Real-World Trade-In Values

robr2 · June 2003

Yup!!

akedmunds · June 2003

Thanks again, Terry!

Thanks jlawrence01 for the detailed response!
Absent someone willing to document the value in writing (they might not want to take the risk of being audited themselves) what does the IRS take
as proof of market value?

In any case, given the arguments you made, I'm unlikely to go the donation route.

jlawrence01 · June 2003

You have to prove the VALUE of the vehicle. Most charities won't help you out.

If I were to make a contribution, I would look for the following:

1) Doumentation of the Black Book pricing
2) Appraisal
3) Copies of ads of similar vehicles.

Obviously, if you are contributing a 25k vehicle, it needs to be better documentation than a $500 junker.

Hankr · June 2003

it is that merely having donated a vehicle, any vehicle, raises one's chances of a "closer look" at the entire tax return by our greedy uncle.

Now of course, since no one has anything to hide... it is merely the inconvenience and expense of the audit process to which so many of us would object.

lancerfixer · June 2003

Good to see you back, man. You planning on going back down to FL or are you in Jersey for a while?

jlawrence01 · June 2003

My point has always been "Why bother donating a $2000 to charity?" You get maybe a $600 benefit from your taxes. I mean, I would rather skip it than be audited for that piddly amount.

Or alternatively, put a "for sale" sign on the car, sell it to a poor working family for $1000 and make the donation to the charity.

isellhondas · June 2003

Welcome back!

You say you need a good Lexus salesguy??

I'm listening!

Why don't you stop by for a drink soon?

grogman1 · June 2003

Terry - Hello again. Your thoughts please - you missed me. SLT - Dark Blue w/pewter leather, autoride, single CD with AM/FM cassette, second row captains chairs, running boards, polished alum. wheels, trailering pkg., second row audio controls(No Moonroof) 29K miles. Very clean here in southwest Ohio.

At the block price and also down retail road. Thanks much.

rroyce10 · June 2003

...... I'm lookin' real hard at the very bottom of your post .. there in real small letters, kinda like a bad car ad on TV ~ do they say 2wd or 4wd .. ? cuz' I can hardly read em' ..

Terry ;-)

grogman1 · June 2003

It's a 4wd. I read the friggin thing 4 times telling myself that I didn't miss anything.

spatulaman · June 2003

Thanks guys! I'm gonna see what they want for it...hopefully they'll be oblivious to what its really worth, and I can work down from the # listed on Edmunds....then resell it in a few months for a little profit.

dbgindy · June 2003

AK,
If you are going to donate a good idea might be to get from a couple of dealers what the car would go for on their lot if they sold it. Take very good notes and get it in writing if possible. As long as you have a reasonable basis for what you claimed and you can document it you should be fine. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
:-)

akangl · June 2003

Looks like the Corolla is sold, but if I tell you how much I gave, er, sold it for you will draw and quarter me and I will never get out of my room.

Picked up the K3500 yesterday, nice running truck no doubt and paid off the K2500 yesterday too.

bluestar1 · June 2003

On the '01 Sequoia SR5. I figured $23 is all the money on that one. Paid $37K out the door in 12/00, and after 2+ years and 40clicks later, it's now worth like 67% of purchase price. Not bad at all, imo. I suppose that is "normal" for a Toyota. No ?

handsfree · June 2003

And the saga goes on, (01 SL 500) he went to 2 different MB dealers during the week and was offered $47 and $51,000 (why the big difference?) so he has at least dropped the asking price to $57 instead of $59. He had one offer on the 98 Caddy Eldo (44k) for $12,5 and turned that down, this could drag out until Christmas.
But on a more important issue, our brother wants to trade his Ford Excursion in, 01, Limited, white with gold bottom, every option, heat leather, power roof, ent package, 21k, Dsl engine and 4x4, we drove this to Atlantic City, it's very clean with no scratches, he won't let people smoke in it, take your shoes off type of thing, no food stuff, it's big and noisy and not my style but sure looks good. BMW dealer is thinking $25, what are you thinking?

I hope I didn't forget anything, I proof read it 3 times!

As always, thanks for all the help!!
M.

KCRam · June 2003

You realize we are going to make you an honorary dealer if you buy or sell one more vehicle

kcram
Host
Smart Shopper and FWI Message Boards

lancerfixer · June 2003

Hey man...question for you. My mom and dad have got a friend from church whose name should be Bob Cratchitt...five kids, doesn't make a lot of $, etc...anyway, his old Windstar finally is giving up the ghost at ~240,000 miles (!) and he needs something that carries seven. His funding is very limited (I don't know exactly what it is, but I know it's low); what have high miles post-'99 Odysseys and Siennas been doing at the auctions? (Basically, I'm asking, how cheaply can one be had?) As he's got an hour commute in Mass. traffic every day, an SUV and its gas mileage is more or less out of the question. I'm trying to steer him from the domestics; he should have bought a lottery ticket the day he bought the Windstar, and let's face it, the GM offerings absolutely suck (although the DCs aren't too bad.) What do you recommend?

dkuhajda · June 2003

Just a question. Does he carry all the kids every day he goes to work on his hour long commute? Does he only need the 7 passenger capacity for the drives that are not to work?

If he primarily is driving to work by himself or with only one or two passengers with him on the way, I would say his family is a candidate for two vehicles. Yes, there will be double insurance dollars.

Now what I would do in his situation.
I would say go with Dawn's 96 Tercel for the everyday drive to work and look for any 7 passenger vehicle for the family trips, maybe $6500, 1999 Voyager with 60K on it. Even the best of the minivans get barely over 22MPG in stop and go driving. The Tercel would get what, 35 MPG or more.

lancerfixer · June 2003

He was originally in the market for a used Protege/Prizm/Civic (or similar) for use on his commute. That was until he got the terminal diagnosis from the mechanic re: the Ford. I (and he) agree that's the best way to proceed, but that plan rather involves already having something in good mechanical order for the whole family. Eventually, he might again reach the point where he can take on the added expense of insuring and maintaining a second vehicle...he's not there right now, if he also has to make loan payments on a first. As I understand it, he uses the full capacity of the van several times a week; his wife, due to health reasons, does not drive at all. Therefore, it makes the most sense right now to just have the van. In the future, he'd likely get a second commuter vehicle. (If I won the Powerball tonight, I'd hop straight down to the Toyota dealer and buy him an '04 Sienna and put his name on the list for the new Prius...) :-)

rroyce10 · June 2003

...... Yeeeeah ..! she sold the Yota ..!

Ok, how much ..? just whisper in my ear, I won't tell anyone.

Terry.

rroyce10 · June 2003

.... FINALLY ... the right info.

           Ok, we have a 01 SLT, 4x4, XL Yukon, we have 29klicks and all the right stuff .. color is kinda blah, but these still do big monies ..

            Deep rubber, no kisses, no surprise interior experiments, still lookin' and feelin' new, then trade side you should be seeing the ultra high $24's, low to mid $25's, depending on the dealer.

           Good luck ....

                Terry.

akangl · June 2003

Well......ya know.....lol, I know I'm so bad about that. I shouldn't be selling any more vehicles, me and that big bad Chevy are kinda attached. Plus as a single mom I can't afford to buy and sell like I could with his $80k a year job.

Paid the Chevy off on Thursday......its MINE, yippeee.....no car payments!!!!

akangl · June 2003

Um, well, um, $7000. It goes Monday, I've still got it at the moment, but that's only because of timing and distance. Then again, she wants to take it by a mechanic, so that could derail everything, although I don't think there is anything wrong with the car. Other than it needs tires like last week and it needs an alignment, but she knows all that.

The lady that's committed to buying it is kind of strange, but really nice, just scared of getting screwed. Her car was totalled over the winter and she only got $7000, thus the reason I'm taking that, young family, couldn't come up with any more $$$. I figure I bought it 4/30/03 and have put over 5000 miles on it, I'm not too worried about any money lost.

I will let you know when it *goes over the curb*.

fclspat · June 2003

Purchased an '00 GMC Yukon SLE (w/sunroof and 3rd row) for about $33k ($36k less $3k GM card rebate). I'm not the type to trade in.. but I was chatting with my dealer and they are wlling to give me $20k on a trade (it has 36k miles)... in exchange for a Yukon XL SLE (no options). They'll sell me the XL for $36 (GMS) less $3k rebate and $1k GM Card Rebate... and I'm out of pocket $12k (plus tax)...

I'm suddenly thinking it may make sense to pull the trigger. Thoughts?

rroyce10 · June 2003

..... Good for you, ya sold it .! you gotta a little weak on the price part, but I will give you a pass this time cuz' of the situation .l.o.l..

Terry ;-)

lancerfixer · June 2003

I'd like to ask you, too, about the situation my parents' friend finds himself in (up about six or so posts.) What would you recommend?

rroyce10 · June 2003

..... He should have grabbed the $12,5 and ran like the wind ..! "Ego" can be a very costly thing ..

          $47 is the right money .. maybe a nick over here and a nick over there, but it's darn close - $51 ..? I'm gonna bet that's the figure from the second dealer and that came from some "future trade allowance" to get him back in. Theres not a dealer from Portland Maine to San Clemente CA that would drop $51 into a SL right now - unless it's his bookie.

         $25 ...? it's a 4x4 Limited right ..? it's a DSL .. right ..? it has the Disney package, it has the leather, big tunes, looks new, no invasions, "no" miles, right color anywhere .. no hit's, no runs, no errors right .?

          $25 ....? thats a great price ~ if you just came out of brain surgery and your still in a coma ... you can't get em' and you can't find em' like that for less than $28 at any auction anywhere, if it's truly a nice one, ultra clean and "Stand Tall" all the way around I have seen em' crawl towards the $29 figure .. .. $25 ..? oh yeah, if it's been hit, shot at, 50/60k+, needs tires, 15 patches on the interior and the drivers side needs to be re-painted. Throw it in the paper, it's an easy $32/$33 down Retail Rd .. or, just find another dealer.

                    Terry.

rroyce10 · June 2003

..... I'm not sure what specific years you may be lookin' at .. but the EX 99's with 60/70k are still seeing the Strong $11's+ at the auctions, that would put them in a $13/$14ish retail "asking price" .. and the LE 99 Sienna's aren't too far behind them.

Terry.

rroyce10 · June 2003

...... I don't have any thoughts right now ..

             2WD ......................?

                       4WD ......?

              on the 00 ...

                   no ticky .. no washy .!

                       Terry.

fclspat · June 2003

they are both 4WDs

rroyce10 · June 2003

.... If it's a clean one, deep rubber, no parking lot kisses and it needs -0- ... then $21 is fair for both on the trade side .. $20 is a little weak, considering he can see $21/$22 at the block, especially in the NY area ..

Terry.

lancerfixer · June 2003

He might have to find another Windstall...they've got the resale value of beer, but at least they've got good crash ratings.

steine13 · June 2003

(cough) Allow me. Right up my alley.

"...five kids, doesn't make a lot of $, etc...hour commute in Mass. traffic every day...let's face it, the GM offerings absolutely suck....What do you recommend?" [heavily edited]

Nasty one. You asked about used prices for Odysseys and Siennas, and Terry answered. He might as well buy a new one... The thing to do, if he can at all wing it, is to run down to the Toy store and see if they have ANY Siennas left.

A CE can be had for inv - rebate = $21-22,000 or so. Then consider an ext. warranty, stretch the payments as far as he has to, and that is about as cheap as it is going to get without a lot of luck. I'm not trying to be cute. That car shold literally last decades if treated right.

Forget the used Ody or Sienna, they're still spendy, and now they'll need maintenance and tires and the first repairs.. not good when money's tight... what's he gonna do, take a four-year loan on a 5yr-old car?

If it's got to be cheap, and it's got to haul 7 and it's got to run and be kept for a while: Dodge or Chevy full-size vans. 1994 or older. Look for throttle-body injection, which keeps things simple, the Dodges in particular have dirt-simple emissions controls systems... not even EGR, no AIR pumps, just fuel injection, ox sensor, and cat... Yeah they suck gas, but gas is cheap. Forego collision insurance -- come up with the money through a home-eq lone or even 0% credit card... and drive carefully. Saves beaucoup $$ in MA.

There is NOTHING that can break on these vans that will send them to the boneyard; everything including engines and transmissions can be replaced or rebuilt or repaired, because all the parts are shared with million-seller trucks. Terry will tell you that a clean "short" Chevy or Dodge 6cyl conversion van can be had at auction for $3,xxx with <50k miles. With maintenance, these will run another 10 years. The bigger 8cyls are a little more, but even more robust. A rebuilt 350 around here is $995, and a good one is under $1500... and they don't usually break, either.

Another obvious choice is the Ford Aerostar, but I had a 1992 and something different would go every 3 months and cost $3-500 to fix. All those domestic minivans are trouble prone, and they have parts that fail that your friend has never heard of... at $795 a pop. It doesn't sound like he can afford the risk.

Full-size is the way to go. There are plenty of other solutions, but they all require a certain amount of luck. Not acceptable on a strict budget..

Respectfully submitted,
-Mathias
East Lansing
"Fine Beaters Are Us"

rroyce10 · June 2003

...... "Fine Beaters Are Us" ... l.o.l....

rroyce10 · June 2003

...... Mathias makes some real good points here .. some of those V8's have been running since Moses was in short pants, their cheap, they run longer than the Olympics and their cheap to fix .. can't hurt, so take a look around.

Terry.

rroyce10 · June 2003

.... Happy Fathers Day ... !

akangl · June 2003

It ain't sold until she drives it over the curb, but I think she will buy it. She knows its a great deal and yeah, I'm weak on the price, but its gotta go.

That's still more than I could have gotten out of that big 94 K2500.....nobody wants those things up here, the market is flooded with Chevy's, although the 454 is a bit rare.

jaserb · June 2003

Another alternative is a Taurus/Sable wagon with the "wayback" seat. Cheap, durable, and surprisingly good on gas. I think both 3.0 engines are timing chain models, and the transmissions are fairly good from the 97-98 range on up. I've seen asking prices for '00s with the Duratec engine and low miles for under 10k. If you're willing to go for a "fish-face" 97-99 model they're even cheaper.

-Jason

kla4444 · June 2003

Just wondering about what a dark blue/gray leather F150 5.4L V8 will trade for in So cal. It's a supercab, power drivers seat, sliding window, CD, tow, prem wheels. Interior is is great shape, exterior has the usual assortment of scratches and door dings but cleans up to look almost new. The bed has quite a few scratches and it has about 86,000 miles on it.

kla4444 · June 2003

Also wondering about a gold windstar, 56k miles with quad seating, roof rack, cd and whatever else is standard on the LX. Inside shows definate signs of too many trips to McDonalds with 4 kids, outside can't be described as perfect either. Some pretty good dings and one cracked door mirror. Thanks for the help!

akangl · June 2003

The Yota is GONE!!!! Did the deal tonight, quick and easy. She's happy, I'm happy, life is good.

Now to just get through the next 2 weeks, my daughter is being admitted to the hospital on Friday, not fun.

isellhondas · June 2003

Great news on the Corolla!

Sorry to hear about your daughter...hope all go's well.

akangl · June 2003

Thanks, she will be ok, just another day in the life of a kid with cystic fibrosis. I hope someday CF stands for Cure Found.

len_a · June 2003

Hi. My first post in this topic. I hope this is on topic enough for here. I was directed here from another board to get your opinion on the price of a 2000 Toyota Camry CD I'm thinking of buying from a dealer. I was debating between this car and a new Matrix but I'm leaning towards the Camry.

Dealer is asking $12,995. Edmunds TMV is $13,600 for a "Toyota Certified Used Car" like this one. $12,800 if not certified. NADA value is ONLY $11,400 and this is the max loan my bank will give me for this car.

2000 Toyota Camry CD
Auto, A/C, Cruise, power windows,mirrors, locks
Tinted glass, NO ABS
60 day / 3000 mile warranty

What's a fair price I should pay for this car?

chile96 · June 2003

len_a · June 2003

rivertown · June 2003

Terry and/or Bill are gonna want color and part of the country, too.

len_a · June 2003

Silver. Southern Tier of NY (upper part above PA border).

steine13 · June 2003

... for a used, 3-to-4-yr-old Camry, why don't you add $5k and buy a brand-spanking new LE automatic for $18 or so?
That's 12 cents a mile or thereabouts, and from experience I can tell you, it don't get much cheaper than that.
-Mathias
East Lansing, MI

oac3 · June 2003

His loan is maxed at $11-ish, so gotta go for the used Camry cE.

BTW, NADA indicated $11,5 retail and $9,5 on the trade-in side. Hence $12,9 seemed on the high side. Of course, that is the dealer's "asking" price, right ?

http://www3.nadaguides.com/Values/ValueCategoryReport.asp?UserID=- 54072696CDEB9&DID=37789&wSec=1&wPg=1207&CategoryI- d=2&MakeId=1214&VehicleId=14516&Year=2000&ColorId- =

Terry is the expert here so you'll have to get his numbers to help you negotiate a good deal.

Good luck

Real-World Trade-In Values

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