Real-World Trade-In Values

jlawrence01 · January 2005

Location: Chicago, IL (Western Suburbs) Year/Make/Model: 2001 Chrysler Town & Country LX

Body Style: Mini Van

..... In Chi-town ... we have 45k, we have that green thing going on, LX 3.3, rear breeze, power slide .... you know the deal by now, no hurricanes, no floods, no terrorist attacks .. sounds like the mid $7's, might maybe see the low low low $8's at the auction, miles save this one .......................

In other words, if you went out and were to buy the car at retail, you'd see a retail of maybe $12,500 but they would let it go around $9,000-9,500. Let me know if you have any questions.

===================================

The buyout price was $13,600. He negotiated it down to $10,200 and is a happy camper. He wanted to hold onto the vehicle rather than leasing another minivan.

Thanks for your help!!

rroyce10 · January 2005

...... Thanks for the update ...!

$10,200 ...? .. that dog will hunt.!

He did good, real good, plus he knows the previous owner ..........

Terry.

rroyce10 · January 2005

...... What happened to the 03 430's you were looking at ... ?

Terry.

rroyce10 · January 2005

..... Good luck and let me know ..!

Terry.

rroyce10 · January 2005

..... SLE .. not a SLT ...? .. figure in and around $1,500 Less ....... I'm kinda like a bad dream, ain't I ..l.o.l...

Terry

rroyce10 · January 2005

..... who's Bill ....?

Terry.

rroyce10 · January 2005

.... The 05 vehicle was sold 9/5, delivered on 9/7 .. traded on 01/02/05 with 1,800 miles .. got it.?

Terry.

rroyce10 · January 2005

..... Someone is better off in the Touareg .. kinda like your Titans, the Cayenne's spend waaay too much time in the service department .................

Terry.

rroyce10 · January 2005

Terry,

You're help would be much appreciated.

Need Trade in and Private Party Price

   2002 Honda CR-V

EX Trim

Auto Transmission

All-Wheel Drive

46000 Miles

Location: Dallas, Texas 75247

     Exterior: Burgandy

Interior: Tan

     6 Disc CD + Cassette

Sunroof

Privacy Glass

Cloth Seats

Alloys Wheels including full size spare

     1 - Owner

Dealer Maintained - Have All Records

     No Exterior dings or scratches, other than normal wear from 46,000 miles of driving

Interior very clean, doesn't smell, no stains, no scuffs

     Tires replaced at 35,000 miles

               ========================

           Really ...? is this the same one from 3,000 posts ago - and I missed them all ...?

               Hey, ya know what they say: patience is a virtue ..l.o.l.......

             In the land of the Ka-boys ... 02 CRV EX, we have the auto, 4wd, 46k, good color for the area, slider and the tires are almost okay ..... if it's clean, no visits to the paint parade, no Tsunami interior, just a nice vehicle .. then trade side, in and around the mid/tall $13's, maybe the low low low $14's depending on the dealer ....

                      Let me know what happens ..

                               Terry.

akangl · January 2005

****..... Someone is better off in the Touareg .. kinda like your Titans, the Cayenne's spend waaay too much time in the service department .................

****

The new Titan is so far so good, its been back once for 2 small problems. Its 2 months old today with 3900 miles on it......OUCH! Still a far cry from our usual......the Focus is just shy of 6 mos old with 18k.

I'll always be a VW fan, maybe someday I'll own another one.....sure do like that Touareg V10 TDI.

Oh, one more question, do you think the issues with the Titans is what flat KILLED the resale value? Those things have a resale value of an ice cube in Alaska, its horrible, worse than Ford/Dodge/GM, OUCH OUCH OUCH!!!

BTW, its 50 below zero here......not gonna be out selling ice cubes today.

rroyce10 · January 2005

.... **Then why do the dealers keep such a tight hold of the Black Book or auction prices? I don't see why it helps them. For every customer they successfully lowball because he can't find the true trade-in value, I'd think they would lose five or six deals where the customer thinks he's being low balled but isn't** ...

             You bring up a good point ... and I don't know if dealers "really" do keep a tight hold on the books or the reports, it would really depend on the customer and the situation ..

              Look at it this way ... your a dealer, and you know that *most* - meaning that 80 or the next 100 people you talk with, will have a figure in their mind on what the value of "their" vehicle is, and you can bet it won't be the lowest .. it might have come from their local Credit union, maybe they looked up what Edmunds had to say, perhaps they read thru Kbb or Nada ...

             No matter what they read or how they got it, you can bet the buyer won't deduct for the new tires it needs, you can bet they forgot about when their brother-in-law slammed the hood down with the golf club and the hood and fender had to be filled and painted, or they forgot about that little $2,700 love bite at Mcdonalds, you can almost guess the 30k service is still ticking away at 38k, right before trade time of course, how convenient ....

               Many times I've shown the Black Book and/or the auction reports, and many times I've received the "dead mullet" look, or even worse, the buyer gets insulted and "out" they go. You have to remember, it's only human nature to forget the past history and use the highest figure they can find .. it happens during Home sales, jewelry and "especially" boat sales .. the Boat shows are just starting to fire-up, did you ever wonder why Very Few boat dealers take trades.? It's because the books are craaazy, I mean waaaay off, I mean they are off by a zillion dollars -- but try to tell that to Searay owner that want's more than he paid for it, and the books will back-up the claim, "but the buying market won't" - but they still print them books .l.o.l.. ... the used market "pumps" the new market, thats why you see pages and pages of used boats for sale, the dealers just move the new buyer into a new boat and the used market looks like a train wreck ...l.o.l......

                                 Terry.

gooddeal2 · January 2005

ouch

Thanks Terry

rroyce10 · January 2005

... Now, help me with something. When you say "down retail road," what exactly do you mean? Sometimes I'm rather slow on things, but I did catch onto what a "handshaker" was. Clarifying what you said, since one with a handshaker isn't as desirable, I "should" be able to get a better deal on it versus an automatic?** ..

              ==============================

           "down retail road," - definition: it's the retail buying market, it's recommended to try to sell it yourself when the pay-off is high or if someone might benefit from selling their vehicle instead of taking the trade-in figures and the tax savings won't suffice ..

                It takes a few extra bucks and you have to be patient: finish any service, you need a great detail, a super Ad in the biggest paper in your area, the Ad should run for "at least" 10 days, I even recommend getting a cheap rental car for that time so your always showing a nice vehicle -- the hand buys what they eyes see's, and if the eye doesn't like it, then the hand doesn't sign the check - never price it too high, no matter what the books say, or you will be making a planter out of it and be "negotiable" and park the ego ~ its an SUV, not a Piaget watch ... economics 101, page 523 ............................

Terry.

rroyce10 · January 2005

..... I figured you would say that ... Sorry, but your welcome ......... :^}

Terry.

wabends · January 2005

Terry,

Thanks for asking. Actually, I am looking for 03 745Li.

Leaning towards a Black sapphire/basalt gray flannel/35K miles/luxury pg/premium sound pkg/convenience pkg/tire pressure monitor. Excellent condition. Settling on low $57K with CPO.

May get it this weekend. Will keep you posted.

Wabends

mikefm58 · January 2005

<< the "dead mullet" look >>

ROTFLMAO........almost lost my coffee on that one.

qbrozen · January 2005

Terry, terry, terry... still killin me. I certainly understand how its 5 months old, but you didn't answer my question. If it is, by your math, 5 months old, then how does it become 2 years old only 7 months from now? Again, using your math, I would have an '05 and an '06, therefore the '05 is 2 years old because I have 2 cars.

And, to be clear as clear can be, this is YOUR math, not mine. According to MY math, that 5 month old car will be just 1 year old 7 months from now because it will have been in existence for 1 year. JUST like my '98 is 7 years old now because it has been in existence for 7 years (and not 8, as you say).

I luv ya, man, and I write all of this out with all due respect, but poor math skills drive me nuts and I just gotta try to straighten you out on this.

butchbr73 · January 2005

think you need to look at it in model years... let's add them up.

98, 99, 00, 01, 02, 03, 04, 05

how many do I have?

8... it may not be 8 years you're used to, but your now 8 model years behind the times....

uncertain · January 2005

One of the vehicles in our family is a 2000 Toyota Corolla with 48,000 miles. The payments are $122 per month with a loan balance of around $5,800. The person that drives this car HATES the way it looks, "dorky". It was purchased as a first car for this person because of safety ratings.



This person has seen a 1994 Acura Integra being offered for sale by a friend, I'm not sure which model,it has 2 or 3 doors though. It has about 85,000 miles on it. I have been told it needs a tiny bit of body work, including a paint job. I have not seen it yet, I am trying to determine if this is even worth considering doing. The car is being offered for approximately $2,500.



If I am told this sounds promising I WILL have a mechanic check it out. If the mechanic says the car is in good shape would this be a good deal considering the situation with the Toyota Corolla?(We would have to sell the Toyota for around what is owed and the down payment of $4,500 that was made is out the window.) (We have owned this Toyota for less than 1 year.)



If any more info, like the details suggested above in the suggested information for posting trade-in value suggestions are needed in order to help me please feel free to ask. I am just trying to start get an idea on this.



Thank You.

qbrozen · January 2005

actually, that's still wrong because its not 8 model years behind since only 7 more model years have occurred since the '98. so its just 7 model years old. That's like adding zero to an equation. It does nothing to change the outcome.

rroyce10 · January 2005

...... Bingo ...!

              One more time ....... If I have a:



98, 99, 00, 01, 02, 03, 04 and in the left side of the garage is my 05 Volvo - how many Volvo's am I going to be paying floorplan on ...? besides all that, the new 06 M35/45 is already out ...

                                  Terry.

butchbr73 · January 2005

if i bought a car each model year and had them sitting in my driveway, how many are there... ? I count 8...?

Remind me to never hire you as my accountant...!!!

anotherwagon · January 2005

Guessing it is for a child?

Is it as dorky as walking?

I plan to buy a car for my oldest in a couple of years. Safety will be a big deciding factor. We will be paying sooo while his opinion is welcome and he will have some input we won't be getting the coolest thing ever.

The mileage is a lot higher but I'll let the experts answer that one.

I've told mine he will drive a Volvo 240 Sedan. Solid & Slow. He says "noooooo" and I say - it will have 4 wheels and get you where you want to go.

Another q - do they help pay? Gas, payments, repairs, insurance, body work? If so, then they have a little more say in the equation but ... ?

qbrozen · January 2005

good grief!! OK, so let's play another game. You have a child in '02, then another in '03, another in '04, and another in '05. How old is the first child upon their birthday in 2005? Is he 4 because I have 4 kids??

Terry - you still didn't answer my question.

Remember, this all stemmed from the statement (and this statement has been addressed before, but it was dropped rather than pursued) "you have an 8-year-old car" when referring to a 1998. Butch, I never argued that there aren't 8 cars. The question still remains, how old is the first car? The only way it is 8 is if the newest car is 1 year old, and, even straight from Terry's mouth, his '05 is only 5 months old.

Heck, I'll give 2 examples in one posting. so you have the child thing to look at, now let's go ahead and look at those 8 cars.... 1 of them is ZERO, the 2nd is 1-year-old, the 3rd is 2, the 4th is 3, the 5th is 4, the 6th is 5, the 7th is 6, and the 8th is ......... 7!!!

I wonder if first grade teachers have this much trouble teaching math. Thank god i stayed away from that profession.

robr2 · January 2005

I'll second the presumption - it's for your teenage child isn't it?

IMHO, the Corolla is the way to go. It may be dorky but walking or taking the bus or worse yet - having Mom or Dad drive them - is even dorker. They'd be giving up a 5 YO car to go to an 11 YO car and the advanced reliability and safety of it. They - not you - would have to dump money into the Acura for body work and a paint job. Insurance may be higher and since cash is being dumped into body and paint you should protect it. BTW, I'm sure you'll be needing the collision because a teen will get into an accident.

If they really want it, the Toyota is yours and they can pay for the Acura. I'll get off my soapbox now.

butchbr73 · January 2005

>>>good grief!! OK, so let's play another game. You have a child in '02, then another in '03, another in '04, and another in '05. How old is the first child upon their birthday in 2005? Is he 4 because I have 4 kids??<<<

ok, you have 4 kids, 4 different versions/iterations of kids, each one is different than the other... you have 8 cars, 8 different iterations of cars, each one is different than the other... its not years like your age, I think that is what you are stuck on...? its type/bodystyle/iteration of car. The Volvo is the 8th body year/iteration of that car, no 2 are alike....

zodiac2004 · January 2005

think you need to look at it in model years... let's add them up.

98, 99, 00, 01, 02, 03, 04, 05

And they are 7,6,5,4,3,2,1 and 0 years old respectively.

ddelise · January 2005

I have been following this 'question/issue', and have my own two cents to add (not that anyone cares).

It seems like you are getting stuck on the "'you have an 8-year-old car' when referring to a 1998".

A couple of points:

I think Terry is talking model years and you are talking actual age of a car. But for automotive business purposes, model age matters.

In other words, if you buy a 1998 Volvo on September 30, 1998, and on October 1, 1998 Volvo introduces the 1999 model, then for practical purposes, your 1 day old car is 1 (model) year old.

I matters not on October 1, 1998 if you go to trade in a 1998 model that was purchased on October 1, 1997 or September 30 1998. All things being equal (miles, condition, etc.), the car has the same trade in value.

driftracer · January 2005

I just bought 2 leftover 2004 model vehicles, within a month of each other. To me, and their manufacturers (warranty start date), they're 2 months old. To NADA and the car biz, they're 2 years old.

qbrozen · January 2005

I couldn't agree with you more. So add it up using your thought process. The '98 was 1 model year old when the '99 model came out. So how many model years old was it when the '05 came out? Yup, 7.

qbrozen · January 2005

oh, man, you, too, Drift? So... if your '04s are 2 years old, then you're telling me an '05 is 1 year old .... even though a year has yet to pass.

uncertain · January 2005

(Not sure if I am posting this correctly. Am I supposed to respond to original post or to the last post made regarding this discussion?)

Yes, ya'll are correct, we are talking about my somewhat spoiled child.

Some of the problems compounding my first thoughts on this are:

1) This child was given $4,500 from HER inherited college fund to make down payment on the Toyota.

2) This child will be legally an adult this summer.

3) This child states that the loan payments on the Acura would be more affordable for her. That is if a loan for this vehicle could be obtained. (A laugh since she hasn't made a payment to us for 3 months on the Toyota. So on top of her father and I paying the car insurance we have been meeting the loan payments. It would be nice not to have to make the current $122 a month loan payment.) I don't really want to get a different car loan for the Acura if the car isn't worth it. I wish this were all happening after the 18th birthday.

My husband and I are tempted to say "No, way...you keep the Toyota, at least until you turn 18." Except if this Acura is REALLY worth the money and we would no longer have to pay the $122 per month that would be nice. Wouldn't the insurance on a older car be less money?

Thanks Again for any advice.

anotherwagon · January 2005

Uncertain,

18 isn't so far off - go with the "wait until you are 18" that you are thinking anyway.

Then, if she wants the Acura or another vehicle that doesn't need body work, etc. she can decide. And, then YOU sell the Corolla pay back the college fund and keep any extra (if any). If needed, help her get a loan in her name and then you aren't making the payments....

(not to mention depending on the college she might not need a car)

IMHO

Again, the Corolla beats walking.

My high school auto was a '76 Honda Civic Hatchback - 5 spd, manual windows - blue & white. They called me the Smurf Mobile. (1982) Anyway, the car so wasn't cool but I never thought that - it was free (for me). I was glad to have it.

It went to college and was later sold (parents kept $$) and I got a loan for a Ford Escort in my name.....

Not sure why that all came out...but whatever....

goral · January 2005

How about this for an analogy...

You're born on Jan 14 '85 and try to go to go out for a drink at 11:59PM. The bartender checks your ID, looks at the clock and says - nope KID, you're only 20... can't drink till you're 21! So.... off you go... and come back in 1 minute. The bartender checks your ID, looks at the clock and... happily serves you one! You got older by 1 year in just 1 minute!

kyfdx · January 2005

1) This is a bad idea..

2) Don't help your child at all.. If they can pull this off on their own (they can't), then fine.. Just make sure they know they will have to pay off the loan on the Toyota with whatever proceeds they get out of selling it.

3) This will be a good lesson, early in life, about how you can't trade cars to save money.. The transaction costs will just eat you up.. Also, a good lesson in credit... If you don't have any, or if your credit is bad, you can't borrow money..

4) It was really nice that someone gave them $4500.. But, doing this will just allow them to p--- it away.. So, unless there are more relatives lined up to give them more money, don't let it happen.

5) $122/mo. is a small price to pay, to keep your child from wasting all of that money.. My response would be to increase my efforts at collection of the car payments each month, and remind them how far they are in the hole already..

regards,

kyfdx

kyfdx · January 2005

When you guys are on GO, and roll a ten.... Do you get all the way to the JAIL space? Or do you start counting with GO as the first space?

When your child is two months old, do you tell everyone that he is ONE?

Is your '05 car one model year old? Or is it the current model year?

Fun with math....

anotherwagon · January 2005

Wouldn't New Year's Day also be your birthday since it wasn't a New Year if you weren't born yet????

mirth · January 2005

you're telling me an '05 is 1 year old .... even though a year has yet to pass

Yep, because it's 2005 so the 2006 model years are already coming out.

To put it another way, they started selling your '98 model year car in 1997. It's now 2005. Your '98 is an 8 year old car to the industry (which doesn't bother to count months). Doesn't matter if you actually purchased it in 1998, it's all about when the very first one sold.

woodyww · January 2005

>>My husband and I are tempted to say "No, way...you keep the Toyota, at least until you turn 18."

That sure sounds like the way to go. And $122/mo. for car payments for a really reliable car sounds like NOTHING, to most people. And you can easily spend that, or a LOT more, in repairs on an 11 y.o. car w/85K miles. And the Acura was owned by another kid, right? I wonder how it's been treated???

If you could lay all of the responsibility for this on your daughter, it could be chalked up as a "learning experience" perhaps. But who's gonna pay when the old Acura needs new CV joints, water pump, clutch, timing belt, whatever?

Maybe if you picked a newer car with less miles, it would make a little more sense. But a low mileage Toyota sounds about perfect in your price range, & that's what you've got already.

kyfdx · January 2005

It works that way for horses.. All foals turn one-year-old on New Years Day..

dbauer · January 2005

thats how horses' birthdays are figured.

heyjewel · January 2005

Hi. Hoping you can help. It's not easy getting 'real-world' values on these conversion vans, eh? Would like to sell to a private party:

Location: California San Jose

1998 Dodge RAM van 1500 long wheelbase

5.3 liter V8 Auto RWD

76,000 miles

PS, PW, PLocks, ABS, AC, Cruise, AM/FM/Cassette

Conversion by Mark III incl Rear Air, Alloy wheels, 4 leather capt chairs, drivers seat power, power up/down leather sofa/bed in back, TV, VCP, nice ambient lighting, alarm system.

Condition is good in and out. A couple minor dings, scratches. Paint good.

New Yokohamas about 4000 miles ago. Ditto front brakes.

Maintained by dealer. Runs good. No known mech problems.

Thanks for any ideas on value.

mikefm58 · January 2005

I've got two teenage sons, one 19 and the other 16, so I know EXACTLY what you're going through.

My advice: YOU will spend way more on the Acura than the Toyota. Kids will not repair anything unless the car simply will not run. They will NOT do ANY maintenance. I saw this with my kids and ALL their friends. I bet that Acura is a serious breakdown waiting to happen. Good luck.

robr2 · January 2005

Yes, ya'll are correct, we are talking about my somewhat spoiled child.

Spolied - You said it not me.

Is the current loan in your name or hers? I presume it's in yours and the car is titled in your name - she has nothing to sell!!

A laugh since she hasn't made a payment to us for 3 months on the Toyota.

Time to play Louie the Thumb and repo the car until she is up to date with her payments. Teach her the lesson now rather than when she's 18 and dealing with the real repo man!!

driftracer · January 2005

MODEL years, not calendar years - big difference.

driftracer · January 2005

I'm not going to tell you how to parent your child, but I do believe you're setting a very irresponsible precedent for her.

Me? I would say, "look, you haven't even made payments, that you agreed to, in 3 months. Where is that money, spent on CDs and hanging out with buddies? Catch up the payments, or get a bus pass, the choice is yours. And don't even THINK about another car until you meet the obligations on this one".

Sorry, being from Texas, I'm a big Dr. Phil fan, and his motto is to get real and don't allow excuses.

qbrozen · January 2005

yes, model years. so? Ok, so, is the consensus that all '05s are now one year old?? If that's the case, then say so and I'll drop it. Cause I'm not out to change the way things work, I'm just trying to find some consistency here. So far, the closest we came is when Terry said he had an '05 that is 5 months old. If he said it is automatically a year old, this would have been settled by now.

Of course, I'd have a hard time convincing a new car dealer that what they are selling me is one year old, therefore I shouldn't be paying full new car price for it.

Kirstie_H · January 2005

Folks, this isn't the place to discuss proper parenting, personal responsibility, and how vehicle age is counted relative to model years.

This discussion exists for trade-in value requests and responses ONLY. Take the banter somewhere else. This topic is very busy, and it's difficult enough to find queries & responses without the extraneous comments.

krwest1 · January 2005

Looking to trade or sell myself.



2003 Nissan 350z Enthusiast located in Northern Virginia.

6 speed manual

15,000 miles

Silverstone (dark gray) over black cloth interior



Interior is in like-new condition. Exterior has no dings or scratches. Tires about 50%. All maintenance up to date. No accidents.



Thanks in advance.

rutger3 · January 2005

Will be trading in the following:

1999 Camry LE; 4 cyl,auto,

color: grey

mileage: 171,000

moonroof, abs, pwr seat, cd

new tires

original owner, still use for daily commute

interior condition: good

exterior: fair/good, small dent front bumper

no prior damage

So far rec'd quotes from Honda dealers between 2000-2500. Thanks

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