Trading Cars In

[triplerox]

How does trading cars in for another one works with the dealer in general?

[curtis73]

You trade in your car and they buy it at a bargain wholesale price. Then you pay retail on the new car. Depending on the car it varies from "logical choice" to "major butt reaming." Logical choices might include a wasted or destroyed car. They'll offer you $1000 on trade which may be twice its value knowing that they'll make $2000 profit on your sale. Then they'll send the junker to the auction and get a few hundred bucks for it.

It also depends on what you're buying. If its a 'vette, they're making about $7000 profit from your wallet so they can offer you tons of cash for your trade to make the deal look sweet.

I never trade in a car. With one exception I always sell it outright and apply the money toward the new purchase. That absolutely insures you're getting what you need for it, but unfortunately may take a while to accomplish.

A good example; in 1996 I traded in a 1991 Beretta GT with 67,000 on a new Impala SS. They gave me $4500 for the trade, but it was worth $6200 retail. But the purchase price of the new SS was $120 over invoice. They made very little on the sale, but within a week they had sold the Beretta trade for $5900. The whole deal netted them $1520.

The bottom line is you have to either get screwed on the new car's price or the trade-in price, otherwise the dealers wouldn't make any money.

If you have the time, put it in the paper and wait a bit. Someone will come along.

[triplerox]

Originally Posted by curtis73

You trade in your car and they buy it at a bargain wholesale price. Then you pay retail on the new car. Depending on the car it varies from "logical choice" to "major butt reaming." Logical choices might include a wasted or destroyed car. They'll offer you $1000 on trade which may be twice its value knowing that they'll make $2000 profit on your sale. Then they'll send the junker to the auction and get a few hundred bucks for it.

It also depends on what you're buying. If its a 'vette, they're making about $7000 profit from your wallet so they can offer you tons of cash for your trade to make the deal look sweet.

I never trade in a car. With one exception I always sell it outright and apply the money toward the new purchase. That absolutely insures you're getting what you need for it, but unfortunately may take a while to accomplish.

A good example; in 1996 I traded in a 1991 Beretta GT with 67,000 on a new Impala SS. They gave me $4500 for the trade, but it was worth $6200 retail. But the purchase price of the new SS was $120 over invoice. They made very little on the sale, but within a week they had sold the Beretta trade for $5900. The whole deal netted them $1520.

The bottom line is you have to either get screwed on the new car's price or the trade-in price, otherwise the dealers wouldn't make any money.

If you have the time, put it in the paper and wait a bit. Someone will come along.

i see a lot of ppl trading their cars in for a new one so i was just wondering. my mother drives an '00 isuzu axiom and shes considering about trading it in. also, what's your opinion on trading in a car that hasnt been used for too long, like an '05 accord with <2k mileage.

[JLad10687]

You still wont get as much as if you sold it yourself. The dealer cant give you what they would sell it for because then they wouldnt profit. With the Accord, I would just sell it myself b/c you are going to get close to what you paid for it by doing that, but trading it in, you will get much less. Go to edmunds.com and use the trade in tool. It will be 1-2G less then what they say for the trade in value.

[fredjacksonsan]

If you need to make a quick sale and there is a CARMAX in your area, they'll purchase your vehicle for cash, same day. You'll get a couple thousand less than you would at a private sale, but probably a bit more than you would for a trade in.

[Chad82]

When buying from a dealer always negotiate the purchase price and the trade in seperately. Get the best price you can on the purchase and then talk about the trade in. If you can't accept their trade in then buy the car and sell your old one for what you want.