what do car dealers look for in trade in?

[iceteebone 5,000+ posts]

drive it into a lake. if you are still in it, well the world hasn't lost much i guess

 

[Grim 10+ year member]

do not trade it. you'll get the worst deal ever. my friend just traded in his 95 4-runner. had 40" tires adn 5" lift, brand new upholstery, hella lights and hd's, new tint, and a new motor and ****** swap and he only got $3500 for it. i was WTF, he could have easily sold it for $7000.

Thats cause that lift, and those tires, decreased the value to the dealership...and the rest of the mods means nothing...

Make sure everything works right and its clean. Anything they have to do themselves, they will screw you for...

As said, you will never win...unless you sell outright. Sometimes you can come out better than others, as they will screw over next person on your trade in...

 

[///M5 10+ year member]

A 2003 with only 54k miles shouldn't have any scratches, dings, or problems with the interior as well as have good tires, new brakes, fresh coolant and fluids. Each blemish costs you more than $100. I'd expect a trade in offer of $3k and if they give you more they are raising the price of the car you are buying. On the private market that is probably a $5500 car assuming you have kept up with the required service.

 

[crunktimes.com 5,000+ posts]

The dealer will not give you shit, use your brain and sell it to a private party and get 2-3k more than you have now.

The only way I trade a car in is if that ***** is on its last legs and about to die in the middle of the road.. Last car (was a Taurus FYI) I had AAA tow that ***** about 1/4 mile away around the corner from the dealership and drove that around the block into the dealer, signed a paper and drove off in the new ride.

 

[PepsiFiend69 10+ year member]

ugh, to the paper it is.

anyone ever used autotrader.com? i heard you just pay a fee and it stays on there till it sells

 

[crunktimes.com 5,000+ posts]

ugh, to the paper it is.

anyone ever used autotrader.com? i heard you just pay a fee and it stays on there till it sells

Yeah I think it is $30 for a month and $69 to run it forever, if you look at what other cars are selling for and offer it a bit cheaper you can probably sell it within a few weeks. Also Want Ad magazine if they have that in your area is good.

 

[PepsiFiend69 10+ year member]

A 2003 with only 54k miles shouldn't have any scratches, dings, or problems with the interior as well as have good tires, new brakes, fresh coolant and fluids. Each blemish costs you more than $100. I'd expect a trade in offer of $3k and if they give you more they are raising the price of the car you are buying. On the private market that is probably a $5500 car assuming you have kept up with the required service.

around here a used one from a dealer goes for ~$10k but that's with dealer markup and what not, i bet i could let it go private party for around $6k

the only thing i didn't want to have to do is be home to show people the car, worry about having sketchy people test drive my car.

i work 10-12 hours a day, when am i gonna have time/energy to sell my car?

oh also, i had my car apraised for a trade in about 3 weeks ago at the Volkswagen dealership for $4500, he said something about getting the smoke smell out, and putting in the origional headunit (this was before i parted out my stereo)

and well, i stopped smoking in my car, smell is about %90 gone, everything is put back together, car is spotless, pulled out the seats and washed the carpet, so i was hoping to get a little more

 

[blackgeltabs 5,000+ posts]

When you go to the dealership negotiate the price of the new car with them under the impression that you are keeping your current car. Once you have a price that has come down a bit on the car you want then let them know you want to trade your car in, then work them on this price.

If you let them know right away that you want to trade your car in they can roll some of the markup in the new car into your trade to make it look likes its worth more.

Better yet have someone bring you to the dealership so they dont think you have a car. There were times when I knew that someone was trying to pull that and I would leave gross in the new car for room to play in the used car. Better to have them think you dont own a car.

 

[PatFitz9 10+ year member]

they ONLY look for a negotiating price. If it runs fine and looks decent (they will do a 100% detail regardless of how clean it was in the first place) then you have the upper hand. if it has problems, they have the upper hand. they don't care what car it is. if they can't sell it, then someone else will. whatever happens, always know that you can negotiate the price.

and you will probably get a better deal from carmax. they give you the same amount of cash if you buy or don't buy from them. they do however look at your car in more detail than a dealer.

and depending on what the difference is versus selling it yourself, you might be better off trading it in. you get to take that off the price before taxes. so you can save some extra money.

 

[92OldsTrefeo 10+ year member]

When you go to the dealership negotiate the price of the new car with them under the impression that you are keeping your current car. Once you have a price that has come down a bit on the car you want then let them know you want to trade your car in, then work them on this price.
If you let them know right away that you want to trade your car in they can roll some of the markup in the new car into your trade to make it look likes its worth more.

Better yet have someone bring you to the dealership so they dont think you have a car. There were times when I knew that someone was trying to pull that and I would leave gross in the new car for room to play in the used car. Better to have them think you dont own a car.

so you work at a dealership?

 

[billabongcr 5,000+ posts]

Throw it in the paper. You could save a couple grand selling it privately as opposed to trading it in.

$35 dollars local paper for 3 days.

$45 autotrader 12 weeks with multiple pictures.

 

[bballrrt06 10+ year member]

$35 dollars local paper for 3 days.
$45 autotrader 12 weeks with multiple pictures.

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/word.gif.64b12e39f936af3b4fff38a1c0bd0244.gif

 

[PepsiFiend69 10+ year member]

they ONLY look for a negotiating price. If it runs fine and looks decent (they will do a 100% detail regardless of how clean it was in the first place) then you have the upper hand. if it has problems, they have the upper hand. they don't care what car it is. if they can't sell it, then someone else will. whatever happens, always know that you can negotiate the price.
and you will probably get a better deal from carmax. they give you the same amount of cash if you buy or don't buy from them. they do however look at your car in more detail than a dealer.

and depending on what the difference is versus selling it yourself, you might be better off trading it in. you get to take that off the price before taxes. so you can save some extra money.

well car runs great and looks decent, so i've got that down. now i just have to worry about the ridiculous interest rate because i have no credit //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crap.gif.7f4dd41e3e9b23fbd170a1ee6f65cecc.gif