Ty419

I was expecting a trade offer in the upper 20's since that's what most online resources suggest. The dealer told me they would give me 20k for my 05 UL/PCS, Blk/Blk, 18" chrome, 53,000 miles, super clean, bought as CPO 8 months ago, brand new michelins. That can't be right, can it? Aren't people paying upwards of 30k for clean UL's lately?

IXI187IXI

iTrader: (3)

do you think a dealer is going to offer you what your looking for? they'll try and get it as cheap as possible to make the most profit off of you.

McSwine

Well, it's a dealer, after all. Try to sell it yourself.

Ty419

I know they try to lowball people, but that seems excessive.

Well, anyone interested? Guess I'm going to have to sell it myself.

Mr.Doback

I completely believe it, they want to see how dumb people are. It tends to work all the time.

skassamali

why are you selling ? Just curious, seems like a pristine car.

Ty419

I love the car and hate to get rid of it.

I got a full ride to law school and won't be working at all during at least the first year. I was looking to trade into something cheap to drive through school.

caddyowner

Congrats on the scholarship to a JD. Where will you be attending? I know many law schools are in locations where you don't really want to have a nice car.

I agree that private sale will probably get you the most $$. Since dealers aren't having any trouble selling small cars right now, they don't feel incented to offer you a large trade-in value.

Before you dump your LS, calculate how much you'd lose in the sale, how much sales tax you'd pay on something else, and how rapid the depreciation would be on whatever you'd buy. Compare that to keeping your LS and paying a bit more for fuel - when you probably won't be putting on a lot of miles.

Ty419

I'm looking at a three year period in school. I pay 600 a month for the car, so that's 21.6 for three years. At the end of that time, the car will be pretty much paid off and I'll have an asset to sell, but I need to be as liquid as possible for the next three years so that I can use the money to get through school as opposed to building equity in any assets, especially depreciating ones. I'll trade a small loss for the extra cash on hand in case I need it.

I'm going to use my savings to get through school, and reducing my vehicle outlay by 10k over that timeframe means that I can use that 10k for books, supplies, rent, or whatever other immediate costs show up. I believe I can make it the whole way without any loans or work if I do it right. Trust me, I wish I had enough saved up that I could keep the car through school, but I think it's better I free up the cash flow. I also may be able to work through school, but I'm going to start under the assumption that I can't, since I don't want to mess up a 20k+ per year scholarship trying to work.

I'm going to Toledo, by the way. Not a top school by any means, but it's free.

caddyowner

Go Rockets! My wife is a UT alum. One of the past members of my current project completed a JD at UT and opened a small-business IP practice in Phoenix.

Now that UT and MUO (Medical University of Ohio) have combined, wouldn't it be interesting if they could offer a JD with a healthcare emphasis. (Not an ambulance chaser, mind you.)

JLAWS

You are REALLY going to miss driving your LS. You'll be pretty miserable driving a econo vehicle. I admire the sacrifice but at least get into something that will keep you somewhat sane. Can you pay cash for something like GS400 or Bmw 540? Maybe take a small 0% interest promo credit card loan to help with the purchase.

JBLover

I traded in an 03 LS430 ML for an 05 CL about two months ago. My 03 was in great condition and KBB said something like 13k for it. McGrath Lexus in Chicago came in with an intial trade of about 8k. I got them up to 11k, but they would not budge by more than 1k on the selling price. I did get a great financing rate of 3.5% though and a two year extended warranty.

Good luck in law school!

Ty419

I know. This car is great. I traded my LS400 for an ES330 and hated the 330 the whole time. I got back into an LS and now I hate to do this, but it seems like I need to.

I looked into a new IS 250 lease since the residuals are so high right now, but they are really small. My head hit the roof and I'm only 6'1. They were pricier than I thought as well. Not much saving.

I'm trying to stay under 10k for 3 years. That means maybe leasing a small car or buying something for that price. Older RX's seem to fit the bill, but I'm worried about not having a warranty if something catastrophic happens since any Lexus for under 10k is going to be a decade old and have 100k+ on it.

Maybe a Camry with leather might be ok for a few years. I hate my options so much. Hopefully I can find something that won't be too bad for a few years. On the plus side, I live right next to school and have like a 1 mile commute so I won't be in it much. I am planning on not working, so I have a good shot of putting like 2-3k miles on it per year, whatever it is.

Ty419

I live right near the school so if you ever want to come down for a football game, let me know.

Jabberwock

You sound like a very smart guy so please be very smart with your money. Paying $600 a month for a car is not a good idea at any income level. Leasing a car is an even worse idea that produces nothing but long term reduced wealth.

Sell the LS and buy a very cheap used Camry or Accord to drive for the 3 years of no income and in school. Pay cash.

Poor people pay interest and the wealthy earn interest. One group has learned how to save and invest while the other group largely does the opposite.

You'll have plenty of time for nice cars after you earn the JD. Best of luck to you.