Trade in options on ordered vehicle?

[TheCarGuyNJ]

Hey everyone!

I am planning on getting back into a mustang (after a short stint with a Corvette and then a Kia Stinger). I’ve been in contact with a bunch of dealers, and have a dealer giving me a very fair offer to buy my car/trade. I’m looking at getting a 2022 GT Premium Performance Package (was thinking Atlas Blue, but the Mystevious Purple is starting to look pretty nice (haven’t seen on in person though)).

The issue is that there isn’t a car on the lot that I’d be interested in purchasing, and they’ve told me they will only honor X-Plan pricing on order cars (the cost saving plus $100 max dealer fee makes it worth the wait here in FL). They’ve given me a good offer to buy my car, but won’t apply it as an allowance towards the car I would order, saying it’s illegal. My uncle works at a dealer out of state and says they do this, but maybe the laws are different in Florida. This is a pretty big bummer since I’d be buying a new car from them, and losing out on a $3k+ tax credit.

As I work from home, and my girlfriend who I live with has a car, I think I’d be okay not having a car for a few months. That being said, I was wondering what I would do about insurance, so I called my insurance company (State Farm), who said that if I sell the car, I should remove it from my policy since I could be liable for anything that happens to it after I sell it if it’s still insured by me. They said I can “suspend” my policy, but that would require a letter from the DMV and me surrendering my plates to the DMV. I’d rather just keep the plates and transfer them, and if I surrender, I’ll need to pay the wonderful “$225 new plate fee” again when I take delivery. I suppose if I won’t be paying anything while the policy is suspended, then I probably shouldn’t worry about $225. I asked about a non owner policy, but they said to do that it would need to be a cancellation of my policy and creation of a new policy, which would not be a vehicle policy and would possibly cause a lapse in coverage (I think that part isn’t true).

Has anyone on here ever been in the same situation (only own a single car, trade it in immediately for an order car that could take months to arrive)? Do you have any suggestions?

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[TheCarGuyNJ]

Just another question I had, regarding the new car. I know there’s a $1000 rebate for order cars (valid until Aug 1), but I was wondering about interest rates. Usually I would use the local Suncoast Credit Union. They’ve always had pretty great rates (other than a few times when I’ve used PenFed), but I imagine my rate would be dependent on whatever the going rate is when I take delivery. If I were to finance through Ford, does the interest rate get locked in at all? I saw an article that says they are offering a rate lock through August, but that appears to be only for 2023 vehicles. Curious what options I have here.

 

[dylank9689]

I ordered a new mustang last year through leasing (which I assume should be similar when it comes to interest rate), and as far as I remember, they said they will use the lower interest rate between the day you placed your order and when your car gets delivered.

 

[Lgb0250]

Just a word of advice. Check outright buy offers from Carvana, Vroom and Carmax also. There can be thousands of dollars difference between all of them. The dealer may not be your best bet on a trade. I got my best offer recently, by $4K from Carmax on a 22 Camry. Actually offered more than I paid for it! Prices are changing up/down every day.

 

[fcuboi]

I don't understand why they don't just process your trade at the time the car comes in? The value might be lower, but still.

I owned two cars. Sold one right before I ordered my '22, and sold the other about a month after ordering. I was without a car for almost 5 months, but I also work from home. I just rode my bike when I needed to get groceries, although I couldn't fit much in my backpack. Ordered a lot of food delivery, maybe too much lol.

Definitely do not fully cancel your insurance, unless you're listed as a driver on someone else's policy. Have it suspended instead. Nobody told me that's what I was supposed to do, and when I went back and got a quote when my '22 came in, every company except Geico quoted me almost double what I was quoted before I even ordered the car (I did research before deciding to order a Mustang), stating that it was because I had a "lapse" in insurance... of course I had a "lapse," I had no car lol.

Since you live with someone who does have a car, and also work from home, you'd most likely be fine, being able to get groceries/food/etc and all when it's needed. It does suck not being able to just leave the house at will though, at least for me.

 

[fcuboi]

Just another question I had, regarding the new car. I know there’s a $1000 rebate for order cars (valid until Aug 1), but I was wondering about interest rates. Usually I would use the local Suncoast Credit Union. They’ve always had pretty great rates (other than a few times when I’ve used PenFed), but I imagine my rate would be dependent on whatever the going rate is when I take delivery. If I were to finance through Ford, does the interest rate get locked in at all? I saw an article that says they are offering a rate lock through August, but that appears to be only for 2023 vehicles. Curious what options I have here.

You should be able to finance at whatever rates their offering now, at least I was able to lock in the rate from order time. They're not super good right now though. Definitely shop around.

 

[TheCarGuyNJ]

Just a word of advice. Check outright buy offers from Carvana, Vroom and Carmax also. There can be thousands of dollars difference between all of them. The dealer may not be your best bet on a trade. I got my best offer recently, by $4K from Carmax on a 22 Camry. Actually offered more than I paid for it! Prices are changing up/down every day.

Thanks for the advice! So... believe it or not, Carvana started at 48k and went down to $44k recently. A few dealers offered $47k. I've got a dealer ready to offer $53k for the car, so I'm pulling the trigger on that tomorrow (lol).

 

[TheCarGuyNJ]

I don't understand why they don't just process your trade at the time the car comes in? The value might be lower, but still.

I owned two cars. Sold one right before I ordered my '22, and sold the other about a month after ordering. I was without a car for almost 5 months, but I also work from home. I just rode my bike when I needed to get groceries, although I couldn't fit much in my backpack. Ordered a lot of food delivery, maybe too much lol.

Definitely do not fully cancel your insurance, unless you're listed as a driver on someone else's policy. Have it suspended instead. Nobody told me that's what I was supposed to do, and when I went back and got a quote when my '22 came in, every company except Geico quoted me almost double what I was quoted before I even ordered the car (I did research before deciding to order a Mustang), stating that it was because I had a "lapse" in insurance... of course I had a "lapse," I had no car lol.

Since you live with someone who does have a car, and also work from home, you'd most likely be fine, being able to get groceries/food/etc and all when it's needed. It does suck not being able to just leave the house at will though, at least for me.

Good question, and I appreciate your insight, and shared experience! Glad I'm not the only one with this issue. With how crazy the market is right now, and since I've noticed a decrease in all used cars but also specifically in my value (I have a 2022 car right now lol), I want to get it sold now. I would say it's not completely crazy to say that my car could be worth as low as $42k in a few months lol. In this case, it's better to not take the gamble and just lose the tax credit. I do wish they would be willing to just keep the funds and apply it as a trade allowance on the new car... I don't understand why they can't.

Regarding insurance, I actually live with my girlfriend and I'm listed as a "driver insured elsewhere" on her policy, so I may be covered there I guess, but I don't want to take a chance with the lapse of coverage concern. My options were to suspend (but in FL that would require me surrendering my plates with is silly - and will cost me about $300 to get new ones), or my local insurance agent provided me with the option of suspending just the comp/collision on the car, and dropping to state minimum liability coverage for about $35/month. I'm willing to pay that to avoid any issues with insurance. They did say the car would technically be listed still on the policy... which I do have some concerns about.

 

[fcuboi]

Good question, and I appreciate your insight, and shared experience! Glad I'm not the only one with this issue. With how crazy the market is right now, and since I've noticed a decrease in all used cars but also specifically in my value (I have a 2022 car right now lol), I want to get it sold now. I would say it's not completely crazy to say that my car could be worth as low as $42k in a few months lol. In this case, it's better to not take the gamble and just lose the tax credit. I do wish they would be willing to just keep the funds and apply it as a trade allowance on the new car... I don't understand why they can't.

Regarding insurance, I actually live with my girlfriend and I'm listed as a "driver insured elsewhere" on her policy, so I may be covered there I guess, but I don't want to take a chance with the lapse of coverage concern. My options were to suspend (but in FL that would require me surrendering my plates with is silly - and will cost me about $300 to get new ones), or my local insurance agent provided me with the option of suspending just the comp/collision on the car, and dropping to state minimum liability coverage for about $35/month. I'm willing to pay that to avoid any issues with insurance. They did say the car would technically be listed still on the policy... which I do have some concerns about.

I feel that. That's exactly the reason I sold my previous cars so early instead of waiting, gambling that the car market would have slowed down. It didn't, and in hindsight I'd have been much better off keeping my daily, but of course that was then and this is now, I've seen people predict that the market will start to dip, but who really knows for sure. Like I said though, since you'll have a ride for the most part anyway, I wouldn't be worried about it, and would feel much better about taking the gamble.

Check with multiple insurance agents to see if you'd be covered from a lapse by being on a different policy. That'd probably be best scenario if it works. My quotes went from ~$250 to almost $500 because of the stupid lapse. That's just definitely not worth the risk. For some reason Geico still quoted me $250, so I went with them, but I'm wondering if they did that to reel me in and jack the rates up in six months... guess we'll see

 

[MattMPA]

Admittedly with dealers in PA and NJ, but I have pre-traded cars in the past. I can't imagine what's illegal about that. Some states may limit the time period between the trade and the new vehicle purchase.

Will this dealer give you a appraisal on what your trade is worth...and you'd simply keep it until your new car arrives? Surely it's OK to trade when you actually buy the new one? The sales tax advantage alone makes it worth some effort.

If this is the same dealer that's been the one playing games in your other post...I'd walk. YOU are the customer...perhaps they have forgotten that.

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