Trade In Valuation

[Davestic]

Hey gang. I'm about to take delivery in the next few days and have a car to trade in. I seem to be getting a wide range of valuations from Edmunds, NADA, KBB etc. online. I see KBB also has sell outright offerings online.

Whats your experience? Any ideas or suggestions? I don't expect the best deal but do want a fair trade without the hassle of selling to a private party.

Thanks!

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[Silver Bullitt]

Take it to Carmax and see what they'll offer you. It's generally a middle of the road between retail and wholesale. It's also a reasonable out if the dealer doesn't want to budge. Just know what you could purchase the new car in a cash sale (probably $500 to $1,000 under invoice less rebates). With a trade-in, the dealer will want to work off MSRP in "valuing" your trade. If you know a decent instant cash price for your car (Carmax offer), you can know where you stand and which one will ultimately get you the best net price. The only consideration here might be your state's specific laws regarding sales tax offsets to the purchase price of the new car.

 

[wildcatgoal]

If I want a realistic dealer purchase/trade-in price, I go to Carmax and wait the ridiculous amount of time it takes for them to execute a buy offer. 90% of the time that offer is accurate and I use that as ammo to get a better deal. And if I can't (taking into account sales tax benefits), I go to Carmax and let them have the car or sell it outright if doing so is feasible (the process of selling a vehicle to someone is so shady I tend to avoid it).

 

[stevegt]

I hate selling a high performance privately. Too many lookie Lou’s and joy riders that don’t have the cash. My dealer uses Kelly Blue Book when he values the used cars he sells on line and states such value from KBB in his online ads.

My car has been impeccably maintained and shows as good as new. It only has 14,000 miles on it whereas average miles for a 7 year old car should be around 84,000. Always garaged and never driven in the rain. Doesn’t have a single scratch or rock chip on it. Sight unseen offers from carmax, etc can’t take all that into account. KBB has a trade in range that varies about $3500 from the low end to the high end. I will be demanding trade in value at the high end of the range considering how exceptional my car is. This dealer has a hard time getting any used Mustangs on his lot to sell so that may work in my favor too. Let’s hope so anyway.

 

[Davestic]

Hi all - thanks for the advice and information.

I don't have a Carmax close by but tried KBB cash offer. The dealer I am buying from said $7000-$7500 for a 2013 Chevy Volt - KBB valued at $8907 and that price was honored at a local (Sonic) dealer.

KBB is tied into Sonic Automotive apparently who is trying to get into the Carmax game. I am thrilled with the experience and happy to have a few extra bucks and less stress in the deal.

 

[codemanstang]

kbb cash offer is always a super low ball to see if you will just take the dough in desperation you can usually get much more.

Honestly sell the car yourself if your concerned about price. I sold two cars both within a week on craigslist with no real effort or time spent on my part.

 

[gnatsuM]

Go to a couple different dealers (different brands if able). They should all be relatively the same. For my '11 F150, 4 different places, only one was 1k higher. I sold it privately for 2k more than the dealer offer.

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