Real-World Trade-In Values

grj0034 · October 2009

I've got my eye on this car at a local used car dealer's lot, and I'm wondering how much $$ they might have into it. They've had it for a couple of weeks, and are asking $13,000 which seems pretty steep for a 10 year old car.

2000 Lexus GS400 platinum edition (RWD) near Philadelphia, PA
78K miles
Silver with grey leather
I don't think there were many options on these, but it doesn't have nav.
Nice clean car all around, no obvious cosmetic defects
Michelin tires with a good amount of tread.
Clean one-owner carfax, indicates routine maintenance performed regularly.

Any idea what wholesale might be and what a realistic retail transaction price may be? I'm thinking of waiting them out a while to see if they drop the asking price any.

Thanks!

jayrider · October 2009

Can't comment on the price but there are plenty for sale with 160-180k miles and still running. I believe I saw a show that identified a couple of potentially expensive common problems for the older gs 400's. Basically though -- great drivers with engines that will fun forever. You might want to consult a mechanic that works on them to see what potential repairs might surface.

cccompson · October 2009

If you like the car, buy it without delay as the asking price, though seemingly steep, is not out of line for a dealer. Low mileage GS400s are tough to find.

woodyww · October 2009

I don't know the prices, but I suspect cccompson is right, & this is not a car to "wait them out a while to see if they drop the asking price". If it's as nice as you say, with the low miles, I'd almost just buy it, & not d**k around....unless it has a worn looking interior, body damage that didn't show up on carfax, etc.

Oh, & try to get the maint. records; see if you can call the lexus dealer that serviced it.

jayrider · October 2009

The common problem with them is the dash light gioes out. Make sure it works and better yet see if it's been replaced. Some front end issues are apparent if the steering has noticeable play. Very nice car though -- top of the line luxury.

grj0034 · October 2009

Apparently GS400's also need an expensive timing belt replacement at 90k miles (not far away for the car in question) which is one reason I am hesitant to pay a relatively high price.

The only other issue that bothers me about the GS400 is the supposedly zero traction in any amount of snow. Rear wheel drive with a powerful V8 is probably not a good snow combo. It would be a second car for me, so I might "mothball it" during Dec-Jan-Feb-Mar, although I'd much rather be able to enjoy it year round.

I'm going to stop by the dealer this week and see what we can negotiate.

jayrider · October 2009

And a test drive as well. Would check independent shops to see what the belt replacement costs. Wonder if there are any service records? Bottom line with this car is that it will cost $$$ to maintain --- it is a 10 year old Lexus-- labor not the big issue but parts !!!

corvette · October 2009

I think it has stability control, which should help in the winter. Get a set of snow tires/wheels if you're concerned.

I think the t-belt on the Lexus V8 is due at 90,000 miles, and you should probably replace the tensioner and water pump while you're in there. It will be expensive, but then you should be good for another 90,000 miles.

nakenergy · October 2009

2007 VW Passat with only 16000 miles, excellent condition

3.6 V6, sports package, 18 inch wheels - loaded, missing is navigation and Dynaudio. Black on black.

What would be the trade in value? Thanks

qbrozen · October 2009

Well, $9500 is about the end of the world as far as trade-in value for a perfect one. So they're asking price isn't all that bad. Personally, I'd be hard pressed to pay more than 12 for it.

qbrozen · October 2009

location?
black on black can hurt or help depending where you live.

jayrider · October 2009

As far as rear wheel drive in the winter. Watched a reality show about cops in alaska and they were driving crown vics. Tires are real important and of course knowing how to handle a car on poor traction.

sbuhler · October 2009

Looking for an up to date average auction value on the following:
Southeast Louisiana
2007 Honda CRV LX 2WD
Light Blue
32,000 miles
Excellent condition, all service completed

Thanks

oldfarmer50 · October 2009

"...cops in alaska were driving crown vics..."

Those of us who grew up with nothing but RWD, no ABS, no SC always wonder what the fuss was about with RWD in winter. Heck, as kids we had a ball driving sideways for miles knowing that we had control when it counted.

Today's driver is too winniefied with technical do-dads. Try driving on ice with baldies, it'll make a man oughta ya! :P

jayrider · October 2009

68 volvo 142s--71 impala custom coupe--72 ford galaxie 500-76 country squire--79 chevy caprice -- never got stuck in any of them.

fezo · October 2009

Yep. 67 Pontiac Tempest. 54 Mercedes. 69 Volvo 142. Piece of cake.

jayrider · October 2009

You learned to counter steer in the skids but anti-lock brakes would have been nice. Nothing puts lump in your throat like locked brakes on an slick surface. That 71 galaxy really knew how to show that part of her personality.

stickguy · October 2009

spend a winter driving in Schenectady (that's for oldfarmer), in a duster with bald bias ply snows (rear only of cousre), then in with a Hornet with just plain tires. Fun, as long as you consider going sideways to be moving.

fezo · October 2009

We lived up on a hill in NW Jersey. One day my brother was coming back to the house and didn't quite make it up our street and the car went spinning around down the hill of the street below ours. Did a few 360s before landing in a snow bank. The fact that neither he nor the car got so much as a scratch was something of a miracle.

sebring95 · October 2009

I grew up with that trash and recall doing a lot of pushing, digging, and staying home. Somehow, I've always lived at the top of a steep hill. I love the effortless way a 4x4 or AWD climbs these hills I've been driving for 40 years. Never been overly pleased with a FWD....while they do better in some circumstances, climbing steep hills is not their forte. Don't care for their dry road handling either.

houstonrice · October 2009

Hi there.
I have my eye out for a very high milage Toyota Corolla. Its a 2003 single owner car driven 30,000 miles a year for 6 years, and is currently at 175,000. Verified single owner, good condition, drives well.

Qn 1: Buy or not buy?

Qn 2: Whats the price?
Hint: Kbb good is 4300 $ for it.
:shades:

deltheking · October 2009

What are they asking? KBB at that high mileage is useless info.

qbrozen · October 2009

I just ordered a set of snow tires for the 190E. No traction or stability control in that thing. I think it may have ABS, though. I just haven't been able to get it to kick in, try as I might.

I, too, had the privelege of driving crappy RWD cars in the winter when I was young. But, it also used to be you could go out in a snowstorm and be the only car on the road. Those days are long gone. So there is something to be said for having better control. Not to mention I did total my first vehicle thanks to black ice. It was a CJ7, though, so not much could have saved it. And speaking of traffic, the only reason I had to aim for the trees that night was to avoid an old couple in a caddy coming the other way with a look of terror on their faces as my headlights streaked across their windshield as I crossed sideways from one side of the road to the other. Ah, yes, "the good ole days." :sick:

houstonrice · October 2009

asking 3900. I verbalized that I would take a look at the car and offer something more than 3000.
I believe that it should be in the range 200$-2500$ for the car.
More details and claims by the dealer:
Single owner, highway miles from suburban Houston to downtown and back.
clean car, good driver. Autocheck score is 85 for the car.
The good is that its late model, single owner, the bad is the 175K etc.
Let me know whats a good price for the car to negotiate down to.

volvomax · October 2009

Depending on where you are, $18-20,000

volvomax · October 2009

$14-15,000 range.

volvomax · October 2009

It may be a nice car, but at 175k how long will it remain a nice car?

I wouldn't spend a penny over $2500 for it.

ateixeira · October 2009

I think "to downtown" means some of those are city miles, can't really say highway miles on that one.

Those are reliable and practical but at 175k miles the reliable part is a gamble at best.

The rear suspension on those is a beam axle, I believe, so it's not a particularly exciting car.

You may get a good deal and it just may (maybe) last a long time, but is it worth taking a risk on a fairly dull car to begin with?

woodyww · October 2009

I have my eye out for a very high milage Toyota Corolla

How much are you going to save by buying a "very high mileage" Corolla" vs. an average, or lower mileage, one? Even Toyotas have a finite life-span; at 175,000 miles--I'd guess you'd spend as much on repairs, as the $$ needed to just buy a lowish-mileage one in the first place.....

houstonrice · October 2009

I have been posting here to get real world private party values for a while. The Funny thing is that all the private party owners that I have spoken to about their cars, have not accepted the prices that I have offered them, based on what I was given on the forum!
The high mileage Toyota 2003 beater , I offered 2500 to the guy (he is a small dealer)...and told him that people on edmunds.com valued it at that. He respected this, but stuck to his 3500$ asking price. I'll probably call him up 4 days later to inquire about the unsold car.......
Despite my failed attempt(s) at getting a cheap car, at the CORRECT market price, I absolutely agree with all the prices that have been told to me for the cars that I put up here. I have relatives in Houston, and they are not getting &*it for their cars when they trade them in!
Cheers, and keep rocking! :P

sebring95 · October 2009

Well there is a big difference between getting a private seller to take $2,500 for that car and a dealer. Dealer has the upper hand because there are more customers looking at his product, he can take trades, and *gasp* can get someone financed on a rolling heap like that. Plus he wants to make a profit. The private seller is most likely just trying to beat trade-in value by a grand or so. Not saying you could NEVER get private party value from a dealer....but on a $3,500 vehicle where profits are obviously next to nothing....they'll hold out for a sucker. And some toyota-phile will come along convinced it's a steal since it only has 175k miles :sick:

jayrider · October 2009

It's tough to sell a $3-5000 car yourself because most of the people looking for them need to finance or trade something in to buy it. They aren't paying cash. Some will but the majority won't.

ateixeira · October 2009

C4C took a lot of the affordable used cars off the road so there was a temporary decrease in the supply of cheap used vehicles, also.

Kirstie_H · October 2009

Interesting. Most of the vehicles I've sold privately have been in that range, and I sold 'em in a flash. It's been awhile, though.

sebring95 · October 2009

I agree, anything less than $8k seems to sell pretty easy private. The company I work for sells a lot of our fleet vehicles that way. Just stick them out front and they'll be gone in no time if priced right. The higher priced stuff is usually a tough sell even if priced right so we usually just take the sales tax credit and trade it. I've bought about 30 new vehicles so far this year and sold about ten. Did get $10k for one of the vehicles, but the rest were in the $5k-$7k range. Sold a plane too...that was fun.

ateixeira · October 2009

Pretty soon you'll need a dealer's license.

sebring95 · October 2009

Then everyone will think we're ripping them off :P

mikefm58 · October 2009

It's tough to sell a $3-5000 car yourself because most of the people looking for them need to finance or trade something in to buy it.

Hmmmm, that price range for me has always been the easiest to sell. I've sold two vehicles in that range over the past few years and both sold in just a few days with a fat daddy ad on Craigslist.

ateixeira · October 2009

And you'll have to buy a cheap polyester suit...

houstonrice · October 2009

Hi ateixeira,

Grad student here. I agree that the corolla is not so exciting. Can you let me know which cars, would be as fun to drive as , say a new beetle:
Mazda Protege,
Honda Civic
Honda Accord
Corolla
Camry

All stick shifts.
Any others?

ghulet · October 2009

....haven't driven a 'new' Beetle (are we still calling released-in-1998 'new'?) but I can tell you, based on my own experiences and most anything you'll read: Camrys and Corollas....boring, based mostly on suspension attributes, relatively low-revving engines. Civics and Accords a little more fun, if you can put up with the super-low seat height; I've owned a (very old) Protege and my neighbor had a newer one I used to borrow whenever I could.....VERY fun (hers was an '02 DX 2.0 stick)....a total blast to drive, though on the highway, they're revving very high and thus annoying and noisy. They also use a bit more gas than you'd guess, because they're frequently in the high-rev (fun) range.

bvdj84 · October 2009

I think VW's are so much fun to drive!! The 2.0T engine is amazing, even the 2.5 engine is fun too! Quick to get around town in. This was driving an automatic. Get a stick shift, and I'm sure its even more fun!

qbrozen · October 2009

even the 2.5 engine is fun too!

I agree. I took a new 2.5 Rabbit one lap around an autocross course and had a ball.

ncactionville · October 2009

Wife and I are looking at Lexus RX 350's. What is a "fair" price on a CPO, FWD Lexus RX 350 (2007 with around 25,000 - 30,000 miles) (or (2008 with around 15,000 - 20,000). How much of the CPO premium can dealers concede?

dbt · October 2009

Former grad student here. As a grad student, you need something that won't chew up income in both maintenance and repairs. VWs are fun, but they haven't done as well reliability wise than Toyota / Honda. Get a good inspection on the VW prior to purchase.
On your list, I'd put the Mazda as the most fun (Mazda3s are pretty fun too), followed by Civic, then Accord, then the 2 Toyotas. I've had Miatas that have been great, but also my wife had a Protege that would have been lemoned if it was bought new.
Get an inspection regardless.

dave210 · October 2009

What would a reasonable offer on the following be:

Northern Suburbs of Chicago
2005 Acura MDX Touring/Navigation
34,500 miles
Green/Gray/Sage exterior/black interior
All Maintenance etc. up to date, tires good, etc.

Other: This is actually my friend's 4 yr lease return that my son is interested in buying. They turned the car back into Acura and the dealer has put it up for sale at their sister Honda dealership listed for $25,800.

Regardless of what the original buyout was, this is still a "5 year old" car with a trade somewhere around $17-$18K. Would $21K be too much of a low ball offer for non-certified 2005 MDX?

jayrider · October 2009

They obviously didn't want to cpo it if they sent it to the Honda lot. I'd look online to see what 24-26 cpo mdx's look like --year/miles. With winter in Chicago here, that awd will sell close to asking price may be gone as I write. You should however be able to get an 05 or 06 cpo for the mid 20's. If it is acura cpo -- buy it. If not I'd pass.

dave210 · October 2009

Well see that's the thing, this was my friend's second MDX, it was a 4yr lease return, no known issues. I've ridden in this exact car many a time. In this case, I could care less if it's "Acura Certified" or not...

I myself am also on my second MDX and after receiving $20K trade for my 2003 back in 2006, I saw it listed online the next week Certified for $26,995. I know dealers bank on used car profit margins because it's so hard to gauge.

CPO'ed 2005s are going anywhere from $23.9-$26.5 with miles ranging from 35-50K.

TMV for this car (not certified) is $22K. Is that reasonable or can we go lower? I guess I keep on going back to the fact that in car years it's already 5yrs old...not to mention they were going new for as low as $38K back in 2005.

lrguy44 · October 2009

It all depends on what the dealer owns it for.

jayrider · October 2009

The cpo gives you 12 months 12 new car warranty and 7 year power train. Only two years on the 05. Also a thorough inspection and replacement of needed parts. First- you are paying cpo price if you buy that one at 25k. If you offer 22k and get it great. Your negotiation will tell the tale. Second - you know the truck so cpo isn't important. See your point. What was the buyout when your friend turned it in? When my jeep turned 5, I serviced the radiator and had the transmission fluid changed. Also had the throttle body cleaned. New battery too even though the old one was working. If you do the maintenence I wouldn't worry that 5 years is a problem in and of itself. The engine will go 125-150 easy. Don't know about the transmission -- should last a long time as well. In 5 years you will have a 10 year old car. If it's clean bet you get 8-10k for it on a sale. Good luck on deciding.

Real-World Trade-In Values

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