Real-World Trade-In Values

mbednorz · January 2004

Terry, thanks for the value info on '02 Eddie Voyeur Exploders in Houston. Thought I'd do everyone the courtesy of telling how it turned out.

There are ABSOLUTELY ZERO individuals selling '02 or '03 EB Explorers for the last five weeks in all of the greater Houston Area. I couldn't believe it. Guess they're all in leases or upside down in 60 month financing. Or maybe all 20,000 are so in love with their cars that they'll never sell ;-)

So I resorted to hitting the dealers. Found two deals and pulled the trigger on one last night:

'02 Eddie Bauer Red 2WD V6 24k miles, no DVD and no V8, but otherwise all the tasty parts. Super clean: Leather looked brand new, not a scuff mark on the cargo area, just a couple of buffed out scratches on body. You said $20'ish for a "good" condition, so I felt OK about getting it for $19,500.

I passed on a similar blue car. It had some wear in the cargo area, lots of wind noise on the passenger door, and a very faint interior odor. The dealer had it on the lot for 4 weeks and finally came down to $18,500... but when I saw the red one I passed.

Thanks a ton for the help, Terry. May the football gods smile upon your favorite team in the Super Bowl!

ladyofluxury · January 2004

"That 94 Accord V-6 would be a rare find indeed since 1995 was the first year Honda offered a V-6 Accord!"

isellhondas, I am POSITIVE, I've seen the engine for the last 10 years. When I call for quotes many mechanics have argued with me because they say the same thing but I will even take pictures of my engine and show that it is a V-6, and I am the first and only owner, I've never had a new engine put it. Why my car has this I DON'T KNOW, but it does. And I know it's a 94 and not a 95

jratcliffe · January 2004

Terry, if I read his post right, he paid $18.5 for the 'stang and got $14.75 for the Accord, so net/net he got the 'stang for the Accord plus $3750.

isellhondas · January 2004

Can you check the VIN number and post it?

Don't mean to argue with you but Honda never produced a V-6 in Accords until 1995.

carguy58 · January 2004

I thought like Terry thought that 1995 was the first year for the V-6 engine in the Accord. Does your Accord have the V6 emblem on the back end?

spatulaman · January 2004

The front and rear bumpers have been replaced with OEM covers, and I also had them re-spray a set of headlight covers, since the originals had cracked underneath at the mount due to heat. Of course re-painted. The shop did a very good job on them. The paint is good, and can be made to look largely glow in the dark (I've had it in that conditon before) however there are some dings like I said, as well as a rock chip here and there.
Not sure exactly what you mean by the VIN (unless you're implying that these are rare)....the serial portion of the VIN is 1882 (out of 3000 units for 1994).
As far as driving over the curbs, the previous owner's wife did scrape the lips of the rims, but nothing severe. It has also seen some abrasion to the trim strip under the lower bumper...but not the bumper itself.

Overall, the only big flaws would be the door dings, and the wear on the driver's side seat bolster. Everything else is visible, but requires closer inspection.

I don't want to part with the car, but I really have nowhere to store it, and I figure if Mazda does come out with the new RX-7, then the value is going to sink like a rock. Of course, if they don't come out with another, the value could go off into the stratosphere. If values decline, then I'd like to pick up a replacement sometime in the future. Think values will slide? Do you have access to any historical data (5-10 years back) of what these cars have been getting at auction?

lancerfixer · January 2004

Wow...you got an '83 Vette stashed away, too? :-)

lancerfixer · January 2004

Wanted to give you an update in my ongoing S90 saga. The update is, there is no update. Mrs. Lance is unbending as the mighty oak on the subject of car payments. The 740 stays, on pain of being hooked up the The Machine from "The Princess Bride" (and, sadly, I'm not talking about Robin Wright after a few drinks.) As if to emphasize the point, this week I was forced to throw another $150 offering to the Volcano of the Volvo Gods.

Grrr.

Carry on, and thanks for all the help.

ladyofluxury · January 2004

Ok I checked but the 10th digit in on my VIN is an 'R' not an 'S'. What does this mean? I'm so confused, I've had this car forever and a day and just always thought it was a 94, that is what my father told me when he bought it for me...lol HELP ME SEE THE LIGHT! lol

akangl · January 2004

****Wow...you got an '83 Vette stashed away, too? :-)****

Ya mean like this one??

http://www.corvettecavalry.com/1983corvette.html

ladyofluxury · January 2004

I was getting so confused that I went and checked for myself, I WAS MISTAKEN! My engine says v-Tech maybe I mistook this for v-6, who the hell knows it's been so long since I was under the hood. So thanks for all your help (except for Lancer's attempt at patronizing me). Anyway can I get some value info now Terry? Thanks!

P.S. Wondering why mechanics never told me this before! UGH

steine13 · January 2004

"Wondering why mechanics never told me this before!"
Maybe cuz they figure you'd know what kind of engine you've got.. most people do.
Down there with Lance,
I remain,
-Mathias

lancerfixer · January 2004

More long-term posters here know that no patronizing occurs here...just good-natured ribbing amongst online friends (hence the smiley after my comment.)

VTEC.

6.

Yeah, I can see where the confusion would come in. Where'd you have the mechanic put the two extra spark plugs come tuneup time?

ladyofluxury · January 2004

"Where'd you have the mechanic put the two extra spark plugs come tuneup time?"

I could answer this but I don't think you would like what I have to say.

anonymousposts · January 2004

They also didn't build a Special Edition until 1997.

And have you been paying insurance on a V6 Accord for the last 10 years??

driftracer · January 2004

let's let up - I know LOTS of guys who don't know where their oil or transmission dipstick is, much less the displacement of their engine or number of cylinders.

I can't speak to a value on an older Honda like that, other than I know they can command some crazy money.

Can we help her out with a value of her 4 cylinder 1994 Accord?

lancerfixer · January 2004

tisrandee? Is that you?

ghulet · January 2004

....I know plenty of men (yes, even straight ones) who have no idea how many cylinders or how large their engines are. Seriously. I think it's kinda sad, too, but let's face it, how many people do any work on their cars any more? How many people even read their owner's manuals?

akangl · January 2004

Remember that Focus I asked you about?? The black 01 with 18k or so on it, handshaker, SE, spoiler/alloys, pwr stuff. *laughing hysterically* They SOLD it. *rolling around on the floor laughing* Rumor has it the guy (fire inspector) paid about $12k for it. *wiping tears from laughing so hard* Needless to say he figured it out AFTER he bought the car that his new best buddy took him to the cleaners on it. Its a sore subject to say the least.

driftracer · January 2004

There's nothing quite like paying TWICE as much as a car is worth to make you feel good about your accounting, arithmetic, and research skills.

sweetv12 · January 2004

rroyce10 · January 2004

...... $12 large ....? .. eeeow.!

Have him email me, I have this piece of property ..........

Terry.

rroyce10 · January 2004

....... Straight coupe .. R-2 .. coupe with the touring package ..?

Terry.

rroyce10 · January 2004

..... **Ok I checked but the 10th digit in on my VIN is an 'R' not an 'S'.**

              **"Where'd you have the mechanic put the two extra spark plugs come tuneup time?"** ..... l.o.l....

          I'm not laughing at you, I'm laughing "with" you .. don't let it bother you, I've had plenty of the "macho" tattoo types trade me their V8 Park Avenue's and their V8 Acura TL's (it was a very special option, or so I was "told".l.o.l.) ..

             But anyway, it a "9 4" EX with the slider, we got some leather, auto, it has a little cd action, service seems to be all there, you say it's clean with 93k and you live in the Virginia area .. trade side, in and around the high $2's, low low low $3's ..

            Personally, this little dudette would go down Retail Rd, service records stuck to the dash, super detail, Excellent 5 liner ad, $5,495 *asking* and say Yes and the first $4,5/$4,9 ...

              Your not shy, so don't forget to let me know what happens ...

                           Terry :-)

akangl · January 2004

I can't help but shake my head, I spread it around what the car was worth about 2-3 weeks ago. Guess he didn't listen.

The guy who sold it to him should be working at Fast Eddies Furniture and used cars. He's that type of person anyway. I still say what goes around comes around, it'll bite him in the end.

akangl · January 2004

Don't feel bad, I've argued with MEN about how many cylinders they have in their car. About 1/2 of them that I run into are clueless.

Like the guy who tried to tell me he had a 2002 Dodge Ram 2500 Hemi, um, no, the Hemi came out in 2003 for the 2500/3500 series. He said the salesman told him it was a Hemi.

Me on the other hand, well, I may be a blonde woman, but I know how many cylinders are under the hood of my car. Six for my Explorer and 10 for hubby's Ram. I can even do a tune up, change a tire, change the oil, and who knows what else.

rroyce10 · January 2004

....... I just had a guy try to trade me his 24ft Sea Ray boat, got mad when I wouldn't give him the $$ he wanted ..

I said: "it's a V6 Vortec, with the Alpha drive - what can I say, there's not enough power there to push a small refrigerator uphill" .. but he's convinced that it's a 454 V8 with the Bravo drive (it even says Alpha on it .l.o.l.) oh well ...

Terry.

rroyce10 · January 2004

..... Red, one of my most favorite colors, EB and it sounds nice .. you did Real Well my friend .......... Enjoy it.!

Terry.

clpurnell · February 2004

I live in Sugar Land so I'm one of those masses that battle houston traffic to work (westchase area). Yeah stuff in the loop is ludicrous. I thought your post said 84 hence the trip down south. Yeah can't get much cheaper than east texas lol.

Enjoy the game all!!

akangl · February 2004

One born every day......Gotta love 'em.......or not. ;-)

iknow1 · February 2004

Hi Terry,
What is the difference between a volvo certified used s80 that carfax says was bought at the auction by the dealer and the one owner trade in? Should i worry if the car was bought at an auction even thought it is volvo certified?
Also how do i check a Volvo S80 to see if it has ever been in an accident. Thanks.

Sam

spatulaman · February 2004

Its a touring...or coupe w touring as you call it....

I'm sorry I missed so much info....and I thought I was giving a good description.

rroyce10 · February 2004

...... Let's pick .. pique .. pik through some of the info here ..

          We have 69 klicks, low for the year and it's the Touring package, it's black with tan guts, all the service is up to date, Bozo sound with all the other junk .. the front and rear fascia has been redone oem and you say the paint is almost kinda like newish, maybe a little skinny in the tire dept(?) ...

            If it looks drives and feels like a 2000 with 25k (as an example only, cuz' they didn't make one .l.o.l.) deep rubber, service is 110% .. then have the dent's taken out by Dent Wizard, Dr. Dent, Dent's R' us, Dent's are you, Dents are me, whatever .... these are kinda like the Supra's, Defenders, SS Impala's or a BMW 8 series, most dealers won't know what they have or what there looking at, nor do they want to invest the $$ to find out, hard to say what they might hit this one at ..

          If it's Super clean, buffed & detailed to the Max, looks "Stand Tall", glows in the dark, looks almost puuuurfect after Dr. Dent, then it will probably do "in and around" the $12's at the big auctions in your area, so I would think the dealers would be hitting it in the $10's, maybe, depending on the dealer ...

               This is definatly a Retail Rd vehicle .. do ALL the stuff, great pics, all the service records hanging from the tail pipe, Wonderful Fat Daddy ad, or slide it towards ebay, if I read everything right your a southern boy in Texas so your market is 365 .. $14,9 *asking* and cut it loose for the first "real deal" $13,5/$14,5 ..

                    Let me know how it goes ...

                        Terry :-)

                Gooooo Panthers .....!

beach15 · February 2004

Just checking in to see what our Avalanche is really worth. It's a 2002, 1500 2wd, with the Z66 on-road suspension, dual power cloth bucket seats, Onstar, dimming mirrors, auto climate control, Goodyear Wrangler HP tires with tons of tread on them, and 28.5k miles.

It's Onyx Black with Neutral tan cloth. No dings, no scratches, very few rock chips on the front of the hood. Very well maintained and pretty much immaculate (no swirls in the paint, detailed often, etc).

What's it worth? Trade-in? Private sale?

rroyce10 · February 2004

....... and it lives where .....?

spatulaman · February 2004

Thanks!

thel · February 2004

According to his profile he lives in Deleware.

racer63 · February 2004

Being nosy about this one:

'02 IS 300, lipstick red, 5 speed do-it your-selfer, black leather, roof, etc. New summer rubber. 20k in Noo Joisey at a Dodge dealer of all places. Advertised at 24,995.

mbednorz · February 2004

Hey, racer63, I'll chime in ahead of the gurus on this one. I shopped '02 IS300s really hard about 9 months ago, and I'd guess that the one you describe would be worth no more than $22,500. Especially this time of the year. I was looking at an '02 black auto with 10k and all the goodies for $24,500 in Houston, and I hadn't even really started negotiating. FWIW, a brand new 04 loaded can be had for $29k, easy.

Have fun!

racer63 · February 2004

I tire kicked a new leftover '02 in 11/02, and with a sticker of $31,000, we were in the 29's without trying hard.

I'm figuring they own it for about 20, and 22 would be a quite reasonable price, it being a 5 speed, with rear drive and a foot of snow onthe ground.

Decisions, decisions.......

brewcitybuyer1 · February 2004

Terry,

I just wrecked my wife's 98 Passat stick. We are excepting a child in the next few months so looking for a safe car. Of course that means a swing by a volvo dealer. We did look at a few others, but the pricing compared to what you get brought us back to volvo.

So we are looking at two Volvo S80s. One is a 2000, 70K, one owner, traded with the same dealer, dealer has service records from day one. Wants 16500.

The other is a 2001, 40K, started life as a rental, at 15K was bought by previous owner. Has sat on lot since late August. Wants 19500.

Both are certified so they have the 100K, 6 years.

Are the prices good, which would you take? Our thought is if we got the 01, keep it till the warranty runs out. With the 00, if it runs good, keep it forever.

Thanks, Milwaukee buyer.

stickguy · February 2004

without commenting on the prices themselves (since I ain't in the 'biz as they say), for a difference of 3K for 1 year newer, 30k less miles (and the associated extra warranty), I would go with the 2001.

Look at it this way. If you bought the 2001, drove 30K in the next year, and brought it back, do you think it would drop less than 3K in value (trade in now vs. trade in then)?

tiredofmanual · February 2004

A friend of mine is looking to pick up a new vehicle and found a Highlander. He'd like to know if it's a good deal or not. It's at a dealer in the Chicago area:

2003 toyota highlander LE.
4WD 4door
Black exterior, Tan interior.
18503 miles,
JBL audio
Leather
Spoilers
moonroof

The asking price is $23,400

lancerfixer · February 2004

By all means, if you can do so, get the 2001. The S80s are wonderful cars when they work, but they had their teething problems ('99 models were horrendous, '00s less so, and they seem to have had the bugs worked out by '01.) Good luck. You won't find a more comfortable highway cruiser than an S80, IMHO, and they're certainly spacious. For accurate pricing data, you'll have to let the experts here know colors, location, and whether the cars are turbos.

russla · February 2004

Hi Terry and other used car experts.

any info is appreciated as I'm contemplating the purchase of an '02 JGC, limited quadra drive, with K package (all the goodies etc) 27K miles (lt blue and in the pacific NW)

What do you think the dealer has invested in this, they bought it at auction as a lease return

Thanks in advance

Russla

chile96 · February 2004

Well I was able to avoid falling for the salesman's pitch for that leftover 911 but I've come across 2 very interesting offers here in ATL:

2002 Carrera Cab
silver/metoprolol blue
bose
6 speed
litronics
no exterior blemishes noted
20000 miles
18in wheels
hard to tell what condition seats were in as they had just finished putting so much damn leather conditioner on them I could hardly breathe

other offer from an individual who wants to trade his 2001 911 turbo for my boxster s(2003 4400 mi. "loaded") - surely he can't mean straight up but that's what it sounds like. So far I have minimal description except for

2001 turbo
14000 mi
new tires (already ?)
blk/blk
outstanding cond
carbon fiber pkg
18in tech art wheels
full leather
navigation

what says you on these two?

thanks
fo

steine13 · February 2004

It doesn't say V6 or 4, but I'd have to guess it's the V6... on a car this new, I'd figure out the going rate for a new one just like it, then see what the build or in-service date is, and make sure I'm saving at least 20cents/mile or $300/month or whatever seems right for this kind of car.
Highlanders are great vehicles, but they're steep used... when you can buy the first 18 months of a car for less than $4k, you should probably do that... those are good months :-)

-Mathias

rroyce10 · February 2004

....... I probably purchase 300+ vehicles a year from the better auctions, where do you think I'm getting the 04's from .l.o.l. .. Probably 40/70% of the vehicles on the pre-owned lot's are from the auctions, so I wouldn't get nervous .. S80's are great vehicles, just check the history and the service records.

          Usually what happens is, maybe the residual is too high, or perhaps the miles are a little steep, or maybe the color is cold or maybe the owner of the trade vehicle was rough with it and they let that particular one go to the auction ... *then in return*, the dealer will probably purchase 2/8/20 vehicles at the auction when he gets there, most of these will have alot less miles, better cared for and give the dealer the selection he might not have at his store .. it's common and it happens everyday.

             What your getting with the CPO is the extended warranty, just remember it's been ticking since day one, so you need to see if it's worth the extra $$ .. most folks that private sell their vehicles, "usually" keep them in excellent shape and you can see the pride of ownership (most, not all).

          Carfax is pretty darn accurate and will show any "reported" accidents, but I would spend the extra $75 or so and have a pro look at it .. unfortunately what Carfax can't pick up, is the guy that backed into his sisters car at the New Years party and did $3,800 worth of damage and spent $2,500 to have it fixed to save money and/or an insurance report.

                      Terry.

rroyce10 · February 2004

buster6 · February 2004

Hi Terry,

I have a car on lease. I have 7 months remaining, but need to sell early. I think I already know the answer to the question, but wanted to ask the expert.

Should I turn in early and pay the mileage penalty, or trade.

Here are the details

In Phoenix

02 Toy Camry SE V6. Green/ black leather (i know its bad) Roof/Navi/alloys/spoiler/power seat/cd

Condition is pretty good--a couple of kisses
tires--not bald but have about 5-10k tread left

The killer is 69,500 miles ( I am in outside sales)

My buy out at lease end is $14,700 and my mileage penalty is $1200.00, and turn in fee is $100.00

I am guessing send it back to the leasing co and walk but what should I expect on trade?

Thanks!!

Real-World Trade-In Values

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