Used car trade-in experiences?

me_punctured

me_punctured

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I'm looking to do an used car trade-in, but have never done anything of the sort before and am trying to do extensive research on it.

There's no point in breaking my piggy bank for a professional appraisal of my car if I can do it myself. At the same time, I'd like to maximize my trade-in value.

I already have a good idea of the wholesale value of my car from Kelley Blue Book. The tires are in excellent condition. The fluids, filters, hoses and belts seem to be in working order. And the car is in an overall good condition (the majority of used vehicles are not in excellent condition) with only 56,619 miles on it. I could get an estimated general value of at least $10,305.

And it would be foolish of me to accept this as THE accurate appraised value of my car, I'm looking into other sources (hello, public library!) and tapping into my friends' expertise of cars as well.

Has anyone done an used car trade-in before? What did you do to accomplish it? Did you trade in your car for a down payment of a car, used or new, OR for lowering its purchase cost? Or did you sell your car directly to a private party?

And more importantly, do you believe that selling your car to a private party results in bigger profits than a car trade-in does?
 
As ALWAYS... dealer is using "wholesale" pricing on trade in value, NOT the "retail" value. You'd better off selling if you want bigger profit... ONLY if you know how to sell, or have time/resources to sell them. Sometimes when dealer offers higher than wholesale value, they usually mark up higher on something else to make difference.

You could use Kelly blue book, that tells you valuation of your vehicle based on 4 condition criterias. They got their website, which would give you more accurate information based on zip code.

me_punctured said:
I'm looking to do an used car trade-in, but have never done anything of the sort before and am trying to do extensive research on it.

There's no point in breaking my piggy bank for a professional appraisal of my car if I can do it myself. At the same time, I'd like to maximize my trade-in value.

I already have a good idea of the wholesale value of my car from Kelley Blue Book. The tires are in excellent condition. The fluids, filters, hoses and belts seem to be in working order. And the car is in an overall good condition (the majority of used vehicles are not in excellent condition) with only 56,619 miles on it. I could get an estimated general value of at least $10,305.

And it would be foolish of me to accept this as THE accurate appraised value of my car, I'm looking into other sources (hello, public library!) and tapping into my friends' expertise of cars as well.

Has anyone done an used car trade-in before? What did you do to accomplish it? Did you trade in your car for a down payment of a car, used or new, OR for lowering its purchase cost? Or did you sell your car directly to a private party?

And more importantly, do you believe that selling your car to a private party results in bigger profits than a car trade-in does?
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diehardbiker65 said:
As ALWAYS... dealer is using "wholesale" pricing on trade in value, NOT the "retail" value. You'd better off selling if you want bigger profit... ONLY if you know how to sell, or have time/resources to sell them. Sometimes when dealer offers higher than wholesale value, they usually mark up higher on something else to make difference.

You could use Kelly blue book, that tells you valuation of your vehicle based on 4 condition criterias. They got their website, which would give you more accurate information based on zip code.
Click to expand...



:werd: selling your own vehicle will almost always get more $$
 
Sounds like car dealers are in the same boat with real estate agents when it comes to selling property (whether it be a car or a house). . .
 
me_punctured said:
Sounds like car dealers are in the same boat with real estate agents when it comes to selling property (whether it be a car or a house). . .
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Agreed with everyone here. Not only will you make more money, but you'll likely make a significant amount more if you sell it yourself. Car salesmen are dirty people (my father ran several car dealerships, I know), and will rip you off any way they can.

Your best bet is to start it high and hope someone is dumb. :)
 
me_punctured said:
Sounds like car dealers are in the same boat with real estate agents when it comes to selling property (whether it be a car or a house). . .
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They're all middlemen. Educate yourself about the product, and then avoid the middlemen like the plague. ;)

Somewhat on-topic, here's a classic money saver that'll demonstrate the drain that the middleman is. If you want to buy a flight ticket, comparison shop online (orbitz, et cetera), decide on what you want, then go to the airline's website and buy the ticket there. You'll save the booking fee charged by the online agency.
 
Are you looking to purchase a new car or a used car? Generally, personal finance experts can make a solid case for a superb ROI on a decent, recent used car.

If you're looking for a new one, however, I'd blow off the dealer altogether. There are ways to get a car without going to a dealer.
 
Why don't we throw out every car dealer and real estate agent that has ever walked on this planet? Oh wait. Life wouldn't be fun without them, because then we couldn't pick on them. (With all due respect to the middlemen, including your father, Ayala, out there...) ;)

I never buy airline tickets through online agencies. In my not-so-humble opinion, online agencies are a convenient crutch for people who cannot bother to think outside of the box. Investing an hour of your time in shopping around for the cheapest ones can save you a lot of money. And it helps to buy tickets well in advance, say two or three months, especially if the flight doesn't take place over the weekends and the holidays.
 
Endymion said:
Are you looking to purchase a new car or a used car? Generally, personal finance experts can make a solid case for a superb ROI on a decent, recent used car.

If you're looking for a new one, however, I'd blow off the dealer altogether. There are ways to get a car without going to a dealer.
Click to expand...

I'm assuming that ROI is the same as the rate of return. Care to expand on that one, please? As for purchasing a new car or a used one, I'm still undecided on the issue. Although I'm more likely to opt for a used car, I am considering the long-term consequences of the trade-off and comparing them to what would happen if I bought a new car instead. My life, hopefully, will be very different in a year from now on, and while I doubt that I will need to drive as much as I do now, I want to be secure in my resources.
 
me_punctured said:
My life, hopefully, will be very different in a year from now on, and while I doubt that I will need to drive as much as I do now, I want to be secure in my resources.
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D.C. has wonderful public transportation, so you won't need a car too often. :whistle:
 
me_punctured said:
I'm assuming that ROI is the same as the rate of return. Care to expand on that one, please? As for purchasing a new car or a used one, I'm still undecided on the issue. Although I'm more likely to opt for a used car, I am considering the long-term consequences of the trade-off and comparing them to what would happen if I bought a new car instead. My life, hopefully, will be very different in a year from now on, and while I doubt that I will need to drive as much as I do now, I want to be secure in my resources.
Click to expand...

I meant the same thing through ROI. I don't normally consider a car an investment proper (it depreciates!), but it is an investment in your mobility from point A to point B and in how that mobility boosts your quality of life and your socioeconomic status.

If you want to spend luxurious amounts of money, feel free. ;) There is something nice about a BMW, I'll admit!

On the other hand if you're playing money smarts, heed this: the cost of a new car's operation (gas, oil, repairs, maintenance) increases steadily over about, say, the first ten years. This increase, however, is nothing compared to how fast the fixed costs are draining you (depreciation, financing, insurance).

There was a study done some years back (1994-ish) by corporate consultants Runzheimer International. They evaluated two choices for the owner of a four-door, six-cylinder 1991 sedan: drive it for another four years or trade in for a 1995 model and drive that car for the next four years. All number crunching and assumptions aside, Runzheimer found that pushing a car through another four years had a $9,000 savings edge on purchasing a new car.
 
Endymion said:
She's saying that Skywalker will be tempted by the Dark Side.
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Oh, what a big relief. For a moment, I thought she was implying that I'm living in Washington D.C. next year!
 
Endymion, thank you for the heads-up on the money smarts. I'll be chewing on it all day tomorrow. . .

Perhaps I should just keep my car.
 
Useful tip - NEVER sell your second hand car to any of your friends!! It could cause a big fight!!

We will trade our car next week for a brand new car. One of my friends came and tell us he will pay it weekly, I turn down his offer!!
 
There is already a glut of used cars out there, thanks to aggressive incentives the U.S. automakers have pushed on the American public for the past few years. (Actually since 0% financing incentives were pushed after the wake of 9/11.) YMMV, and you probably can get more if you sell the used car yourself. The car dealer's bulging, no, overflowing used car lots dictate that they lowball consumers on trade-in's.
 
Endymion said:
Somewhat on-topic, here's a classic money saver that'll demonstrate the drain that the middleman is. If you want to buy a flight ticket, comparison shop online (orbitz, et cetera), decide on what you want, then go to the airline's website and buy the ticket there. You'll save the booking fee charged by the online agency.
Click to expand...
What do you mean? Usually, the booking fee is $5, or $10 round trip. I'm not going to individual airline sites just to save a couple of bucks, and will continue to patronize outfits like Orbitz. I did use Priceline for my last airline flight, to Louisville, KY, and saved roughly 25%.
 
Endymion said:
All number crunching and assumptions aside, Runzheimer found that pushing a car through another four years had a $9,000 savings edge on purchasing a new car.
Click to expand...
One major reason why I'm still driving a 1995 Ford Ranger w/ manual transmission and busted A/C. Oh- The wipers refuse to work, so I'm using RainX. (Seriously!) That said, I do pull over if the rain gets too much for my comfort. Thankfully, FL's rainy climate means that a couple of blocks get rain and the next few are relatively dry, and so on. The lack of A/C is murder. :( I do get to save on my insurance premiums as I dropped comp/collision coverage long ago.

I would like to upgrade in the future, but it'll still be for a used car, and this time, with fully functioning parts!
 
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