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Dealers only deal with trade-ins so they can sell new cars. Best is to sell your car directly to a private party for the best current market price and then go and look for a new car.
People are horrible to deal with. Go for it if you are willing to deal with all of the idiots that want to low ball you too.
If you do find a buyer getting to the tax office to do the transfer, etc. is a nightmare.
Most new car dealers make money by stealing the trade.
Get a bid from Carmax prior to buying. Best bid wins.
They can "steal" the trade, if you let them. Almost invariably they'll beat a carmax offer. Carmax isn't buying your car for anymore than they could buy it at an auction. On a $10,000 car, a dealer could be $500 lower on trade and you'd still be better off trading it than selling it to Carmax.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr78609
Dealers only deal with trade-ins so they can sell new cars. Best is to sell your car directly to a private party for the best current market price and then go and look for a new car.
No, they actually deal with trade-ins to sell them. If you trade in a decent car (say 4 years old with 55K miles) they'll often make more when they resell the trade at retail than the did selling you the brand new car. Of course, if its a jalopy they try to put as little as possibly in it before getting it off to an auction.
NADA is more accurate. Otherwise, getting top trade-in value depends on many factors. But is the OP actually bringing their car into the dealership for a quote or just calling up the dealers? And what is the mileage of the trade-in? And what is the brand of the trade-in in relation to the dealers they are calling up?
Most dealers would not want to give a firm trade-in quote to someone who is just shopping around casually. Until the deal is being made, they aren't going to give out their best offer.
Also, the OP might be judging their trade-in being in better condition than it really is.
On cars with high mileage, most dealers are going to send that trade-in to a wholesale auction and be done with it.
And on trade-ins where the brand of it is not compatible with the dealership's brand, again, the car would get wholesaled out. So that's what would happen when trading in a Ford at a Honda dealership.
What about getting a quote from a CarMax used car dealership?
When I sold cars we had people come in with their trades that had hit everything but the lottery, smoked like a campfire and stunk like an ashtray stuffed with dog hair and they wanted tip top dollar for the wreck. They often had a KBB or Edmunds quotes in their hands and they had no clue that deductions are made for damage and above average mileage.
What is convenient when trading in to a dealer is that they will not be coming back to you like a private buyer has the legal right to do.
If the dealer is not giving you what you want for your trade then hit them up for the difference and have them discount the new car more or come up with another rebate. If they really want to sell the new car they will find a way.
Then again there is a supply and demand aspect to the trade in game. If your car is a hot seller in the used market you should be able to get more for it because the dealer can get more for it. If you try trading in a convertible in the dead of Winter it will be worth less but if you go to trade in your plow truck then it will be worth more than it would be in the Summer.
There are a lot of good used cars out there so there is less demand for them. During the recession people were scrambling for good used cars because they could not afford the new ones.
I am in the market for a new car right now and am finding it challenging to assess trade-in value of my current car. I, probably like many people, went to Kelly Blue Book to estimate a trade-in value range. It is giving me $13.5k-15.4k. I have contacted three dealers now to get a trade-in quote from them and they are coming back with anywhere between $10k and $11k.
I know this is a classic game that dealers play, but how on earth am I able to get anywhere near KBB trade in when they are all coming back with such low numbers? One salesperson tried to explain to me that KBB trade in was too optimistic and that there is a difference between dealer trade value and KBB trade value. I'm not sure I buy that excuse. I thought the whole point of a KBB trade-in value was that it is was a TRADE IN value, not private sale value.
Am I being unrealistic here? Are most people getting significantly less than KBB trade-in value for their trades?
The sales person even went so far as to try and sell me on the new car by mentioning how great its resale value was. I laughed pretty hard at that one!
The only vehicle with "undeniable resale value" is a diesel, heavy-duty pickup. Crew cab, trimmed out, 4x4... deduct major points if it lacks any of those.
Hondas and Toyotas may retain "more" value than, say, a domestic that doesn't fit the truck profile above, but nothing in comparison percentage-wise. The closest runners-up would be used Tacomas and 4Runners. If you don't have any of the above, do your best (whether trading in or privately selling) and "buy to keep" (until you are ready to dispose, not re-sell.)
As has been mentioned before, get an estimate from Carmax, Carvana, Vroom, KBB instant cash offer and any other place near you that will buy your car. Carvana/Vroom are spending venture capitalist money and if they dont have a lot of your model in your area, you can receive an aggressive offer for your vehicle.
I always thought that KBB gives the quote based on the car being sold to an individual, not a trade-in. If you think about it and the KBB says the car is worth $8,000 and the dealer gives you $8,000 how are they supposed to make a profit on the deal? Naturally they are going to either add the price into your new vehicle or give you less on the trade-in to make money.
I always thought that KBB gives the quote based on the car being sold to an individual, not a trade-in. If you think about it and the KBB says the car is worth $8,000 and the dealer gives you $8,000 how are they supposed to make a profit on the deal? Naturally they are going to either add the price into your new vehicle or give you less on the trade-in to make money.
The KBB gives the wholesale value based on options. Most dealer appraisers really know the market and they know what they can buy a certain car for at auction.
The problem with most buyers is that they want full retail for their trade but they want to buy the new car at a wholesale price. In most sales cases some middle ground is found between the 2 and that is where the deal lies.
We had all kinds of sayings in the car business and I'm happy to buy the salesperson a ham sandwich lunch but I'm not buying him a steak dinner when it comes to the money he makes off me in commission.
This is one of the many reasons why we will not buy a new car it’s just not worth it rest you really want it and are willing to deal with all the crap that comes with it.
Unless you got the cash I wouldn’t buy from a dealership new or used.
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