So, this past Friday I drove 300 miles to hopefully trade-in my SC430 and close a deal on a car I've been wanting ever since I was little- A Dodge Viper RT/10. I had been talking to the internet sales manager for nearly two weeks on this deal. Anyway, I show up and the sales guy I was supposed to meet with had an emergency so they passed the sale onto another guy- older gentleman that gave me a bad vibe. I test drove the Viper and was set on buying. Before finalizing the deal, this guy has yet to tell me what they were offering on the trade in for my Lexus....so, yadda yadda yadda, this guy says they are willing to give me 19k for my 2005 SC430 with 50k on the odometer in "good" condition to say the least. Keep in mind that this is about one thousand dollars below a "BAD" condition average trade in. I kind of LOL'd inside and asked him to re-think their offer. He then asks me how much I wanted for my car. I replied with anywhere between 22-24k...still below the average "good" condition trade in. I am definitely not picky and did my research. He says okay let me see that they tell me. He comes back about one minute later and throws out 19.5k as their final offer. Mr. Salesman rubbed off in a bad way on me the second I met him. He was probably the worst salesman I have ever encountered,EVER. He was the most unmotivated seller I have come across. I walked out shaking my head as I was very dissapointed and disgusted. I felt insulted with their low ball offer and the sole fact that I drove 300+ miles only to get low balled. In the end, they lost a pretty big sale only because they wanted to save a few bucks...sad.

Business is business, but I've been treated much better at small, local family owned dealerships.

I ended up with a headache, 600 miles added to my odo, and a lot of bugs on my bumper and windshield.

x2

Am I over reacting?

 

I don't think you're overreacting, but before I drove 300+ miles for anything I'd be sure to have at least some idea of a price in mind from them. Even if they have to give you a ballpark, you went in there expecting 22-24K for your car. I know this wasn't the guy you were dealing with, but did you discuss that with the original guy? It's very hard to buy a car at any kind of real distance like that, and even harder with a trade, but this guy sounds like he was a tool. If you liked the interweb manager, I'd give him the opportunity to fix it - and make sure he understands that the first trek wasn't free.

Big Mack

 

Would've walked as well... without more info, to me, sounds awful lot like typical bait-and-switch with your regular guy out. They should've had the numbers for your car irregardless as to who was handling the deal

You'll find the Viper

 

I don't think it would make a difference with salesman A or B.
Both don't have the authority to give you a number on the trade in.

 

The manager stated that they offer the KBB average depending on the condition. I figured they wouldn't offer below KBB average. I drove up there very confident because I take care of my vehicles. My car definitely isn't in BAD condition and they had the audacity to offer below bad condition. Maybe when they realize what they've done, they will call me back.

I hope I find it.

I agree, but he lacked enuthusiasm. He also lacked motivation and did not make any type of effort to try to make this work. He didn't know much about the vehicle to begin with. I was watching him attempt to open the hood for 10 minutes before I decided to step in and help him. Opening the hood of a Viper isn't the easiest thing to do but if you're the salesman, you should know the car inside/out.

 

He's selling Dodges...what did you expect?

Good luck, hope you eventually end up with your dream car.

 

Nice. Funny that you say it like that, though, because I had a co-irker who called me up one day and wondered how to open the hood of his Lex. Kept telling me that the battery died and he couldn't believe the release was locked when that happened. When I finally got him to look down, I explained to him that the trunk was in the rear, and the hood was in the front, and that looking a bit further down to the bigger pull tab with the picture of the hood opening was where he needed to be. He thanked me and we had a good laugh the next day over it, but people do sometimes not see the forest for the trees.

X 2. Don't give up!

Big Mack

 

Sorry to hear about that. Im surprised he didnt come after you, or hopefully you will get a phone call today.
I myself have a question about trade ins, dont mean to hijack though. What do dealers do with trade ins that cant resell anymore, like high mileage ones?

 

I would have walked too, but I think you made a mistake expecting to get a fair value on your Lexus by trading it in at a Dodge dealership. The difference between their offer and your expected value is their profit. I'd consider selling it myself or taking it to other dealerships to see what they would offer first.

 

I would have went to the local zoo, "borrowed" a Viper, brought it to the salesman, and have the Viper bite that SOB.

That is awful, sorry to hear. I love the Viper. You should write a letter to the owner of the franchise. Unacceptable.

 

"Normal" trade-in is commonly about $2000 under the listed KBB trade-in value for your car. Of course, depending upon how the dealership operates, they may bloat or deflate that number in unison with the price of the new car. But for the most part, $2000 under is the number that has been very typical for every deal that I've been a part of.

 

I've had it for sale for about 2 weeks on Autotrader...no luck yet.
I've updated the price. Kind of informal but if anyone is interested.... 2005 SC430 for 23.5k. Im pretty motivated to sell.

lmao. I'm so angry that I refuse to contact them. Im still very interested in the car but if they want my money, they'll call me.

I didn't expect a completely fair trade-in but there is absolutely no way im taking 4k below average trade in. 2k sounds fair enough and the Viper would be in my garage if they gave me a "reasonable" offer.

 

Are you saying people should expect 2k below what is listed under the kbb trade in? That's ridiculous lol on kbb's part

 

I would not recommend using KBB or NADA for dealer trade-in value. dealers rarely follow those 2. A few members here recommended Manheim prices (Which only people with dealer license has access to) for a baseline trade in value as those are the prices dealers are willing to buy cars on auctions.

 

dont forget to get a quote on insurance on that viper before you take the plunge its quite high even for an older driver