We buy many trucks and vans for our biz. We always sell on the open market. It is a bit more hassle since our upfitter has a guaranteed buy back program, but we always get a premium for our well maintained rust free Florida vehicles...
Trade in or sell your old car?
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Originally Posted By: TFB1
Originally Posted By: philipp10
Originally Posted By: used_0il
Selling a used vehicle is like trying to throw a boomerang away.
Give the old beaters to charity or someone in need for $50.
boomerang? I sold every vehicle I have ever owned, over 30 cars and truck. They never, ever come back. What are you selling them to friends that come back soon as there is a issue? I never sell them to friends, and not because they are in bad shape. I just figure, no one can predict when a tranny will go. Selling on your own CAN be a PITA, but if you price them right, they go.
No way can you get as much with a trade in, after all, the dealer doesn't work for free. Of course, anything I sell is never worth more then 4k. And yes, do factor in sales tax, it can play a part.
You got me beat, I've traded one... Then I have owned around 200 in the last 49 years(several bought to resell)... Only one ever came back and not once, not twice but three times... Was a '78 Granada, 1st time I repo'd it(a P/S hose had failed) and they decided not to finish paying for it... Second time I took a '79 Mustang in trade(had been my older daughter's), I'd sold them a little over a year before... After a couple months(payments), they decided they didn't want the Granada it so I took it back and called it square... The Mustang got repainted and became the younger daughters first car... I finally GAVE it to my mother in law and a couple years later she gave it back because she'd bought a year old Pontiac Sunbird... I stuck it up on the corner a couple blocks from house and got(I think) $350 for it, never saw it again... In later years I've mostly sold to friends, one has bought six from me... All these but one were family vehicles...
About three years ago I did sell the older daughter's Explorer on Craigslist... Priced it right, posted very detailed pictures, was sold same day... Guy was buying it for his daughter, took a short drive and started stuffing $100 bills at me, never even opened hood... I asked if he wanted to see engine, said naaah, I know what a 4.0 Explorer engine looks like... Earlier this year they still had it...
200 vehicles....you are a very busy guy....wow.
Originally Posted By: philipp10
Originally Posted By: used_0il
Selling a used vehicle is like trying to throw a boomerang away.
Give the old beaters to charity or someone in need for $50.
boomerang? I sold every vehicle I have ever owned, over 30 cars and truck. They never, ever come back. What are you selling them to friends that come back soon as there is a issue? I never sell them to friends, and not because they are in bad shape. I just figure, no one can predict when a tranny will go. Selling on your own CAN be a PITA, but if you price them right, they go.
No way can you get as much with a trade in, after all, the dealer doesn't work for free. Of course, anything I sell is never worth more then 4k. And yes, do factor in sales tax, it can play a part.
You got me beat, I've traded one... Then I have owned around 200 in the last 49 years(several bought to resell)... Only one ever came back and not once, not twice but three times... Was a '78 Granada, 1st time I repo'd it(a P/S hose had failed) and they decided not to finish paying for it... Second time I took a '79 Mustang in trade(had been my older daughter's), I'd sold them a little over a year before... After a couple months(payments), they decided they didn't want the Granada it so I took it back and called it square... The Mustang got repainted and became the younger daughters first car... I finally GAVE it to my mother in law and a couple years later she gave it back because she'd bought a year old Pontiac Sunbird... I stuck it up on the corner a couple blocks from house and got(I think) $350 for it, never saw it again... In later years I've mostly sold to friends, one has bought six from me... All these but one were family vehicles...
About three years ago I did sell the older daughter's Explorer on Craigslist... Priced it right, posted very detailed pictures, was sold same day... Guy was buying it for his daughter, took a short drive and started stuffing $100 bills at me, never even opened hood... I asked if he wanted to see engine, said naaah, I know what a 4.0 Explorer engine looks like... Earlier this year they still had it...
200 vehicles....you are a very busy guy....wow.
Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
I have always found selling vehicles especially on Craigslist which attracts all the scum of the earth around here to be painful.
Lots of lookers with no money, and no one will ever be happy.
If they will give you a somewhat reasonable offer just trade it in and be done with it.
If you have something popular like a 4 door sedan in reasonable price range with bonus of Toyota or Honda nameplate selling on craigslist is simple. Most people who look on craigslist are looking for transportation in certain price ranges (eg $3000-$7500). Less you attract dirge of earth and more folks are not interested or have the cash to acquire something like that easily.
I had no issue selling our Civic's for $3500 and Ford Taurus(parents) for $2900. However trying to sell a $1000 4runner led me to call the scrap yard dealing with dirt of the earth coming out and or skipping out offering me $200 or trades. Same was true of my $9000 WRX wagon which I got so many inquiries (useless) and no shows. The first buyer who seemed reasonable bought it on the spot(2 months).
I have always found selling vehicles especially on Craigslist which attracts all the scum of the earth around here to be painful.
Lots of lookers with no money, and no one will ever be happy.
If they will give you a somewhat reasonable offer just trade it in and be done with it.
If you have something popular like a 4 door sedan in reasonable price range with bonus of Toyota or Honda nameplate selling on craigslist is simple. Most people who look on craigslist are looking for transportation in certain price ranges (eg $3000-$7500). Less you attract dirge of earth and more folks are not interested or have the cash to acquire something like that easily.
I had no issue selling our Civic's for $3500 and Ford Taurus(parents) for $2900. However trying to sell a $1000 4runner led me to call the scrap yard dealing with dirt of the earth coming out and or skipping out offering me $200 or trades. Same was true of my $9000 WRX wagon which I got so many inquiries (useless) and no shows. The first buyer who seemed reasonable bought it on the spot(2 months).
In Kansas it's usually a wash or close to it. The last vehicle I bought I traded my CRV in for. Rough estimate I lost $1800 over retail on the trade, but ended up only paying $800 in sales tax instead of $2300. I'll take the $300 loss over having to hassle with selling it.
I have sold multiple vehicles privately: my namesake Honda for $600, 78 Camaro for $1000, a Mustang GT for $5800, Dodge Ram for $27,000 and a Lexus LS for $33,000. No issues whatsoever and would have lost some trying to trade them in. In Misssouri the sales tax is credited back to you if you sell it within 180 days of another vehicle purchase. There's nothing to be gained by trading it vs selling it yourself other than convenience.
Patman
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In Ontario we also save the tax when trading in a vehicle and it's 13% so that is quite a big amount. So if the dealer values your trade in at $20,000, it's like getting $22,600 privately. And what I like the most is the convenience of driving to the dealer in one car and driving home in the other, and not having to list the car on the open market and deal with all the yahoos! (and believe me, when you're selling a sports car, lots of yahoos will call you!)
I sold cars for a number of years...a dealer will always buy your car for wholesale or the amount of money they feel it would bring at a dealer auction minus any fees to get it ready for auction. Any extra amount over the wholesale value is merely a discount on the new car...the same discount you could get even without your trade.
Many people say, wow, they gave me a ton of money for my car!..well, no, they didn't...they gave you wholesale for your car and gave you a large discount on the new car...again, the same discount you could get without a trade.
Selling your car privately will almost always get you more money..but there is the 'hassle' factor to consider.
I would never trade a car in to a dealer...I could always get much more selling privately.
Many people say, wow, they gave me a ton of money for my car!..well, no, they didn't...they gave you wholesale for your car and gave you a large discount on the new car...again, the same discount you could get without a trade.
Selling your car privately will almost always get you more money..but there is the 'hassle' factor to consider.
I would never trade a car in to a dealer...I could always get much more selling privately.
Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
I have always found selling vehicles especially on Craigslist which attracts all the scum of the earth around here to be painful.
Lots of lookers with no money, and no one will ever be happy.
If they will give you a somewhat reasonable offer just trade it in and be done with it.
+1 who wants to deal with it....I now drive all of my cars to 200k or give them to my kids. Selling a car is a PITA and there are some horror stories of people getting jacked by the supposed "buyers" who show up and stick a gun in your face.
Not worth it. Trading in removes all of your liability. Plus the dealers get better financing, handle all paperwork and are just better all the way around. I have 3 dealerships where I am a repeat customer and they all treat me excellent.
I have always found selling vehicles especially on Craigslist which attracts all the scum of the earth around here to be painful.
Lots of lookers with no money, and no one will ever be happy.
If they will give you a somewhat reasonable offer just trade it in and be done with it.
+1 who wants to deal with it....I now drive all of my cars to 200k or give them to my kids. Selling a car is a PITA and there are some horror stories of people getting jacked by the supposed "buyers" who show up and stick a gun in your face.
Not worth it. Trading in removes all of your liability. Plus the dealers get better financing, handle all paperwork and are just better all the way around. I have 3 dealerships where I am a repeat customer and they all treat me excellent.
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never bring a trade into the new car equation until the price of the new one has been agreed to with no trade, then look at the trade. Know what the car is worth in a private sale versus a trade and go from there. From that point it is how much hassle you want in selling the car yourself versus less money from the dealer to trade.
As said above, determine the price on the car you are purchasing before even thinking about a trade. Dealers love to commingle numbers to get desired results. In treating as two separate transactions, you get clean trade numbers.
About 99.9% of the time, you are financially better off selling privately. The last time I traded a car was when I bought our 2006 Odyssey. We had a 2000 Odyssey with a transmission about ready to barf, a door motor ready to die, that needed 4 tires and an exhaust. After agreeing on the price of the van, they offered me $8700. on a trade. I negotiated it up + $200. The absolute best that I could have done on a private sale at the time was $9.5K and that was optimistic. I did alright after saving the sales tax on the $8900. plus I could not in good conscience sell that van to anyone.
About 99.9% of the time, you are financially better off selling privately. The last time I traded a car was when I bought our 2006 Odyssey. We had a 2000 Odyssey with a transmission about ready to barf, a door motor ready to die, that needed 4 tires and an exhaust. After agreeing on the price of the van, they offered me $8700. on a trade. I negotiated it up + $200. The absolute best that I could have done on a private sale at the time was $9.5K and that was optimistic. I did alright after saving the sales tax on the $8900. plus I could not in good conscience sell that van to anyone.
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