SteveMason

For the record I have NEVER traded a car in, however I should have learned my lesson the last two times I got quotes for trade-ins... I always expect them to be low, and I even sympathize with the car dealer as I know it's a business and they have to make a return on the deal. However EVERY time I get a quote, it leaves me fuming for days because just when I prepare myself for it to be low it is always a fraction of that amount.

I recently looked into trading my 2012 CT for a 2014 IS350 at the Lexus dealer just because it was a great deal... I am completely against trading-in because I know you never get close to what your car is worth but I thought is was worth a shot to find out. I also knew my car looks terrible on paper. It is high mileage at 181,000km (112,000 miles) and it had been in an accident before I bought it that was over $10k in damage. It is not a rebuild though and as you might know from my posts, it has a lot of aftermarket stuff (which I know doesn't count for much at a dealer.) It also has a small crack in the bumper that I still need to fix however It could be done quite cheaply at a dealership if they were doing the work. So after all that I was not expecting a very good offer... but I was still not able to prepare myself for what it was..........
My $4500.00 car! ($3387.28 US Dollars!)

gshadow325

Here is another way to look at it.

Its a piece of property. It is only worth how much someone is willing to pay for it.
If you think it is worth more then you keep it.

Dealer is only willing to pay $xxxx because when they do sell it, they need to make the vehicle retail ready.
There are a lot of things to make it retail ready.
Proper tires that came with the vehicle. Your case negative equity
Proper Wheels. Your case negative equity
Red calipers. Your case negative equity.
There is going to be tons of money needed to return your car back to stock.
Not everyone wants a modified vehicle, in fact only 1% does.

Modified = headaches and come backs
Modified = NOT Warrantable(if there is such a word). People want warranties.

It costs money to have a vehicle sit on the lot to be for sale, the money has interest that needs to be paid. Its called a floor plan. NOt many dealerships are financially strong enough to have cash to float their own inventory.

Thats just one aspect of trade in quotes. We can go on and on about others

lexusrus

True to that!!!

When I bought my RCF in SoCal, I was wondering about trading my MB SLK55 AMG hartop convertible in. I was told that Lexus dealer had similar experiences before with MB (and other European brands) where it just sat and sat on the lot for months and months. Trade in was so low on the MB, might as well give it away. Since I was in a position of not really having to sell, so I kept the MB. The Lexus dealer did not refuse to trade in, they just let me know the reality as it is. As a matter of convenience, they will take my trade if I wanted, but I will take a big hit.

So the bottom line is if I wanted out of convenience, then I PAY FOR IT. Since I didn't have to , so I did not pay and kept it. Besides, hardtop convertible roadEster are fun too, especially in the V8 AMG. Some day, when I get bored with it, will sell it to some young kid who wants to look like a million bucks but don't want to pay that much as my MB will have depreciated enough already.

SteveMason

That is very true gshadow325. I think I was just butthurt about the low amount but now I have come to terms with it!

RXGS

iTrader: (2)

Mods or not, thats a ridiculous trade in value. I got offered only a grand less for a 2002 GS300 with 140k miles less than a year ago.

MomentumM

Here in US it is worth approximately $7000 (dealer price). Most dealers accept trade-ins at lower prices than those you could find at the auction or any wholesale yard. Like it was noted in this thread - this is business. On some rare occasions, dealers may overpay wholesale value of your vehicle if they need to get rid of the inventory faster. It's the same as giving you a discount off of base price of the car. Retailers set their own pricing rules.