Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
A reporter would like to speak with you about your experience; please reach out to PR@Edmunds.com by 7/22 for details.
A reporter would like to speak with you about your experience; please reach out to PR@Edmunds.com by 7/22 for details.
Options
Comments
He did say Quad Cab so I don't think $15K is all that bad.
tidester, host
Avg price @ Manheim is closer to $14,000
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
They were also nice enough to let us know about what price we should get from the new car dealer in order to get a higher "value" for our old car if we traded it in when we bought at the new car dealer.
This helped alot when I needed to decided whether to trade in the car at the new car dealer or sell it to CARMAX and then go buy at the new car dealer.
Granted selling to CARMAX is easier and I have done it in the past.
Always a good strategy. Tell them you are not trading in a car when you first negotiate the price of the new car. After that price is agreed upon, then tell them you have a car which has another offer (which you did get from CARMAX) and ask if they want to take a shot at the car. They will usually jump on the chance.
The new car dealer here said it would take them only 5 minutes. They came back with lowball and I said no. They then asked what it would take to sell to them. I remembered the figures I had worked out with CARMAX and gave them a figure that gave me more for the car with the actual trade in plus the tax credit.
Worked awesome!
Nevada is good for tax credits, though their doc fees really stink at anywhere from $300-$600. And the best way to lower those if have them take a few hundred off the car in lieu of lowering the doc fee, which they are more hesitant to do.
In my experience hiding the trade is never a good idea. An experienced salesman can tell you are planning to trade the vehicle in the whole time and it just makes you seem dishonest when you say you are not.
If you plan on trading in the vehicle just tell them that but work out all of the pricing on th new car first. After you have agreed on a price that you like then ask them to appraise the trade. Nothing makes me madder then settling on a price for the new vehicle taking a deposit and then having the guy, "oh by the way what will you give me for my car." Somewere along the line I probably figured that the hidden trade was going to come out but if the deal progressed to the deposit stage and it had not appeared yet I figure that I was mistaken.
Most of those deals unravel because the guy has an unrealistic idea of his trade value.
The other thing w/ those kinds of customers is that they are never the ones where the negotiations are easy.
By the time the guys springs the trade you really do want to low ball him just so he will go away. Especially if you've asked him if he has a trade when you begin negotiations.
This "tactic" is supposedly in the car buyers handbook, but it really isn't a good one.
I have to decide if want to have a convertible out of warranty or a sedan with all the toys.
Thanks. Jeff
$21,000 is probably all the money on your Audi.
The miles are what hurts it.
2005 Mazda 3s (manual) w/ leather, xenon, moonroof, tire pressure monitoring, 6 disc CD, power evertything, sport package, side curtain airbags, 8000 miles, immaculate shape
CarMax: $13000
Visited 4 car dealers: Trade-in values ranged from $12000 to $14000 (and I had to battle for that) - TMV is $14777
I am selling this baby outright - I know, I know...the tax benefit is there, but they tried to yo-yo some of the other numbers even when the trade was elevated.
Not fun at all...oh well, so it goes!
For trade-in, that's also pretty close to what N.A.D.A. says for the model with standard transmission. Typical retail is about $2,000 higher.
tidester, host
Hoping to get an estimate of trade in # for 2003 Audi A4 1.8T Quattro.
Dolphin Grey, Platinum interior.
Leather, 6 CD, sunroof, automatic/tiptronic, etc. All options except Nav.
33,000 miles, dealer maintenance, excellent condition, only 1 small (quarter size) door ding on passenger side with no paint.
New tires 5000 miles ago.
In North Carolina.
Thanks
For trade-in, that's also pretty close to what N.A.D.A. says for the model with standard transmission. Typical retail is about $2,000 higher.
Which just means Edmunds and NADA are wrong (there's a shocker!).
The typical "asking" spread between trade-in and retail is $4k. So if retail is near $17k, as you suggest, then $12.5k-$13k is a fairly accurate trade-in value.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
Their number is a guess, nothing more.
The numbers you got are real world numbers, and even then there is a spread as you can see.
Good luck w/ retail.
There is nothing wrong with that approach. There is no rule that says you have to trade a car in. Just letting your salesperson know you do have a car to trade if the dollars are right is the right thing to do.
My private party sale came out well over TMV, and about 4 times what the trade-in might have been.
If your car isn't in excellent (from an owner perspective) or even pretty-darned good, your far better off trying to sell it on your own.
Year/Make/Model: 2004 Dodge Ram Truck
Body Style: 2 Dr Short Wheel Base
Engine: 5.7L Hemi
Driveline: RWD
Mileage: 23000
Color: Silver Graphite, Dark Grey int
Major Options: SLT package, Sport package, cruise, Infinity sound system w/6 disc CD & steering wheel controls, AC, power seats, limited slip diff, sliding rear glass, 20" polished wheels, spray-in bedliner, bed cover.
Condition: Outstanding (literally); garage kept, no scratches or dings, interior like new.
Tires - Original tires; approx. 50% worn
Brakes - New front brakes
Maintenance - All maintenance completed; oil changes @3-4K miles; includes records.
Other: No insurance claims.
Thanks in advance!
2005 Honda Civic VP
auto
11,800 miles
Exterior: Gray
Good condition, no accidents, etc.
Two other '05 Civic VP's are selling in my area for around $16,900. These also have over 30k miles. What could I expect for mine?
Thanks
Mine was an extreme case, but head over to the Dealer Stories forum and there'll be folks telling you about all kinds of trade-ins - good and bad.
The moral of the story is "Dealers rarely give you a good price for your car, unless it's in really good condition. Think about selling it yourself."
Iowa
2001/Nissan/Altima GXE Limited
4dr
4 cylinder
FWD
56,000 miles
Power seat, locks, windows, mirrors. CD player. Keyless.
Silver/grey
Interior clean
Exterior a few rock chips, scratches under front of car from parking space concrete "logs".
Tires have 10,000 miles on them
Original brakes
No maintenance records
The car looks and drives very well.
Trading in for a new Subaru Forester.
Any ideas? Private sale value? Thanks, everyone.
In Denver:
Would trade in:
2004 Acura TSX
Meteor Silver, Grey leather
6 speed manual, no navigation
38,000 miles
Nice condition, new tires, couple of chips in the windshield, no dings or dents,
Generally well taken care of.
Looking to purchase:
2006 BMW 530xiT (wagon)
Silver grey, Black leather
Cold weather package
6,500 miles, CPO
And the kicker - 6 speed manual trannie
The Autotrader ad for the BMW had a price of $44,995; the salesperson told me on the phone that was actually an error, and it should be listed at $49,995, which is consistent with the same listing on the BMW website (since it's a CPO). But, he said they would "honor the price" for those responding to that Autotrader ad.
Do you think there really is an "error" or is that just a way of claiming the $44,995 is non-negotiable?
In any case, that's neither here nor there - what do you think? My TSX plus $XX,XXX? I'm thinking somewhere between $20-$25k.
Thanks for the help.
2024 Audi Q8 e-tron - 2017 911 C4S - 2025 BRZ - 2023 A6 Allroad - 2024 Genesis GV60 - 2019 Cayman
Don't really know what the bimmer is worth. Manual wagons are a real hard sell.
Since they have such a hard car to move, they might step up a little on your trade.
1998 Mazda 626 ES-V6
4dr sedan
2.5L 170HP V6, 5-speed manual, FWD
140,000 miles
"Sage" (light) Green exterior, tan leather interior
Alloy wheels, power sunroof, power windows and mirrors, BOSE CD/audio, traction control, leather seating, woodgrain trim
Tires 50% worn, brakes 50% worn, all maintenance done (transmission fluid flushed and replaced with full synthetic, timing belt replaced)
One slight front end collision (new headlights, new bumper, plus paint of course)
What could I expect on Retail Road?
Like you, I figured that would be a hard sell, and I could come away with a nice deal on it, but apparently someone else was searching for that rare vehicle too.
I did check out another used 530xi - sedan, auto, loaded with options. They offered $17,500 for the Acura, and wanted another $34k for the BMW. I would've bit for $30k, but they didn't go for that, and I wasn't surprised. Since we were $4k off at that point, neither of us worked any harder for the deal.
They seemed to indicate they may have been able to come up a little on the trade, so your estimate of $18-19k on the Acura seems pretty spot on, if not a little bit generous.
Thanks for the input.
2024 Audi Q8 e-tron - 2017 911 C4S - 2025 BRZ - 2023 A6 Allroad - 2024 Genesis GV60 - 2019 Cayman
Now come on... that car's new sticker price was what, $15? The prices you saw are obviously "asking" prices.
You can never see what stuff is "going for"... you can always see what they're not going for.
But you done good and bought a Civic... they hold their value pretty well... whatever street price new was, you can "ask" that or a little less, and in the end, take $1 or $2 less than you paid... which is really good depreciation, when you think about it.
$17 my foot....
Good luck,
-Mathias
Realistically, I would like to get $14k for it. What are your thoughts?
Realistically, I would like to get $14k for it. What are your thoughts?
$14,000 is a real stretch.
$12,000 is more realistic.
What should it matter whether you have a trade in or not when you first negotiate the price of the car? Why does a salesman ask that right at the beginning? That is the true question.
It is because many salesman (not all) want to use that in figuring the cost of the new car deal. If the trade in meant nothing to the new car price then it should not matter if the purchaser had a trade in or not or cared to reveal it or not.
They should be two different clean deals.
Two experiences: In one I told of the trade in up front and spent the next three hours negotiating a price because the salesmen kept figuring in a trade cost when negotiating what they would sell the new car for.
Second experience. Went in. Dealer asked about a trade in. We said "no, we already had an offer on the car which we planned to take". This was true as we were planing on driving the car down the street and taking the CARMAX offer we had in hand.
We negotiated the new car price in 10 minutes.
We then asked the dealer if he wanted a shot at the used car that we had an offer from CARMAX for and showed him the CARMAX offer. He asked for 5 minutes to see if he could do better. 5 minutes later we had a deal on the trade in that gave us $100 more for the trade because of the tax credit. Total negotiation time? 10 minutes.
FInd me someone that is not a car salesman that thinks doing the trade when doing the sale is a good idea.
If I am determined to do a deal with a trade-in, it isn't two separate deals as some say. It is almost as if you are TRADING one thing for another. It isn't that complicated to me. If it is complicated to you, do the math before you get to the dealer.
If you spend time negotiating a new car deal, and then spring a trade, and then have an unrealistic idea of the trades value you've just wasted everyones time.
In your example, since you already had an idea of the trades value there would have been no harm in letting the salesperson know you had a trade. If he came back with a less than accpetable number you could say, "I have this offer from carmax".
You CAN keep the 2 figures separate. There is nothing wrong with that. Dealers however, do appreciate honesty.
Two seperate steps. Two seperate negotiations.
http://automobiles.honda.com/models/specifications_descriptions.asp?ModelName=Ci- vic+Sedan&Category=LX
I'm thinking $13k would be ALL the money for an '05 base Civic, and it wouldn't leave much room for dealer profit at that.
Location: Indianapolis, In.
'99 Toy. 4Runner SR5
Sport package
Engine:3.4 liter 6cyl. 4WD/Automatic
Mileage: 89,900
Color: Dark Green exterior/Tan interior
Major Options: Alloys, wide tires, sun roof, roof rack, rear wind deflector,sport hood scoop, security alarm, power: windows, doors, locks, mirrors, A/C, rear heat, AM/FM/CASS/CD-6 Speakers,towing package.
Tires: Firestone 2 years old with very good tread left.
Brakes may need rotors looked at - shimmys when stopping at high speeds but not low speeds, otherwise, stops good.
Timing belt probably needs replaced. (at 90,000mi.?)
Other maintenance all up to date.
Body in good condition as well as the interior except for normal wear and a few dings.
Prior damage: NONE
2000 Ford Focus ZX3 (I know--what years do these stop being :lemon: s?)
that kinda bright blue exterior, gray cloth
~89k miles, new brakes
5-speed manual (which he can't drive yet, we'll teach him)
crank windows, power locks, cold a/c, factory CD & alloys
body, interior and runs good, but nothing special
guy is asking $4k, which seems to be about $500 above TMV
99 Mercury Cougar (Contour/Mystique drivetrain, right?)
silver, factory polished alloys, sunroof
64k miles
5-speed manual, sport package, so I assume V6 but don't know
haven't seen it, pictures look great, supposedly runs great
guy is asking $4250, which seems pretty reasonable if the insurance thing pans out (though we'll offer lower)
As is usually the case, the kid is 'all over the map' as to what he wants....claims he wants something to get to work and haul his parents (NEITHER one drives) around, so I suggested the usual cheap good bets (Corollas, Prisms, Centurys, Contours, Cavaliers, Sentras, Altimas, Proteges), but he's 21, so probably won't buy anything too nerdy. Any comments on either of the above?
I'm in Germany now for a couple weeks, but the day before I left, the ff. ad is in the paper: Geo Prizm 2001, 79k, 5sp, AC, cruise, like new, $2850.
Long story short, these things get 40 mpg hiway (VVT-i engine) and by noon, I'm there to check it out. On the phone the selller said "it's pretty loud", and he wasn't kidding. Big flatulence exhaust, aftermarket Viper door locks, factory cruise, crank windows... also an aftermarket tach bolted to the A pillar, some questionable stereo equipment -- but factory radio/CD -- and a TRD leather shift knob. White-faced gauges. Really.
Interior has been armor-alled, but otherwise, not bad. Looks black on the baffle under the oil filler, but flashlight reveals a clean valve train underneath. Car runs GREAT (Prizm, eh?) and the shifter is a joy. All VIN stickers are there; qpanels have never been off. One of the pinch welds under the car is pushed in a little in one spot; looks like he drove the front wheel over a rock and put the car on it. No big deal, and there is no sign of frame work.
Muffler nonexistent except for the can, but the cat conv is still in place. Most unusually, the car has ABS, and it works. All the little idiot lights come on when you turn the key, and they go off when the car starts. I've got cash, and with the next guy already driven up to check out the car, I make the deal on the spot.
Turns out the car was dropped an inch or two. THAT's why the steering wheel was ten degrees off... and why it was hard to look underneath. Ugh. It drives nice; a little harsh perhaps, but I like it. But the ground clearance under the oil pan is about 5" instead of 6 or 7... so I gotta stay off the dirt roads (no canoeing) and it's gonna be a joy in the snow... if we ever get any.
The seller is an older gentleman with a huge motorhome who bought it as a toad; when he realized the drop, he switched to a Saturn right quick and sold the Prizm... he also jumped title, but the original title is there, signed and undated.. . at least I got time to figure it out. Yes, I wrote a bill of sale... thanks for asking.
Right now, it sits at a friends house a mile north of us -- no sense bothering the missus with the issue at this point -- and he's thinking hard on whether to get it for his 15-year-old son. As he put it, it'll get him through college... If not, I'll give it to my friend Andre to put on his lot... which should be an easy sale except for the 5sp... and if all else fails, I'll spend $300 on an OEM muffler and we use it as the Steiner's daily driver for everything and enjoy the gas mileage...
Question is, I still don't know whether it was a bad deal or not... you TRY and find an 80k '01 Prizm 5sp for much under five grand... I just wish the suspension was stock...
And I thought I knew this stuff,
-Mathias
(have i told you about my $300 pick-em-up truck yet?)
As my buddy Jeff said when I parked it at his house: "This time you've outdone yourself, Steiner."
Hey, cheap car, mon.
-Mathias
5-6 year old Prizm? Pimped out? It runs? Under $3K? You need it at as part of your "steed".
Of course, you may not want to be seen driving it, but you don't really care about that now, do you?
Sounds like an avg car, avg miles.
Color doesn't help.
Wholesale is prob $7000-8000.
Ummmm... its very simple ... would YOU pay $14k for it?
Only a sucker would buy it for that much. You MAY be able to get $9500 for it by selling it yourself. But you won't get a dealer to give you that much (unless they overcharge you for the car you buy from them) because $9500 is right about the retail selling price. They could ASK $14k, but they'll let it go far cheaper.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S