r22tech

I was thinking about trading my 03 Dodge Ram 1500 QC Hemi when I took delivery of my 05 Stang on Nov.30 . Of course, the dealer low-balled it with a song and dance about incentives making new vehicles like my 03 cost around $20k. They offered me $15k. Money is important to me, so I decided I could get more on my own. Sold today for $19,950.00 I asked the guy if he looked at new ones: He replied, " Yup, and I thought I would be able to get the truck like yours, new, for about this price plus the tax...however, the Dodge dealer's advertised incentives have alot of stipulations they don't tell you about, and I didn't qualify for alot of them, which made the actual drive-out price of a new one MUCH more expensive." There is hope people!!! Don't give your hard-earned cash to the dealer unless you absolutely have to. When you buy your Mustang, you will have about 45 days before a payment has to be made on it. Use this time to try and sell it yourself, and if all else fails, bring it to Carmax-they will buy your car on the spot for MORE than the Ford dealer will give you!! This is just a heads-up for those that follow the morbid used car market and have/had the same fear as I did...that my truck isn't worth squat and won't sell like all the dealers profess.

clintoris

I need to get rid of my POS Bronco.... think I could pay CARMAX to take it?

JessicaRabbitt

r22tech...

I totally agree. Remember my saga? Well, I sold the 99 for $9,500. I was hoping to get more, but, I am not bummed about that deal! Dealer offered 6k, CarMax offered me $7600, and I held out.

I actually had it listed in Sports Auto Trader, and didnt get a SINGLE bite... First eBay auction didnt yeild anything... relisted, had a little more patience, and lo and behold it sold. The guy who bought it is giving me $500 more than the actual winning bid because I had to really work with him as far as waiting for his money etc.

Gonna spend saturday getting her all cleaned for her new daddy, and then take a ton of pictures... I will probably cry when I hand the keys over.

Mellow Yellow

/shrug. Carmax offered me 12k for my truck, dealer offered 13k. I think it just pays to take all options in to consideration, sometimes the dealer will offer more, sometimes carmax, but most of the time private sale is the way to go if you can hold out.

r22tech

Jess- Yeah, I remember your saga. Way-2-go baby...we just can't keep letting these dealers F#&k us anymore, that's what our significant's are for $9500 is good deal for a relatively quick sale, same as my $20k, sure I wanted more-don't we all The great part is that we allowed someone else to get a good deal, too! All in all, a private sale is better for everyone, if you can afford to take the gamble.

r22tech

Yes, of course, the dealer may offer more some of the time. It always pays to check all of your options! I should have clarified that, sorry.

new22003

Here is a great but extremely long article about car dealers and how they screw you. This guy from edmunds.com went undercover as a car salesman for several months and reported what he saw and was told to do. There is some very interesting things on trade-ins in the article.

http://aolsvc.edmunds.com/advice/buying/ar...62/article.html

mr-mstng

Selling outright is always the best way to go, if you can manage to do it that way. I try to price them just below the average book value, and show them book value, and a carfax that I already have done on the car. The easier you make it for them, the more likely they will be to buy it, if they are serious.

OCmustang

I sold my 94 honda accord to car max. They offered me kelly blue book trade in value of 2,200. The ford dealer offered me 1,200 for the trade in.

SurfnSoCal

what if you are upside down though....

35thGT

Another reason to keep my "never spent a day in the shop 53,000 mile 1999 Mustang GT".
And the fact that I love it still.
-Jason

r22tech

I AM upside down on my Dodge...bought it with $0 down in 03 You gotta pay at some point, right? So I'm stroking a check along with my buyers check to get it payed-off. 1st and last time I'm doing that...put $15k down on my 05 Mustang. The worst thing you can do is "roll-it" into the new car: your balance will just grow and grow with interest to boot! If you can't pay to get out of your car-keep it and wait until you get the balance down to an even level.

And if you ARE upside down...all the more reason to sell it yourself for more money, because that's CASH in your pocket!

JessicaRabbitt

35thGT.. I WISH I could keep my 99, I love it, and when I bought it I bought it to keep it. I unfortunately had an investment go bad, and need the cash...

mr-mstng

I AM upside down on my Dodge...bought it with $0 down in 03 You gotta pay at some point, right? So I'm stroking a check along with my buyers check to get it payed-off. 1st and last time I'm doing that...put $15k down on my 05 Mustang. The worst thing you can do is "roll-it" into the new car: your balance will just grow and grow with interest to boot! If you can't pay to get out of your car-keep it and wait until you get the balance down to an even level.

And if you ARE upside down...all the more reason to sell it yourself for more money, because that's CASH in your pocket! [/b][/quote]
Excellent point! Too many people roll over the amount they are upside down, and wind up being upside down again in 3 years. Its a never-ending cycle. You have to put down a fairly decent down payment, and pay extra each payment.

yellow98cobra.com

Those Dodge / Chrysler adds are very deciving. They tell you you will save said dollars but they are adding in what you might save on a 0% Loan compared to say a 5% loan.

Kluski

3 years, heck, if they roll it over and put nothing down, they are instantly upsidedown.

I have a 97 T-bird. KBB said it is $2,000 for a trde in and $3500 for private. The dealer offered me $800. I was shocked. I showed the report that said KBB said it was $2000 trade-in. he said he couldn't go over $800. So now I am keeping it as a beater car.

CelticNut

Hey Jessica, I just listed my Audi a couple of days ago on eBay motors (#4512555028) and haven't had a single bid. All I want is enough to get out of my loan, so I can focus on striking a deal with the Ford dealer.

They say to have a low opening bid, but what's a guy to do if you need to get a realistic figure (which is well within fair market value)?

Have you sold anything on eBay before? This whole thing is new to me.

JessicaRabbitt

Celtic, I have sold some stuff before on eBay, but this is by far the highest priced item I have ever sold.

What I did with my 99 was I put my Buy It Now price at the high end of what I felt was fair price. I had it at $11k to begin with. The first time we didnt make it an auction, it was a fixed price, but entertained email offers. We got nothing. Then we changed the description, and lowered the Buy It Now price, and we got some emails.

We relisted, and we made it an auction. I set my opening bid $600 over what CarMax offered me. We had no action on the auction until there was 24 hrs left. But, we were receiving emails.. a lot of them. People in different states making offers, etc. It actually worked out perfectly, one of the guys who had been interested from the first auction ended up winning the second auction.

That was the long way to tell you:

Set your Buy It Now at the very maximum you could reasonably get for the car if you had say 6 months to sell it. Set your opening bid number at the lowest you are willing to accept for it. To find those two numbers, research all the same type of cars for sale in your area, and get appraisals on it.

If I wanted to wait a bit longer, I could have gotten $10k for my 99. But, I dont mind taking a $500 bath, the extra cash is much needed right now.

CelticNut

Wow! Thanks for the suggestions. I really appreciate it. This board is starting to feel like an extended family to me! I value the knowledge of my peers, and enjoy sharing what I know whenever I can.

I'm going to heed your advice. I have to break out my calculator and work up some hard numbers. Unfortunately, fate may decide this whole affair for me. I simply won't be able to get a Mustang until I sell my car. I'd hate to order one, then have it come in before I find a buyer for the Audi. I'd kiss my deposit goodbye (even worse...the car I've been pining over for months!).

I just bought the A4 in February, so I really don't have much equity in it. We'll see. I'll do what I can on my end! Like they say, "where there's a will, there's a way..."

In the meantime, thanks for sharing your experience.

1NewStang

Here's the best way
I ordered My 05 back in August.. I'd been driving my 86 Mustang GT for the last 18 years..But alas it was stolen on October 1st.. The insurance company gave be a rental to drive for a Month while they either found my car or gave me a pay off..Well they didnt find the car.. They gave me $4,500.00 The New Stang came in the first week of Nov.. I only had to pay 3 days of the rental car out of pocket..
So my advice is.. Set your trade in outside with a sign on it that says Steal Me, A month before your new one comes in..
This really is a true story of what happened to me..Life sure has it's funny twists..
Oh!!! They found My old Stang two weeks ago.. less then 1/4 mile from my house!!! Not a mark on it.. The Thieves only took the left rear tail light assembley.. No broken windows or locks.. go figure
1NewStang