GregoryNP

I bought my Certified 2007 LS460 almost two years ago with 59,000 miles for $32,000. Has 91,000 miles now. Deal just offered me $20,000 as a trade in value on a used car. Is $6,000 per year or $500 a month normal depreciation. What will it be worth in a year with 105k and another year older - $15,000? Whats is the sweet spot when depreciation drastically slows down?

sktn77a

iTrader: (2)

If you sell it privately, you should get about $25,000 for it. The dealer offer sounds about typical. No cars are worth anything in trade these days.

Devh

Dealers are some of the biggest "fair market" value confidence men out there.
The reason why dealerships use Carfax, KBB and all of the other tools is to convince you on their deal and your trade, all the while making it seem that these resources are for the consumer when they were originally industry created. Dealerships are always 2 steps ahead.
The problem with some private sellers is that they take this data and set their prices unexpectedly too high.
Sell it privately for a good deal and your phone will ring off the hook. Both you and your purchaser will benefit not the dealership.

RandyV

I concur with Keith's assessment.

markLS460

I concur with Keith and Randy as well.

Mark

lbintab

iTrader: (1)

The profit on reselling a used car is way more than selling a new car many times. Just for an example... The toyota corolla will only get the sales person around $100-200 commission. If they can get you to trade in a car for 5k bellow BB value and sell it later for close to BB value they can make a much higher commission on that.

sparky3

In June I sold my 2004 LS430 with 165k miles for $7,000, and should have held out for more.
Highest offer a dealer gave me on a trade in? $3500.
Carmax offered $5500.

Take it to Carmax and see what they say. I'd be curious.

sloanbj

Buying "certified" from a dealer is the absolute maximum you will pay for a used car. Trading it in at a dealer is the absolute minimum you will receive. Thus, apparent depreciation is maximized.

Instead, buy the car uncertified from an individual who is desperate to sell. Beat them up on price. Pay less than trade-in if you can. Sell to an individual as well, cutting out the dealer. See if you can sell for just less than certified but having it perfectly detailed and serviced before sale.

sparky3

Excellent advice, and one I always try to follow in my 20+ years of buying/selling cars.

It sure was easier doing that when the cars were were less than $10k though...

Devh

Although I agree with most of the advice, the problem with trying to sell your car at near the certified price may actually be counterproductive. I'm not saying that you wont sell at that price you ask but you will be waiting a very long time for prospective buyers. The dealer gives you the convenience of not having to go though the trouble of a private sale and that's why it's tempting.

When selling a big luxury car there are going to be very few prospects compared to selling a used common car like a Camry where there is demand in the market. If a person is rich enough to buy a luxury car they will just buy a new one or a certified used with low millage and a warranty.
So basically the kind of customer that is budgeted to spend the amount for a new average car for a better used car is going to be very few.
If you sell your car at a price that is a lot more competitive then the dealer and the car is presented well you will have more prospects and a quicker sale.

Devh

CarMax just gives you wholesale price which is still very low. The dealerships can give you more or less depending on the other car you might be interested in. They will make it up on margins like wheel locks, undercoating and whatever fees they can justify during the deal.

peteybabes

They gave My brother $2K more than Lexus was going to on is is 2007 IS and was only $2K less than he paid 2 years previous, he couldn't have been happier!

Devh

This is most likely because the Lexus dealer wanted to increase their margins which are negotiable. These dealers are independently owned and generally follow their rules of conduct differently but one thing they have in common is acquiring your car for cheap all the while convincing you that you got a good deal.
When I went looking they insulted me on the price of my trade and soon after started to increase the value stating that they did the evaluation wrong because it showed accidents. I had no intentions of trading but I went though the motions to see what deal they would give me on the car I wanted to buy.

I will give CarMax credit where credit is due and that is they don't play games however they only give you a wholesale price which is a major loss. The only people I have seen make out with CarMax are those that brought in high millage cars with major issues.

sloanbj

I sold my three year old IS to Carmax for $6000 less than I paid for it brand new. Not bad.