I understand that car with high mileage will get low trade-in. But I was surprise to see such discrepancy between Kelly's Blue Book trade-in value compare to what this one car dealership offered. He was off by 50% below what KBB indicate. Another dealer offered twice as much which was closer to what KBB indicate but still lower by 20%. Two different dealerships with a difference of 30% between trade in values on similiar price cars??? So if I was to get what the first dealership offered---50% below value---it would benefit me to keep the car as long as possible because I believe it couldn't go much lower than what he was offering. To get 200,000 miles on my current car,I'd have to keep it until Nov. 2002. That's alot of time to save up money thus put a decent amount down. Being a carsalesman, how much (%) do you typically recommend someone put down on the purchase of their car given that they have an older/high mileage vehicle that won't get much for trade-in? I'm looking at putting down 30-40% of car purchase price and looking to finance for 4years.
Yeah, I've got a trip planned to CA (from CO) in a couple of weeks. Oughta put an easy 2,500 miles on the car. Normally, the wife drives it about 8-10 miles a day, to and from work. I'm figuring somewhere between 45-50K miles by November.
Since we're already over the mileage allotment (we're allowed 36K), what's a few more miles? Another reason to buy it .. won't have to take the mileage charge hit when turning it in (or rolling over to a new lease).
I'm out of town this week on business, but I'll check our contract when I return to see what the residual is.
Thanks for the response. I was a little surprised and to some extend disappointed. The car is 18 month old, has 18k miles, the purchase price was ~41 k. And now only 28K? So depreciation is more then 68%? I thought that BMWs hold the price better.
P.S. Just curious, what is the Black Book you mentioned? Is it a publication? Boris Pitel
Keep in mind....just about any dealer or person with buying and selling cars as a business will tell you the Kelly Blue Book values are notoriously high. Where they get their estimates from, I don't know. If you're going to use their calulator, I suggest plugging in the options on your vehicle and them ratin git as "poor" condition, regardless of what condition you think it may be in. The "poor" figure will give you a closer estimate of what to expect of you trade it in.
Does anybody know why some dealers use NADA and others use Galves when appraising your trade-in? The only reason I can come up with is that the pull out whichever book will give you the lowest trade-in value. But, I can't figure out how they know which one that will be. I've even confronted a couple of dealers about which book they are pulling out and why. One blew me off and another told me "we all use Galves, I don't know why dealers you've been going to." And that's just not true. The dealer I bought my Mazda from used NADA to appraise my Dodge Dakota trade-in and came up with a figure lower than the Galves book I had on me. Now that I'm trying to trade in my Mazda, every dealer seems to have a copy of Galves to contradict my NADA. Is it foreign vs. american?
'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
If there is such a thing as overvalued, that's KBB's retail prices... Have you seen those??? Man, those are ridiculous! Once I was looking at some Accords, and according to the window sticker (which listed the KBB retail value), 1 year old Accord w/ ~15K miles was worth MORE than what I could have gotten a brand new one for!
Boris - the Black Book is a publication and it's used as a guide in Chicago area (could be somewhere else, I don't know since I am not in the business).
Dropped by my local Honda store and spoke to Used Car Mgr to get a bid on this car. In about two minutes, he offered me $21k, either trade or he would buy outright. They had several 2000 Ody's there, EX, at $27.9, with miles in the mid 20's. They also told me to call if I bot new car at another deal, he would buy mine. Think I can get a little more?
You've made my day, week and month. I love feeling like I got a great deal...so I guess I got a SCREAMING (sorry for yelling) deal! So what if I paid $300 more for the car than another dealer was offering - the deal was still just like NBA basketball...FANTASTIC!
Would you mind giving your experience on XJ6 Vanden Plas, model years 97-99? I live in Florida also(Broward County) and see these with low miles in the Palm Beach County papers for sale(imagine that). I will try to deal directly with an original owner who is ready for something new. Anything of special interest(problem areas) to look for with these cars? I would not eliminate driving to Orange County for a great deal, but would like to buy from an individual closer to Ft. Lauderdale if possible.
Without knowing what the car was.. it'd be tough to say, however, cars with very high mileage basically arent worth very much on the market, and highline cars are a very good example of this. Once the miles start getting to an average of 30K+ a year the car's value simply plummets like a rock. Remember that 150,000 mile Range Rover? Kelly put it at $15,075 in "good" and $13,280 in "fair". It's a $10,000 truck, irrespective of what the website says I'm afraid.
I'm not sure how Kelly Models their trade values, but I've found that on very high mile cars they get way off base. You can't use formulas it's more of a "what the market says" type of thing. Say a Galves Book lists a 1998 Mercedes-Benz E320 at $30,000 with 35K miles, deduct $300 every 1,000 miles over that. Say you have a 175,000 mile one. That's a $49,000 mileage deduct... So you can't go by that! But then it may say never deduct more than 40% for miles... Is that car then worth $18,000? I dont think it is... I think $10-12K. These can actually be very tough cars to appraise.
As far as money down... I usually say 20% or better to keep from being buried in it, but if you keep your cars for a long time I don't see it making a difference in that respect. Also, if the manufacturer offers a subsidised rate, then dont put down ANYTHING! At 2.9% I'd be financing plates and taxes! In reality, do whatever makes you feel comfortable.
The miles hurt it... And, from what I have heard.. those M and Z Coupes arent doing all that well on the market right now... Sorry to say I'm afraid. The M3s do much much better.
The Black Book is a wholesale price guide based on what cars are actually doing at auction. It's mainly used in the Southeast and midwest.
I've said a million times... if I could get full Kelly Blue Book retail I'd be a rich man!
It's a reasonable guide... not as bad as some, not that great tho. If you use "fair" it's somewhat accurate. Seems to only work with newer, average to low mile cars...
Few dealers use NADA... Sometimes I use it as a back-up but Galves is written by a bunch of wholesalers (I have bought cars from Dan Galves before) and it's actual dead absolute cash wholesale. So it tends to be conservative. It's also what they will pay for a car. It started out as a list of buy prices from them actually!
Galves isnt terribly accurate on pickups.. It's mainly used in the NYC Metro area and pickups are not very hot property there. Whenever I took them in on trade in North Jersey I couldnt give them away. The real trick to appraising cars is experience. Look at the market, look in the weekly black book, galves..etc.. But they're just guides, not written in stone.
Like I've said before, we've all seen examples where some dealers will pay a fortune for a car that they need. Most Volvo dealers will pay a LOT for those old 240s in clean condition. Look at what banker74 got for his Millenia, A lot more than I or most any other dealer would pay for it, but the dealer he traded it to had a strong use for it... so it all varies..
You may do a bit better but thats not a terrible price... $22K would be towards the moon, but call a few other dealers. Just as you ought to research your new car and shop around if you dont like the price you get, same with your trade. Someone may want it more.
First... go for a 1998+ if you can swing it. The V8s and the suspension and tranny upgrades make em much nicer.
Options you dont buy the car without:
harmon/kardon stereo. I've suffered with the crap 80 watt system in my 95 VDP since 1995. It sucks.
Colors you DO NOT buy the car in:
Amaranth (Eggplant) Horrible and not worth much. Madeira Red (Brick Red) Spruce Green is also weak. Black is OK... But only with the Cashmere interior. NOT Ivory.
Good Color Combos:
Topaz (Lt Gold metallic) with Oatmeal Leather (Oatmeal is putty-colored) Spindrift White with Cashmere (Light Beige/Tan/Saddle etc) Sapphire Blue Meteorite (Silver) If you find one... special order only and rare but good..unless it has the Charcoal Interior) Jade Green on a 1997 (Very light Silvery-Gray green). Cabernet Red on a 97 is pretty good too.
If you can get a good price, buying one from a Jaguar dealer is a good option. a Select Edition car has a 6yr-100,000 mile bumper-bumper warranty on the car (From First date of use/sale) which is nice. I've often found that many Jaguar owners who are selling their cars privately have a grossly inflated idea of their car's worth.
But, let me know what you find and I can tell you if it's a reasonable price or not.
I'm trying to determine realistic trade in value on an 99' Honda Civic DX, 4dr Sedan.
Automatic, good condition, 23xxx, no extras, silver if that makes a miff. I live in St. Louts.
This is a leased vehicle that I have 7 more months in, so I know I'll be upside down. However, I'm trying to take advantage of 0% financing for an 2001 Isuzu Trooper, Anniversary edition.
One dealer offered $10,550 on trade in. Pay off is $12,500. Kelly listed at $11,125.
I'm trying to determine realistic trade in value on an 99' Honda Civic LX (not DX), 4dr Sedan.
Automatic, good condition, 23xxx, no extras, silver if that makes a diff. I live in St. Louts.
This is a leased vehicle that I have 7 more months in, so I know I'll be upside down. However, I'm trying to take advantage of 0% financing for an 2001 Isuzu Trooper, Anniversary edition.
One dealer offered $10,550 on trade in. Pay off is $12,500. Kelly listed at $11,125.
.......Those Honda's still bring the money.....it's a automatic ( thank goodness )..and it's a good color, so based on yesterday's psychotic behavior at the auction....you are in that $10,500 to $11,500 range ( real money )....
Thank you for the reply. I think that I hit the point of "no return" sort to speak on my car. Salesmen told me that once a car reaches the 100,000+ mark that few dealers will offer much. Besides my car is a '94 Toyota Paseo 5spd so it isn't exactly a mover and shaker in regards to helping it sell faster. Now if it was a Camry or Accord, I'd might get a little more, but don't think any thing great. The special financing on new cars is nice. Mazda is/was offering 0% financing for 4 years on their Proteges. Mazda is coming out with their Protege Hatchback 2002 model. Should run about $18 grand nicely equiped. Hoping Mazda brings back the special financing. But for 2 grand more I can move up to a Subaru Forester L or Toyota Rav4. Found out subaru doesn't really offer that great of financig and doesn't run rebates/incentives on their Foresters. With Toyota you have to catch them at the right time to get special financing/deals. Unfortunately, Rav4's seem to popular/hot so don't know if great deals are to be had at the moment. Perhaps their Highlander will decrease the demand for the Rav4 and help bring about deals on them?
I'd like to get your opinion on my car. I am considering trading it in a couple of months. I am the original owner of a black 96 Beretta Z26 (V6, automatic, etc) with a manual sunroof in a pretty decent condition (couple of scratches here and there), 75K miles and the remaining 5 year/100K warranty. What do you think?
The way you drive you need to buy the car you're going to like the best since you're going to spend 200K miles in that seat!
Subarus generally arent sold with huge rebates and special financing, but then they do hold decent residuals to make up for it. However that's a moot point here.
As far as the Paseo goes... 150K-175K miles? I think it's about a $800-1200 car...
High miles just rip the throat out of a car's value. Much as paintwork will on an expensive car..
I think it's a $3,500 to $4,200 or thereabouts car.
Depends where you live... we dont like Black cars in FL (Especially South FLorida) so you'd be around $3,500 if that in Miami, while it might do $4,250 or so in Chicago.
I think I asked this elsewhere, but I guess this is the place to do it.
I've got 2 cars that need to go. 1 needs to go now, and the other whenever I find something else that I want in place of it. I'm in central Jersey by the way. Can you give me an idea of values? The Galants don't seem to be selling at all. We've just about resolved to let it sit in the back yard till the lease ends and give it back.
'98 Silver Mitsu Galant ES. Auto. Sunroof. and whatever else goes along with the ES. 49,000 miles.
'99 Meadow Green Mazda 626 LX-V6. Auto. 35,000 miles.
thanks, guys.
'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
92 Camry LE 4 door, 4 cyl, auto with 88,000 miles.
White, fabric interior, normal wear and tear on the body, no collision. Timing belt changed at 70,000 miles as per maintenance schedule. New good year tires with around 1000 miles on it. Location is in New York City.
So I wasn't off at all on my trade-in value. The Suzuki/Nissan dealership was low balling me while the Toyota dealership was giving me top trade in value. Wonder why he would do that? Perhaps because I was trading a Toyota for another Toyota? Do they do that sometimes? I think that you are right in regards that even if I do buy a vehicle that typically holds it resale value, it won't really matter that much due to my driving habits. Thanks for the help.
The Mitsubishi seems like about an $7,000-7,500 maybe $8K on the right day but that's stretching... car to me... There's TONS of them at the auctions and I can buy a 35K mile one for about $8,500 give or take a few hundred...
The Mazda Is worth approx $10,000 or so... again, give or take a few hundred. They seem to be somewhat strong in the northeast.
Hope this helps... what were you thinking of getting?
Yeah I think they were both within reason really..
I mean, that's a wholesale car, and any dealer can be a few hundred dollars off on a trade one way or another.
I'll often put another few hundred dollars on a car that we can use, but on a very high mileage car... It's whatever I think I can get back out of it..
tough one. I'm waiting for more models to be released. I am really interested in the Acura CL S-type, but I don't think I can afford it. Same with the aforementioned Volvo T5 and the upcoming RX8. Most likely, I'll end up settling for a cheaper pocket rocket like the Nissan SER V-spec or even the Mini Cooper S. I wanted to get the WRX, but my wife is denying me that pleasure.
Thanks for the numbers. Basically what I thought. Well, frankly I was hoping for more on the Mazda, but I knew that was just hope and nothing more. And, as I figured, the Mitsu is going to sit there till lease end and get turned in. Its absolutely ridiculous but that just demonstrates why I hate that car (my wife got into a 4-year lease before we met, so its not my fault).
The Mazda is my lease and I've got some time left in it. I like it, but I never intended on keeping it. I ended up with a new job about 12 months into it and now I'm commuting 100 miles a day. A good reason for folks not to lease. Never again.
anyway, I was also curious about a comparably equipped '98 Mazda (with 55K miles). According to NADA (I know, not the best source, but its a starting point), the '98 is worth merely a couple hundred less than my '99. Is this near accurate? If so, that is really interesting. It just reinforces that I'm going to keep it till the end of the lease, buy it for the $8K, and then trade it in.
'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
My friend wants to buy a Mazda Protege. Edmunds posted that now they sell them with 0.0% financing - it amazed me. Is it true? Do I understand correctly, that he can go to the dealer pay some downpayment and buy a car with 0% financing? Boris Pitel
They want 20% down, however (I believe that's what I saw on the commercial last night) and the term is for 4 years. A good deal. I just wish I fit in the Protoge (and that it had a little more pep).
'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
I have a 1998 Maxima SE auto, 30K, dark brown/red (Nissan calls it rosewood ) with all options including leather, Bose, heated seats and side airbags. It has a couple of dings and a visible scratch on the front under bumper area. Should I invest into bringing it to "as new" condition or it is better to leave it as is. What can I get for it? Do options make a difference? And is dark red a good color? Thanks for any info.
Ok experts I would like some estimates for my 93 SC 400 121K pearl white/tan int. In really nice condition. Fully loaded except Nakamichi (sp) and traction control. Has Spoiler, lexus phone, chrome wheels, cd changer, gold pkg, lo-jack.... Southern California Car
Bill: Test drove a GS300 today with the wife. Very impressive car. Even the kids liked it. Anyway, this was at a Lexus dealer: '98, 42K miles, the blue (it sort of was growing on me, but mold will do that too). Seemed very clean, and was Lexus certified (at the dealer).
ANyway, they want $29,900 with the cert. package. What would they be likely to take on this car, given the higher miles/less desireable color?
BTW: the Jag was nice, but didn't quite fit with the family profile.
I never had this uch trouble deciding what to buy in my life.
How about this one? '97 Nissan Sentra GXE (white/taupe int)- auto, power windows, locks, steering, brakes, tilt, cruise, clean, 56k. Was offered $6500 on trade at a no-haggle, $2500 at a small-town dealer. I guffawed at that one. Rather surprised, considering average mileage and condition, but a four-grand difference? I dont think so. I may want to contact a local tv station about this one. What do you guys think?
Nice choices there... the CL Type-S is a nice car although I found it a bit unexciting to drive...
Why not look at something 2 years old with low miles? Look at How the Mazda has depreciated, would you want to buy another new one? Heck, and it's not half as bad as what a lot of domestics go through...
I havent even really seen NADA's site... but their info comes from interesting sources...
Apparently the trade-in values they show come from average trade-ins from dealerships.. but here's a twist. It's not the ACV, it's the amount shown on a buyer's order which often will show an overallowance, often a gross one...
I dont think that having the bumper painted will be cost effective. If it's just surface scratches I figure $100-150 to put it right. IMHO not worth the aggravation to get it fixed.
Besides, according to your profile you're in NYC (My old stomping grounds) and every car there has scuffed bumpers!
Now, I think the car is worth about $14,500 as it sits to perhaps $15,000. Rosewood isnt a great color... Black or Silver are better bets up North (Black is weak here in Florida).
Options on an SE dont help a whole lot as they pretty much come loaded... On most cars the few that help are major ones like Leather, Moonroofs, Alloy Wheels... things like that. Although they do help, you dont get your money back as a rule out of smaller options like heated seats, they just help to make the car more saleable. But, Like I say, get the car you like the way you like it!
Not a bad price really for a Certified car. Figure the cost of the warranty is $595, and then they have to do an inspection that technically calls for 8 hours of labor. Buut... Figure they got $25K in it, plus $1,000 minimum in certification... $28,500 ought to be your target.. $29K or so you still can write the check IMHO and do well.
But start at $27,500 of course.. they could come back at $28K!
Sorry about the Jag... too small? Did you see an XJ8L?
Hmm.. It is the right color combo for down here (I clicked yer profile.. It helps if I know where in the country a car is. It can make a huge difference sometimes.. If it was Black/Black it'd be great in NJ but horrible here in FL) if it's clean and free of paintwork...
$2,500 is way low unless it's been previously wrecked or has title problems or something..
$6,500 is way high. Either the UC Manager is nuts or it's, as I suspect, an overallowance. I.E. Instead of a further discount they show you a lot for your trade.
Here in Orlando, which is the biggest wholesale market in the USA, that car is worth about $4,000-4,500 dead cash value.
It's worth $2,500 with over 100K miles, and 6,500 with 15K miles...
Hope this helps.. Where in FL? Sometimes I know what dealers to go to and which ones to avoid.. e-mail me if you need help.
Loving the A4, thanks for asking. Got the 1.8T w/ the Quattro. Didn't get it loaded, but did get the Celebration package (for $400 get a sunroof, auto-dimming mirrors and the Homelink system), Quattro Sport Package (w/ 17" rims) and the Bose Sound System. The one option I regret not having are the Xenon lights - but oh well.
Don't tell my dealer, but I think I may just have to "chip" it. There are a number of them out there that increase HP from 170 to about 207 and Torque from 166 to 245 (no, that is not a typo). All that from a $500 chip. Another cool offering in one of the chips is the ability to switch back to stock mode (during service so they don't feel the extra punch) or Valet mode (where the RPM's don't go over 3,500 and the MPH won't go over 40.) All this can be done on the fly using the cruise control buttons apparently - and it can be coded in order to secure it.
It's amazing that for $500 the car can get 17 more HP and more 38 lbs more Torque than $5,000 more expensive big brother 2.8. I've been visiting the forum at Audiworld.com and there are NO horror stories about chipping and engines blowing up. The only thing to worry about is that IF the dealer knows its been done they'll try to pin any problems that occur to the chip to get out of warranty work. However, word is that they need to be able to prove it was related to the modification, otherwise can't get out of the warranty work.
What's interesting is that the 225hp TT engine is supposedly the same 1.8T, just tuned differently and w/ a different turbo (A4 1.8T is de-tuned in order to not cannabalize 2.8).
Main reason I might do this - I went from a supercharged 210 hp 6 cyl. to a turbocharged (but much weaker) 170 hp 4 banger. I miss the power :-(
I bet that's more than you expected when you asked how I like te A4, eh?
Comments
I need a transporter to get my latest stupid purchase back here to Orlando. Know of any who can grab a car in the LA Area???
Oh, for fun... appraise that!
hahahahahaha!!!!!!
I couldnt resist!
Bill
So if I was to get what the first dealership offered---50% below value---it would benefit me to keep the car as long as possible because I believe it couldn't go much lower than what he was offering.
To get 200,000 miles on my current car,I'd have to keep it until Nov. 2002. That's alot of time to save up money thus put a decent amount down.
Being a carsalesman, how much (%) do you typically recommend someone put down on the purchase of their car given that they have an older/high mileage vehicle that won't get much for trade-in? I'm looking at putting down 30-40% of car purchase price and looking to finance for 4years.
Leo
Since we're already over the mileage allotment (we're allowed 36K), what's a few more miles? Another reason to buy it .. won't have to take the mileage charge hit when turning it in (or rolling over to a new lease).
I'm out of town this week on business, but I'll check our contract when I return to see what the residual is.
Thanks for all the help.
P.S.
Just curious, what is the Black Book you mentioned? Is it a publication?
Boris Pitel
'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
Man, those are ridiculous! Once I was looking at some Accords, and according to the window sticker (which listed the KBB retail value), 1 year old Accord w/ ~15K miles was worth MORE than what I could have gotten a brand new one for!
Boris - the Black Book is a publication and it's used as a guide in Chicago area (could be somewhere else, I don't know since I am not in the business).
Thanks for all the info on this site.
Without knowing what the car was.. it'd be tough to say, however, cars with very high mileage basically arent worth very much on the market, and highline cars are a very good example of this. Once the miles start getting to an average of 30K+ a year the car's value simply plummets like a rock.
Remember that 150,000 mile Range Rover? Kelly put it at $15,075 in "good" and $13,280 in "fair". It's a $10,000 truck, irrespective of what the website says I'm afraid.
I'm not sure how Kelly Models their trade values, but I've found that on very high mile cars they get way off base. You can't use formulas it's more of a "what the market says" type of thing. Say a Galves Book lists a 1998 Mercedes-Benz E320 at $30,000 with 35K miles, deduct $300 every 1,000 miles over that. Say you have a 175,000 mile one. That's a $49,000 mileage deduct... So you can't go by that! But then it may say never deduct more than 40% for miles... Is that car then worth $18,000? I dont think it is... I think $10-12K. These can actually be very tough cars to appraise.
As far as money down... I usually say 20% or better to keep from being buried in it, but if you keep your cars for a long time I don't see it making a difference in that respect. Also, if the manufacturer offers a subsidised rate, then dont put down ANYTHING!
Bill
Let me know when ya get back...
Bill
The miles hurt it... And, from what I have heard.. those M and Z Coupes arent doing all that well on the market right now... Sorry to say I'm afraid. The M3s do much much better.
The Black Book is a wholesale price guide based on what cars are actually doing at auction. It's mainly used in the Southeast and midwest.
Bill
4WD? 2WD? Where in the country are you? Color? I assume it's perfect and an automatic.
If it's a 2WD About $23K here in Florida.. perhaps $24K.
Same truck is $25K easily in California....
Bill
I've said a million times... if I could get full Kelly Blue Book retail I'd be a rich man!
It's a reasonable guide... not as bad as some, not that great tho. If you use "fair" it's somewhat accurate. Seems to only work with newer, average to low mile cars...
Bill
Few dealers use NADA... Sometimes I use it as a back-up but Galves is written by a bunch of wholesalers (I have bought cars from Dan Galves before) and it's actual dead absolute cash wholesale. So it tends to be conservative. It's also what they will pay for a car. It started out as a list of buy prices from them actually!
Galves isnt terribly accurate on pickups.. It's mainly used in the NYC Metro area and pickups are not very hot property there. Whenever I took them in on trade in North Jersey I couldnt give them away. The real trick to appraising cars is experience. Look at the market, look in the weekly black book, galves..etc.. But they're just guides, not written in stone.
Like I've said before, we've all seen examples where some dealers will pay a fortune for a car that they need. Most Volvo dealers will pay a LOT for those old 240s in clean condition. Look at what banker74 got for his Millenia, A lot more than I or most any other dealer would pay for it, but the dealer he traded it to had a strong use for it... so it all varies..
Bill
Bill
Bill
How's the A4?
Bill
First... go for a 1998+ if you can swing it. The V8s and the suspension and tranny upgrades make em much nicer.
Options you dont buy the car without:
harmon/kardon stereo. I've suffered with the crap 80 watt system in my 95 VDP since 1995. It sucks.
Colors you DO NOT buy the car in:
Amaranth (Eggplant) Horrible and not worth much.
Madeira Red (Brick Red)
Spruce Green is also weak.
Black is OK... But only with the Cashmere interior. NOT Ivory.
Good Color Combos:
Topaz (Lt Gold metallic) with Oatmeal Leather (Oatmeal is putty-colored)
Spindrift White with Cashmere (Light Beige/Tan/Saddle etc)
Sapphire Blue
Meteorite (Silver) If you find one... special order only and rare but good..unless it has the Charcoal Interior)
Jade Green on a 1997 (Very light Silvery-Gray green).
Cabernet Red on a 97 is pretty good too.
If you can get a good price, buying one from a Jaguar dealer is a good option. a Select Edition car has a 6yr-100,000 mile bumper-bumper warranty on the car (From First date of use/sale) which is nice. I've often found that many Jaguar owners who are selling their cars privately have a grossly inflated idea of their car's worth.
But, let me know what you find and I can tell you if it's a reasonable price or not.
Bill
Aventura and Orlando
95 Vanden Plas 121K
Automatic, good condition, 23xxx, no extras, silver if that makes a miff. I live in St. Louts.
This is a leased vehicle that I have 7 more months in, so I know I'll be upside down. However, I'm trying to take advantage of 0% financing for an 2001 Isuzu Trooper, Anniversary edition.
One dealer offered $10,550 on trade in. Pay off is $12,500. Kelly listed at $11,125.
I have no intention of keeping this car.
Input appreciated.
I'm trying to determine realistic trade in value on an 99' Honda Civic LX (not DX), 4dr Sedan.
Automatic, good condition, 23xxx, no extras, silver if that makes a diff. I live in St. Louts.
This is a leased vehicle that I have 7 more months in, so I know I'll be upside down. However, I'm trying to take advantage of 0% financing for an 2001 Isuzu Trooper, Anniversary edition.
One dealer offered $10,550 on trade in. Pay off is $12,500. Kelly listed at $11,125.
I have no intention of keeping this car.
Input appreciated.
Terry
I hope this can help....
Terry.
Thank you for the reply. I think that I hit the point of "no return" sort to speak on my car. Salesmen told me that once a car reaches the 100,000+ mark that few dealers will offer much. Besides my car is a '94 Toyota Paseo 5spd so it isn't exactly a mover and shaker in regards to helping it sell faster. Now if it was a Camry or Accord, I'd might get a little more, but don't think any thing great.
The special financing on new cars is nice. Mazda is/was offering 0% financing for 4 years on their Proteges. Mazda is coming out with their Protege Hatchback 2002 model. Should run about $18 grand nicely equiped. Hoping Mazda brings back the special financing. But for 2 grand more I can move up to a Subaru Forester L or Toyota Rav4. Found out subaru doesn't really offer that great of financig and doesn't run rebates/incentives on their Foresters. With Toyota you have to catch them at the right time to get special financing/deals. Unfortunately, Rav4's seem to popular/hot so don't know if great deals are to be had at the moment. Perhaps their Highlander will decrease the demand for the Rav4 and help bring about deals on them?
Leo
I'd like to get your opinion on my car. I am considering trading it in a couple of months. I am the original owner of a black 96 Beretta Z26 (V6, automatic, etc) with a manual sunroof in a pretty decent condition (couple of scratches here and there), 75K miles and the remaining 5 year/100K warranty. What do you think?
They do hold strong resale those Civics and the color is right.
Terry's on the money!
Bill
The way you drive you need to buy the car you're going to like the best since you're going to spend 200K miles in that seat!
Subarus generally arent sold with huge rebates and special financing, but then they do hold decent residuals to make up for it. However that's a moot point here.
As far as the Paseo goes... 150K-175K miles? I think it's about a $800-1200 car...
High miles just rip the throat out of a car's value. Much as paintwork will on an expensive car..
Bill
Depends where you live... we dont like Black cars in FL (Especially South FLorida) so you'd be around $3,500 if that in Miami, while it might do $4,250 or so in Chicago.
Bill
I've got 2 cars that need to go. 1 needs to go now, and the other whenever I find something else that I want in place of it. I'm in central Jersey by the way. Can you give me an idea of values? The Galants don't seem to be selling at all. We've just about resolved to let it sit in the back yard till the lease ends and give it back.
'98 Silver Mitsu Galant ES. Auto. Sunroof. and whatever else goes along with the ES. 49,000 miles.
'99 Meadow Green Mazda 626 LX-V6. Auto. 35,000 miles.
thanks, guys.
'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
92 Camry LE 4 door, 4 cyl, auto with 88,000 miles.
White, fabric interior, normal wear and tear on the body, no collision. Timing belt changed at 70,000 miles as per maintenance schedule. New good year tires with around 1000 miles on it. Location is in New York City.
So I wasn't off at all on my trade-in value. The Suzuki/Nissan dealership was low balling me while the Toyota dealership was giving me top trade in value. Wonder why he would do that? Perhaps because I was trading a Toyota for another Toyota? Do they do that sometimes?
I think that you are right in regards that even if I do buy a vehicle that typically holds it resale value, it won't really matter that much due to my driving habits.
Thanks for the help.
Leo
The Mitsubishi seems like about an $7,000-7,500 maybe $8K on the right day but that's stretching... car to me... There's TONS of them at the auctions and I can buy a 35K mile one for about $8,500 give or take a few hundred...
The Mazda Is worth approx $10,000 or so... again, give or take a few hundred. They seem to be somewhat strong in the northeast.
Hope this helps... what were you thinking of getting?
Bill
Hope this helps!
Bill
I mean, that's a wholesale car, and any dealer can be a few hundred dollars off on a trade one way or another.
I'll often put another few hundred dollars on a car that we can use, but on a very high mileage car... It's whatever I think I can get back out of it..
Bill
Thanks for the numbers. Basically what I thought. Well, frankly I was hoping for more on the Mazda, but I knew that was just hope and nothing more. And, as I figured, the Mitsu is going to sit there till lease end and get turned in. Its absolutely ridiculous but that just demonstrates why I hate that car (my wife got into a 4-year lease before we met, so its not my fault).
The Mazda is my lease and I've got some time left in it. I like it, but I never intended on keeping it. I ended up with a new job about 12 months into it and now I'm commuting 100 miles a day. A good reason for folks not to lease. Never again.
anyway, I was also curious about a comparably equipped '98 Mazda (with 55K miles). According to NADA (I know, not the best source, but its a starting point), the '98 is worth merely a couple hundred less than my '99. Is this near accurate? If so, that is really interesting. It just reinforces that I'm going to keep it till the end of the lease, buy it for the $8K, and then trade it in.
'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
Boris Pitel
A good deal. I just wish I fit in the Protoge (and that it had a little more pep).
'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
thanks
ANyway, they want $29,900 with the cert. package. What would they be likely to take on this car, given the higher miles/less desireable color?
BTW: the Jag was nice, but didn't quite fit with the family profile.
I never had this uch trouble deciding what to buy in my life.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
David
Why not look at something 2 years old with low miles? Look at How the Mazda has depreciated, would you want to buy another new one? Heck, and it's not half as bad as what a lot of domestics go through...
I havent even really seen NADA's site... but their info comes from interesting sources...
Apparently the trade-in values they show come from average trade-ins from dealerships.. but here's a twist. It's not the ACV, it's the amount shown on a buyer's order which often will show an overallowance, often a gross one...
Bill
Bill
Besides, according to your profile you're in NYC (My old stomping grounds) and every car there has scuffed bumpers!
Now, I think the car is worth about $14,500 as it sits to perhaps $15,000. Rosewood isnt a great color... Black or Silver are better bets up North (Black is weak here in Florida).
Options on an SE dont help a whole lot as they pretty much come loaded... On most cars the few that help are major ones like Leather, Moonroofs, Alloy Wheels... things like that. Although they do help, you dont get your money back as a rule out of smaller options like heated seats, they just help to make the car more saleable. But, Like I say, get the car you like the way you like it!
Hope this helps!
Bill
I think it's worth about $9,000 on trade, even with the high miles. Perhaps a little more to the right buyer.
Hope this helps!
Bill
Not a bad price really for a Certified car. Figure the cost of the warranty is $595, and then they have to do an inspection that technically calls for 8 hours of labor. Buut... Figure they got $25K in it, plus $1,000 minimum in certification... $28,500 ought to be your target.. $29K or so you still can write the check IMHO and do well.
But start at $27,500 of course.. they could come back at $28K!
Sorry about the Jag... too small? Did you see an XJ8L?
I know I'm pushing....
Bill
$2,500 is way low unless it's been previously wrecked or has title problems or something..
$6,500 is way high. Either the UC Manager is nuts or it's, as I suspect, an overallowance. I.E. Instead of a further discount they show you a lot for your trade.
Here in Orlando, which is the biggest wholesale market in the USA, that car is worth about $4,000-4,500 dead cash value.
It's worth $2,500 with over 100K miles, and 6,500 with 15K miles...
Hope this helps.. Where in FL? Sometimes I know what dealers to go to and which ones to avoid.. e-mail me if you need help.
Bill
Don't tell my dealer, but I think I may just have to "chip" it. There are a number of them out there that increase HP from 170 to about 207 and Torque from 166 to 245 (no, that is not a typo). All that from a $500 chip. Another cool offering in one of the chips is the ability to switch back to stock mode (during service so they don't feel the extra punch) or Valet mode (where the RPM's don't go over 3,500 and the MPH won't go over 40.) All this can be done on the fly using the cruise control buttons apparently - and it can be coded in order to secure it.
It's amazing that for $500 the car can get 17 more HP and more 38 lbs more Torque than $5,000 more expensive big brother 2.8. I've been visiting the forum at Audiworld.com and there are NO horror stories about chipping and engines blowing up. The only thing to worry about is that IF the dealer knows its been done they'll try to pin any problems that occur to the chip to get out of warranty work. However, word is that they need to be able to prove it was related to the modification, otherwise can't get out of the warranty work.
What's interesting is that the 225hp TT engine is supposedly the same 1.8T, just tuned differently and w/ a different turbo (A4 1.8T is de-tuned in order to not cannabalize 2.8).
Main reason I might do this - I went from a supercharged 210 hp 6 cyl. to a turbocharged (but much weaker) 170 hp 4 banger. I miss the power :-(
I bet that's more than you expected when you asked how I like te A4, eh?