Trade-in

[LariatOfFire]

I’m curious how everyone is handling their trade in. I’ve never ordered a vehicle before this, but I am worried that the dealer will lowball me on my trade since they know they already have me on the hook for the most part. Are you guys just bringing in offers from Carvana, Carmax, etc. and seeing if they match or beat it?

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[Mtnman1]

I have the KBB and NADA trade in values for my ZIP. I also have prices for similar vehicles for sale in my area.

 

[NomadV]

Depends on what you are trading in. I went to get pricing today and they are lowballing me hard! Was told for two reason: it’s a Jeep and gets bad gas mileage so the value has decreased on them because of gas prices. And two, it’s modified with wheels tires lift etc and they said the market is too small for people that will buy them or could afford them.

So I’m gonna get screwed on it big time.

 

[Zengineer]

In the market we are in now, why sell your vehicle to the one person who you know will give you significantly less than it is worth?

I understand it's not something everyone has the stomach for but why not sell it yourself?

 

[GolfR]

In the market we are in now, why sell your vehicle to the one person who you know will give you significantly less than it is worth?

I understand it's not something everyone has the stomach for but why not sell it yourself?

Many of us live in states where you get a tax credit on the purchase of your new vehicle when trading one in. In MD, if you trade you only pay tax on what you owe after the trade. Dealers here take advantage of this and try to lowball buyers on their trade by including that tax savings as part of the trade in value.

 

[Zengineer]

Many of us live in states where you get a tax credit on the purchase of your new vehicle when trading one in. In MD, if you trade you only pay tax on what you owe after the trade. Dealers here take advantage of this and try to lowball buyers on their trade by including that tax savings as part of the trade in value.

I've been in Michigan for many decades where they've only recently added a tiny break on tax for trade-ins so I ways forget about that aspect...but as you point out, your dealers know it very well. Our state rules were a big influence on steering people who change cars frequently into leases where they pay tax only on the monthly payments...but I can't bring myself to lease.

 

[Kodiak]

Sadly in Virginia they do not give you any break on the trade in price, from the total sale price for tax purposes. Many other states let you deduct the trade in price when you figure in the sales tax for the purchase.

I have an offer from Carmax and I have a couple other "places" that buy cars that I will bring it to for an offer. Do not give them the other offer, let them give you their best offer right there. I have a creampuff of a 2009 Toyota Tacoma 4x4 with only 50+k so I know this is in high demand. The only issue with it is the clear coat is UV burnt from never being in a garage.

I may try for a week or two to sell it myself but I never liked doing that so if they offer a nice price, I may just take it. Simplicity does have a value to me so I may pass on the extra grand or so not to deal with bozos with a thousand sob stories or "creative" things they want you to do to help them buy the truck. Heres the key and title, thanks for the money, have a nice life, sounds pretty good to me.

 

[fluffernutter]

I did Carmax for trading my Grand Cherokee. They gave me a quote online, I went to a location about 30 minutes away with title in hand, and walked about 30 minutes later with a check for that amount. Was much much higher than what Ford offered.

Didn't have to deal with Craigslist tire kickers, low ballers and joy riders. Would highly recommend looking into if there is one in your area.

Carmax quote was much higher than carvana/vroom and others since this I had to go to a location to complete the sale.

 

[FrankThompson]

I don't know what the dealer sole my '17 lariat for. I know it sold FAST... I know I got it a few thousand less than I paid for it from the same dealer 4.5 years prior. I can tell you that for my wife's 2020 Jeep renegade, they gave us $22,500 (what we paid for it a year earlier 'new') and they listed it for $23,500.

It still hasn't sold and we got X-plan pricing on her new explorer, but even before that it was under sticker. My point is that there are some dealers willing to give you good value for your trade ins as well as a good deal on your new cars. It's not always worth it to try and sell it yourself (in FL we also have the tax offset mentioned above for trade ins)

Alternatively, my daughter (without my knowing), bought a new Kia yesterday. She got a good value on her trade in, but no so much on the "deal" they gave her for her new car......Only $4500 over sticker instead of the advertised $12k over sticker

 

[ShadowFox]

Also interested in trading in to reduce the tax burden. Had a dealer from close-by where I actually live reach out to me because no one is buying, and offer me their almost fully loaded tremor for X-Plan...but then offered 32K for my trade in which KBB puts at 52K lol... I said no, obviously, so today they called back and raised the price of my trade in to 36K w/o X-Plan and 74K for the MSRP, or 46K for the trade in.... and upped the price of the tremor from 74K MSRP to 84K lmao, I can count my man, absolutely not.

 

[130 Ghost_Riders]

I had an agreed price on my truck that I ordered and an idea what I would take for trade in. I had someone come with me so if they tried to low ball the trade in we could bring it back and sell it on the open market

 

[130 Ghost_Riders]

Also interested in trading in to reduce the tax burden. Had a dealer from close-by where I actually live reach out to me because no one is buying, and offer me their almost fully loaded tremor for X-Plan...but then offered 32K for my trade in which KBB puts at 52K lol... I said no, obviously, so today they called back and raised the price of my trade in to 36K w/o X-Plan and 74K for the MSRP, or 46K for the trade in.... and upped the price of the tremor from 74K MSRP to 84K lmao, I can count my man, absolutely not.

I hate it when they try to play those numbers games. I treat the buying and selling as two different actions and we don’t talk about the trade with the price of the buy. If they don’t like that I’m never in a need to buy and I’ll walk.

 

[LariatOfFire]

Also interested in trading in to reduce the tax burden. Had a dealer from close-by where I actually live reach out to me because no one is buying, and offer me their almost fully loaded tremor for X-Plan...but then offered 32K for my trade in which KBB puts at 52K lol... I said no, obviously, so today they called back and raised the price of my trade in to 36K w/o X-Plan and 74K for the MSRP, or 46K for the trade in.... and upped the price of the tremor from 74K MSRP to 84K lmao, I can count my man, absolutely not.

Yeah luckily my purchase price is set with x-plan, so they can’t play those games.

 

[Zengineer]

For years I bought mostly GM vehicles because of an employee deal (I wasn't a GM employee but several decades ago GM actually valued their suppliers). It was a deal that was "X" percent off base price and a smaller percentage "Y" off options. The trick was to buy the high end trim that had a pile of options in the base price. Some seasoned members will remember cars like the the Pontiac 6000 STE with available 5 speed manual and earth scorching 135 horsepower. But that's also back when we used pagers and pay phones.

The reason I bring it up is that since the new car price was very good but non-negotiable you were essentially shopping around for a trade in price if you were adverse to selling yourself. What most discovered was that the offers varied wildly and it really came down to whether the used car manager wanted to put your car on his lot or if they thought they would end up sending it off to the auction. While what the guide books value your car at is valuable information it still depends on whether they thi k they can sell it, do they already have 20 similar vehicles sitting on the lot and will they need to put and refurbishment cost into it.

 

[DCBoost]

I sold my truck I would have traded in (2018 GMC Sierra) to Carvana. Their offer was so far above what the dealers were offering, it offsets the loss of sale tax credit when I pick up the new truck. By thousands... Times are changing quickly. Used prices seem to be coming down slightly rather than surging upward.

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