both sitting back in the area they put the stuff to be wholesaled. Of course we looked around up front, but couldn't find anything that we felt met our needs. We asked about what was out back and was told their policy is to wholesale anything over 70K miles. They would sell them, but AS IS and they don't even want to have their mechanics look at them (implied warranty, a valid concern). I have permision to take either, or both anywhere I like to have them looked over and then make my decision to purchase or not. This sounds logical to me, so today I visited another dealer and they are willing to give each of them a thorough checking out. So I'm thinking that Monday I will be taking 2 SUV's for check-ups. The scary part is that there is no other similar vehicles around here like them (mid-late 90's with high miles) to compare prices.

I've checked KBB, NADA, TMV, but thought you guys might have good info. Here is what they are...

95 Jimmy SLE, 4.3L, 4 dr, 4 wd, Black, gray cloth int (fair-good), VERY clean exterior (but not a re-paint that I can tell), all pwr, AM/FM/CASS, 117K

97 Grand Cherokee Larado, 5.2L, 4 dr, 4 wd, drk blue exterior, tan cloth int, AM/FM/CASS/10 CD changer, all pwr, sun roof, clean in and out, 97K

Any help is apreciated,

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