Real-World Trade-In Values

lancerfixer · May 2002

Well, my co-worker's '87 K-Car finally bit the dust in a fatal manner- she needs a car quickly and has a $5k budget. She asked me for my assistance; I was going to recommend a mid-90s 626 until I noticed that the local Euro joint has a '91 Legend (LS, I think) on its lot for $4950, which seems a bit low vs. TMV. What should I be on the lookout for on this model, besides the obvious paintwork/salvage title/maintenance, etc.? I'll be checking it out at lunch and I'll report back anything obvious that I find.

Thanks.

jflores007 · May 2002

I have a 1999 Honda Accord EX V6 that I was trying to trade in to a Toyota dealer. I had the odometer replaced last year at the Honda dealer due to a faulty speedometer. The car has 40k miles on it and I told the Toyota dealer that I had all the paperwork and that the sticker for the replaced odometer was on the door jamb. The salesman comes back and tells me that although everything is legit with the odometer, they would have a hard time selling the car because people would not "feel right" about the odometer. They said they would have to sell the car at auction and offered me $4000 under market value for my car (which BTW is in great condition). I told the guy where to go and got out of there. Can anyone comment on this and whether the dealer has any merit to this claim?

Thanks

abtseller · May 2002

True Miles Unknown, The title and the car will be branded with that banner forever. Its unfortunate, but the car will take a hit in value as a result. I don't follow Hondas, so I don't know if that is an accurate depreciation or not, but it will have an m=impact.

Ed

bretfraz · May 2002

Bill and Terry will give you the scoop on these situations, but it sounds like the dealer simply didn't want to mess with your car so they offered you an insulting price to ensure you'd leave. Not very professional or polite, but effective.

Put yourself in a car buyers shoes: You're looking for a nice late model Accord, you see lots and lots of them out there, why buy one that has this odometer cloud hanging over its head? I know I'd take a pass even if it looked like a sweet car. Most salesmen don't want to get into it with shoppers; its easier to show them something else.

Good luck. Hope things work out well for you.

mnewmiller · May 2002

silver 2000 xterra xe with spotr and power packages. 26000 miles and three small dings in rear hatchback.

lleroi · May 2002

e-bay for about $8,000.I assume these are rental cars as they have 12,000 to 15,000 miles on them.What are they going for at the auctions and generally what is their condition?These are SE models with auto.The dealer advertising them is in south FLA-have you seen these vehicles at the auctions?The dealer claims to have about a 100 of these cars.

lancerfixer · May 2002

Checked out the Legend at lunch today. Black over tan leather. The good: it's mechanically sound, has a clean title and has 120k on the clock. The bad: The A/C doesn't work (don't know if it needs a charge or a compressor), and neither do the rear power windows. The ugly: It's starting to get a little Honda-typical rear fender rust and the leather's a bit dried out. The dealer claims the price is non-negotiable at $4950 and my co-worker really likes it (of course, anything is a vast improvement over a 1987 Dodge Aries.). Whaddya guys think?

im_brentwood · May 2002

Its gotta be worth $1,000 if its' clean... More here in FL tho.

Bill

im_brentwood · May 2002

Wow.

KBB is close here. $2,500 easily if its stright and unhurt. I could see it do $3K.

Why not ask $5,300 and grab $4,300-4500 on a private sale tho?

Bill

im_brentwood · May 2002

Oh yes... Clean Car=More $$

im_brentwood · May 2002

$4,950 isnt outrageous... Just.. is it that nice of a car tho?

See if they can fix the AC at least....

Bill

im_brentwood · May 2002

2WD? 4WD?

Stick? Automatic?

Need more info!!!

tsk tsk... off to your room it is.

Bill

im_brentwood · May 2002

Yeah. TMU will SLAUGHTER a car's value

An easy $4K deduct... Figure its a $8-9K car maybe.

Terry?

im_brentwood · May 2002

I thought you said that Dealership personnell were basically useless..etc.. And that we weren't of any use?

So how could my knowledge be of use to you?

Bill

lancerfixer · May 2002

I'm on the fence on this one, but I'm not the one pulling the trigger. They claim that it's a short money deal for them already (I don't doubt that) so I doubt if they're willing to fix the A/C unless maybe they could do it at cost.

im_brentwood · May 2002

If its a short6 deal its their bloody fault.

That's a $3,500ish car wholesale....

Bill

lancerfixer · May 2002

Well, she likes the car, but I don't know if it'd be a good fit for her, money-wise. She is absolutely, positively, not able to pay more than $150/mo for a car (low budget+significant medical bills) and in that price range, around here, there's not much it seems. Any thoughts/ideas? Unfortunately, she's got two strikes against her already-- payment buyer+needs a car quickly. I'm afraid she's on her way to either getting screwed, getting a bad car, or both...

im_brentwood · May 2002

If she has good credit, at, say, 7% or so, that buys you $7,500 or so.

So she needs to go the Geo Prizm route I think... Doesnt sound like she is in a position to buy an 11 yr old car.

Bill

lancerfixer · May 2002

Prizm or 626 were my first two original thoughts. Slim pickings on both up here, though. I'm not sure about her credit, but I've gotten the impression it's not super. I could be wrong, though. I just saw "Legend" and "$4950" and got a little excited...

ghulet · May 2002

...if I needed a car and wanted 'low maintenance', I'd check out the aforementioned Prism, a '97-ish Protege (not hard to find), Sentra or maybe Escort/ZX2, 94-95 Accord.....? How does she plan on getting financing for an eleven year-old car anyway?

lancerfixer · May 2002

In Chicago. Hard to find in Cedar Rapids. 'Course, Chicago's only 4 hrs away...it may come to that.

Lots of Saturns, though.

ghulet · May 2002

.....probably wouldn't be a bad choice, certainly no worse than a '91 Legend (nice car, but I don't advocate spending $5k on, let alone financing, a car that old for anyone on a tight budget).

I'll keep my eyes peeled if you'd like (I suggest doing a search on autotrader.com).

JPham · May 2002

Thanks, Bill.
I nabbed that '01 XE for $18 from a dot-com refugee. CARfax clean. No paintwork. Truck
is practically new (smells like it too) at 16kmi.

JP

bretfraz · May 2002

Today's so-called "find":

1999 Dodge Ram 1500 2WD
std cab, short bed
Laramie SLT
58,000 miles (oy!)
5.2L V8 with auto
dark green over grey cloth and both in nice condition
all the typical power goodies
cassette, no CD
decent tires
looks nice (I climbed all over it)

Dealer's asking $13,900 but dropped to $12,900 if I were to buy today. Black Book online says $10,250-11,250 wholesale.

What you guys tink both wholesale and retail? Salesguy let it slide that its on their aged inventory list so I'm thinkin make an offer at wholesale and save them the auction hassle.

Thanks!!

mnewmiller · May 2002

trade in value for a 2000 xterra xe with sport and power packages. 4wd auto. 26k miles. Very clean. cd player.

rroyce10 · May 2002

...... Hmmmm, a little Doe ge' .. eh..?

It's got some klicks .. so I gotta think they would like to say bye bye quickly.

It's a 5.2, good motor. SLT, with some goodies .. it's "no sale" green with gray guts .. ok., they probably have about $9ish in it -- give it a this, give it a that, I'm thinkin' it hit's the table around $10 on the push, so $11 .. $11,5 takes it home.

Terry.

rroyce10 · May 2002

...... The miles are low for the year .. and from what you are saying, it's clean.

It's 4wd and an auto, so you got lot's of things going for you, so depending on the area and the color, you should be in and around the $17's figure ...

Good luck ...

Terry.

im_brentwood · May 2002

Nice buy!

Ya done well

Enjoy it!

Bill

rroyce10 · May 2002

....... In this particular case, you "may" have some options ..

For starters, telling the Salesperson the Odo went sideways, didn't help -- I can see it now .. "Hey Terry, there a customer out there with TMU, and they want to know what their vehicle is worth" -- l..o..l... .... IF, the Odo is "certified" through Honda, and all the records are on their computer, and you have all the copies of the work. You "might" do all right, depending on the dealer .. and if, the paper work is "correct" with no blank, time/ spaces/miles.

IF -- that is still ok., and the dealers around you, still get a little hinky, then you may have to go back to the original dealer for the next vehicle .. or sell it yourself, like Bill said --TMU can be the "kiss of death" .. so, I would hafta know more about this deal ... there is a lot of IF's here.

I hope this makes sense ...

Terry.

lleroi · May 2002

I don't recall making a comment like that.Is it possible you have confused me with someone else or misconstrued what I said?

cjdj23 · May 2002

I would like someone to give me a good estimate to how much or less my car's worth. I have a "97 Altima with 139,000 miles. I've been the only onwer and the car is in good condition.

rroyce10 · May 2002

...... Is it a GXE, SE, GLE -- slider, auto ...?

Well anyway, if it runs good, deep in rubber .. everything works 100% and looks 00.. it could be worth $2,0 or more ...

Terry.

cdaley1 · May 2002

Howdy all.

My Grandmother is thinking of unloading her Infinti G20 and buying my mom's car off then of a lease. So she wants to know what it is worth and asked her Internet capable grandson.

It is a 1993 G20, gold, 43K miles, automatic, sunroof, leather, has at least one parking lot dent on it. Certainly was more average than clean when I saw it at Christmas time. She is considering taking it to a lot and selling it. What is she looking at at the lot vs. private party sale?

Thanks!

Chris

mark03110 · May 2002

Hello,

I'm trying to figure out what I would get as a trade in on a 2000 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP sedan. It's red with all the options except the spoke wheels. (Automatic Dimming Mirror, Leather, Bose Sound System, Heads-Up Display and Power Moonroof)

It has 36k miles and the body and interior are in great shape.

I've got $15k left on the loan and I want to get an idea of how close to that I could get for a trade-in.

Thanks for your help,
Mark

rroyce10 · May 2002

.... Hi, Welcome to planet 9 ... l..o..l...

Thanks for a great description! -- The miles are kinda on the high side for a 00, but you do have all the nice toys's .. and the right color for a GTP.

If you have new sneakers, the brakes are not screaming for help .. and the vehicle inside and out .. looks 02, then you should be in and around that $14ish figure.

You are in darn good shape as far as your pay-off goes, most deals I see, they would owe well over $17 on a vehicle like this -- So, now is the time to make your move ...

Good Luck .. and let us know.

Terry.

rroyce10 · May 2002

...... Well a big howdy to you partner.

Gheeez, this little bugger has like .. no miles.

On a trade, maybe $3ish --- But, this is a great vehicle for Retail Rd.

Big fat daddy 5 liner Ad in the paper .. nice cream-puff detail, all the books and records sitting on the front seat ... and at $5995 in that paper, you should see $4,9/$5,400 ...

Hey partner .. good luck ....

Terry.

lancerfixer · May 2002

Went car lot scouring this afternoon, having put the Legend back on the shelf. The closest we found today was a '95 Nissan 240SX- not an SE, but pretty well loaded up (cruise, slider, CD, auto, etc.) 88k miles, clean title, great shape 'cept it's purpleish maroon (not the prettiest color in the spectrum.) Needs tires in a big way, but is all there otherwise. Local indy dealer asking $5995. Opinions? I'm not familiar with Nissans much, the 240SX least of all...the little bugger was a hoot to drive, though, even with the slushbox.

Seriously, it's really weird here right now. Not a single mid-90s Accord/Camry/626 to be found around here. Meanwhile, there are Saturns growing on trees. Co-worker's not too impressed with them, though. Can't say as though I blame her.

p.s.- Bill, you need to throw some stuff up on eBay, man. Part of my daily pre-work internet surfing routine is seeing the wares you're peddling that day...you're messing up my routine...LOL.

mpyne · May 2002

It sounds like your from Illinois. Im here in MIchigan and just did a search with my zip code 48066.

1999 prizm 26k miles /5950

1999 prizm 44k miles/4800

hell if i was you i would drive up to michigan, to pick up the car for these prices.

hope this helps

rroyce10 · May 2002

...... All in all, those 240's are nice little vehicles, well built and fun to drive.

$5995, not a bad price .. but as you said, it needs tires and such, probably has $3,0 in it.

Your right, I have seen more Saturns (and Saabs) in the last 60 days than I have ever seen -- 30/40/50 an auction, so they are plentiful. Perhaps look at *Mpyne* , 99 Prism's 26k for $5,995, that's cheap .. even if they are base models. I go to the Detroit auction alot, I wish they where there for that price ... l.o.l...

Terry.

lancerfixer · May 2002

Thanks for the info. I'll bring it up and see if she's willing to travel that far...her present car certainly wouldn't make it!

lancerfixer · May 2002

I've quickly gained a rep as the office auto consultant.
Where would you peg a '97 Grand Prix SE four door, 45,XXX mi, maroon.
Normal power accessories, but no HUD or leather.
Tires within the last year, and the engine's a 3.8.

Where would you guys peg this on a trade?

Thanks!

abtseller · May 2002

about that title, it might get you some heat..

:-)

Ed

rroyce10 · May 2002

...... You know the drill .. gotta be clean, looks 00 and needs -0- ..

The miles are super low for the year .. it's an SE, probably no power seat for the driver (guessing) .. all in all, nice vehicles -- something in and around $6 ..

Terry.

steine13 · May 2002

On the 240SX, the following story might be interesting:
In around '98 or so, my mother-in-law needed a new computer chip for her 240... it was, I believe, an early '90s model.
Her mechanic had to get the chip from Nissan directly. It took 6 weeks, during which the car just sat there.

If someone's strapped for money, they'd do well to stay VERY mainstream; the 240SX isn't exactly an exotic, but it's none too common either.
I like the Prizm idea much better. It's the most-sold car on the planet, in all of its guises.

It can be very expensive to be poor...
Good luck!
-Mathias

lancerfixer · May 2002

Eh, I wouldn't worry...I'm not making any money off this, that's for sure! :-)

Mathias-
Yeah, I like the Prizm idea, too, but the couple I've found have been 5 speeds; as well, she really likes this 240SX, and it's her decision...we're looking at a couple others at lunch, including an early 90s Integra sedan. I'll report back any findings.

langera · May 2002

Hi, I'm thinking of trading in my 1998 Discovery I to pick up a Saab lease. 48,000 miles and about a month left on the warranty. Dark green, loaded with rear jump seats, running boards, cd changer,etc., excellent condition, brand new tires. What do you think? Would I be better off selling it? It's so much easier to trade...

hoosierboy · May 2002

Would like a trade in and retail price on my 2000 Ford Mustang. Here are the details
21000 miles, 3.8 V6, auto, pw, pl, tilt, cruise, Mach 460 sound, CD, tape, alarm, power drivers seat, ac, gray cloth interior, gray and black colored interior and dash, spoiler, alloys. Windows are tinted with white faced gauges installed at dealer. This car has been dealer serviced and maintained from day one, and I have all maintainence receipts. Has a few stone chips on front edge of hood, otherwise no marks inside or out. Car is very clean. Car is in the Phoenix metro area. Also how much of a difference in price between trading in now or in 5 months with another 3,000 miles on it. I am considering waiting for the 2003 models to come out, or purchase a 2002 now. Hope this info is complete enough for you and thanks in advance for your help!
rdrude

Kirstie_H · May 2002

One major daily newspaper is looking for folks who drive 2002 or 2003 yellow or orange cars, and another major daily newspaper is looking for folks who successfully or unsuccessfully attempted to negotiate the purchase prices of their vehicles at the end of their lease terms. If you care to share your stories on either or both of these topics, please send an e-mail containing a short summary of your experience and your contact information to jfallon@edmunds.com no later than Tuesday, May 14.

Thanks much,

Jeannine Fallon
PR Director
Edmunds.com

frag235 · May 2002

How about a early - mid 90's olds ciera (I know, I know..kinda a ah, "mature" persons car), but you can probably pick a good loaded one up for 5K or less easy and they are reliable to boot.

-Gerald

lancerfixer · May 2002

No GM cars. Period. The closest she'd want (and that I'd recommend) is the Prizm.

Real-World Trade-In Values

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