eugenew40

Hi all,

I'm new to the boards and I need some advice. My situation currently...

I moved up from Florida where I purchased a new 2012 Mercedes Benz SLK350 pretty much loaded out with AMG sport package, rear spoiler navigation. It's got 4,100 miles on it.

I now live in Ohio and have the Merc as well as a 2011 BMW 335 xdrive as my year round car. It now has 40,000 miles on it. Has the premium package, cold weather package and technology package with idrive

So my thing is this: I don't drive the Mercedes enough to justify keeping it anymore due to the long winters and while I like the BMW, it has some quirks I'm not that found of. So, I am wanting to trade both in on a new 2015 IS350 with F Sport package.

I've been trying to sell the Mercedes on my own but that car in Ohio at this time of year isn't the easiest car to sell. Metro Lexus up in Cleveland, Ohio has a white with red leather 2015 exactly as I would want it.

They said they would be willing to do this deal for me

2012 Mercedes: $38,500
2011 BMW $24,000
check for $13,528

Their Lexus IS350 is stickered at $49,500

Now, I know that trading in is never as good as selling outright on your own but it would sure be nice to do it this way. The Mercedes and BMW are paid off so titles in hand for me. $20,000 i what I was really hoping for with the check. Then it would be a done deal but maybe that's a pipe dream. Dealer said that the Mercedes is going for that at auction which is hard for me to understand beings dealers have same year and features with more miles for close to $50,000 for sale. Even the BMW is worth significantly more than the $24,000 they would pay. I would guess at the end of the day Lexus would make $25,000 on the deal after selling my cars on their lot and the deal done with me for the 2015 IS350.

Any advice? I really would like an IS350 AWD with F Sport but don't want to get bent over in the process with regards to the two cars I am trying to trade in and the check that would come my way.

NikonGuy

iTrader: (1)

If you don't want any headaches, trade into dealer.

If you want max profit than sell it yourself. The good think is you have title in hand so it will make the process a bit easier than having to deal with a lien.

Only you can decide what is important. Markets are local. Not sure what the market is for luxury cars in Ohio is.

Obscene14

Actually I think they are offering you a fair price on your cars. The Merc may be a little low because of the AMG pkg but the Bimmer isn't They will most likely go to auction or they will have their regular wholesalers come by to look at them. They won't be making as much profit as you think. I'd try to bargain the Is350 down to the real low 40's and then if I were you I'd feel half way decent about the deal. Plus you won't have to pay any sales tax because of the trade in's.

mrkjsn

If you can't sell privately, I would at the very least go to Carmax and see how much they'll give you for them. You may end up with a few thousand dollars more.

eugenew40

thanks both for the advice.

I did ask the dealer if that is his rock bottom offer and he said yep, possibly a hundred or two hundred if another dealer came close just to seal the deal but he did say that was the final offer.

I am curious though why the AMG package would decrease the value of the Mercedes? It is an added package that adds styling cues to the inside and outside of the dar. Makes it much better than the stock SLK350. In fact, I wouldn't have even considered the standard SLK350. But maybe it's something most people would rather not have.

I have the car for sale on auto trader right now and have it listed at $47,500 and was hoping to sell for $46,500 or somewhere close to that. Man I was hoping to be close to the $20,000 although I do have a call in to another dealer out of state with an atomic silver paint job and stratus grey interior F sport. He seemed more open to dealing with my trades than the dealership in Cleveland so we shall see.

tea

I think asking for $20,000 back is a bit of a stretch. I think $15,000 back would be possible.

eugenew40

that's the advice I need to hear. I'm simply not sure if my demands are too high or out of line but thanks for the feedback. I still don't think the Cleveland dealership will take that offer though. He seemed pretty set on that $13,500 check.

tea

I'm sure there's room but it's up to the dealer how much profit they wanna make on the cars you're trading in. If they're not willing to budge in the trade in, work on the price of the is350.

SlangBlade

Also consider that you don't pay sales tax if you cover the entire cost of the new car with your trade-ins in Ohio, I think. If you sell privately, you're still responsible for sales tax on the Lexus.

4TehNguyen

iTrader: (1)

you can get an appraisal from car max and use that if the dealer tries to lowball on trade in. Youll get a little bit of tax relief with a trade

KS13

I would get a quote from various Lexus dealers in your area (assuming there's more than two). I believe you should get at least 16-17K back, not sure about the BMW but that Mercedes is worth more than 38K...I would say AT LEAST 41K if not 42K (assuming its in pristine condition). Those miles on the Benz is nothing and I'm surprised on the low quote.

After you get the prices for the trade ins fixed, then I would work on the price of the IS. The MSRP is 49,500, so I would think to negotiate down at least a couple thousand (especially since its the 2015 you might have a little trouble with getting the dealer to lower the price. Also depends on demand and supply of the model. Usually IS350s are only 20% of Lexus IS sales, so you might have some luck.) Also I would try the last few days of the month (if you can wait that long), since some dealers usually want to get in a sale before then end of month.

Good luck, and I'm sure you'll love the IS350...especially the reliability compared to BMW and Benz.

tea

Oh I wasn't aware of the tax credit of you trade in a car in Ohio, so I think you should be able to get more than the $13,500 quoted. The way it is now seems like the Lexus dealer is only discounting the car $1,000 or so

Obscene14

If your referring to my post; you misunderstood me. I think the offer they made you on the Merc is a little on the low side because you have the AMG package. But you need to understand the dealers mentality.He can't be assured that if he gives you more for the AMG equipped car that he himself will get more money for the car because of the package. Add on packages depreciate more than the actual car will. Also Mercedes have lower residuals than Bimmer so your always going to take a bigger hit than you will with a Bimmer. Mercedes used to have the highest resale value of any luxury car. It's been a long time since that was the case though. Residuals of Lexus and BMW are a lot higher than either Audi or Mercedes.

eugenew40

Yes the Mercedes is completely show room condition. Not even a scratch on it. I've babied that car. The BMW has some minor wear and tear for a car with 40,000 miles but is still in what I consider very good shape. One nice thing is I am in no huge hurry to do this. My biggest concern being the closer it gets to winter the less any dealer in my neck of the woods will really want the Mercedes due to it being a summer car. I just don't want to take a huge loss on either German car I've got as I'm pretty sure a luxury car dealership will be able to sell those cars at $45,000 to $47,000 Mercedes and $28,000 to $30,000 for the BMW. Even on the low end they would still (possibly) sell for $70,000 total. The Lexus is $49,500 without any discounts on price so to me...that's $20,000. Maybe not the best way to figure it out I suppose. However, I'm not down with a dealership making a (possibly) $10,000 profit on me if I can help it.

And yes to your post Obscene14, I did misunderstand you. That does make sense now. For me, that added package is cosmetic only and I can see that it may not help me with a trade as the dealer may not care about that added $2,500 addition. Same with the rear spoiler the dealer installed on the Benz that was $500.

KS13

I would stick firmly with that $20K check back after trading in your other two vehicles. That seems like a very reasonable price based on your trade ins. Just keep trying different dealers, and the best way to go on about it would be to email the dealers in your area or around your area (if you're willing to drive out a little bit to get a better deal). Sometimes the Internet Sales team can be much more willing to strike a deal and offer better pricing so email a couple of dealers in your area and see what they'll offer. Good luck and let us know how it turns out.