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YACT: Low balled on trade in??

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DaveCSparty

Senior member
Hey guys,

So I just graduated college and about to start my job in a few weeks, I have decided to get an IS300 as a present for myself. I went into the dealership yesterday and they worked with me to find the car I want. They will get back with me next week on what they found for me.

Before I left, I mentioned that I would also like to trade my car in. The car is a 1998 Chevy Prizm with <61,800 miles. Good condition. Bumper was replaced and than painted. However, the shop did a bad job and the paint has started to peel a bit on the bumper. I cleaned the car inside and out prior to going to the dealership.

They said okay and took down some information on the car. The salesperson took my car keys and gave it to an appraiser to look at my car. All the while, I see them in the next room just laughing and having a good old time. The appraiser finally took the keys and went outside and glanced over my car for less than 2 minutes and came back in. Again, I see them in the next room laughing and having the time of their lives. The salesperson comes back in after about one minute and said "He's used to work for a Chevy dealership, and said it's worth $500". Wow, I can't believe it, I just told them that I won't be trading it in. I also think that they just lost a sale. Bummer is that the dealership is supposed to be the best in the state, now I'm comtemplating on going down to Nissan and check out the 350Z instead.

Cliff notes: Went to dealership to discuss getting a new car. Mentioned trade in, and offered only $500. KBB trade in value is $3,155.
 
you've only tried one dealer?

you're going to get lowballed at any dealer, but that is pretty bad
 
There are only a few Lexus dealers in the state, and I actually got a pretty good quote by this one. I can get a 2004 fully loaded SportDesign IS300 for $1000 over invoice. MSRP is $33159, quoted $30563.

They said that they will make some calls to see what my car is worth. I'll hear from them by Tuesday I guess.

I looked on AutoTrader and saw that most people were selling a car like mine for anywhere between 4 grand to 6 grand.

I know that selling it privately will yield a greater return, but it is such a pain in the rear. I only have my car, that means I have to buy the new one first before I can sell it. That means that I can't use my proceeds from the old car as a down payment. Also, dealing with the transferring of titles and everything might be a lot of work.
 
Originally posted by: DaveCSparty
Cliff notes: Went to dealership to discuss getting a new car. Mentioned trade in, and offered only $500. KBB trade in value is $3,155.
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Take the KBB printout showing $3155, ask for around $3k and if they tell you they can't give you that much, tell them where to stick their IS300!
 
Originally posted by: Mo0o
Check KBB on what you prism is worth.
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KBB trade in value: good condition $3,155... even just fair condition is over $2,500

Originally posted by: scottdog81
those are pretty nice presents....what job are you starting? i hope you make good money.
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Not that nice of a job... but enough to pay for a new car. Gotta spoil yourself sometime you know? 😀
 
Originally posted by: scottdog81
those are pretty nice presents....what job are you starting? i hope you make good money.
Click to expand...

Not that nice of a job... but enough to pay for a new car. Gotta spoil yourself sometime you know? 😀
Click to expand...

I'm assuming you're going to have more money for a down payment besides the car right? Even financing over 5 years at say around 6% interest your payments are going to be at least $500, and that's if you have a good down payment of at least $7-8k.
 
Well $500 is a bit low but dealers do not go by KBB. KBB has the most inflated prices. Banks do not use KBB for this reason. They use the Black Book for trades. They are not going to pay any more for your car than they can buy one for at auction. They also factor in repairs like painting the bumper. If it doesn't look like something they can sell easily they won't invest a whole lot in it. They will usually sell it to a dirt lot to make some profit on the other side since you are getting a good deal on the new car. They will probably come back with an offer slightly lower than what a dirt lot will give them since you said they were making some calls.

Sell your car privately. Do you have a CarMax in your area?
 
Originally posted by: scottdog81
Originally posted by: scottdog81
those are pretty nice presents....what job are you starting? i hope you make good money.
Click to expand...

Not that nice of a job... but enough to pay for a new car. Gotta spoil yourself sometime you know? 😀
Click to expand...

I'm assuming you're going to have more money for a down payment besides the car right? Even financing over 5 years at say around 6% interest your payments are going to be at least $500, and that's if you have a good down payment of at least $7-8k.
Click to expand...

Yeah I'll put down a little more for the down payment. I figure that I can afford around $500 for the monthly payments. The dealer has an incentive rate of 2.69% right now. I kinda wanted at least 2,000 for the car though, and that's what I thought the lowest bid can be. When they said $500, I was just completely shocked. The clothes that I was wearing was worth that much.
 
For shits and giggles, have your father go the dealer in a few days. Have him tell them he's looking at some other sort of car (not the IS300 - they'd be more likely to catch on - maybe there's a chance they won't recognize your car... I'm sure they see a lot of cars...) See what they offer HIM on the trade 🙂 Also, have him suggest that he'd be happy to trade it for KBB value.

It's worth a try - if they offer him $500 also, then try to sell it outright.

Hmmmmm..... now that I think of it.. I'm in the market for a used car. Maybe I'll hang out near a car dealer with a sign "wanted to buy: nice used car. Come to me after dealer tells you what your trade is worth."
 
Originally posted by: fredtam
Well $500 is a bit low but dealers do not go by KBB. KBB has the most inflated prices. Banks do not use KBB for this reason. They use the Black Book for trades. They are not going to pay any more for your car than they can buy one for at auction. They also factor in repairs like painting the bumper. If it doesn't look like something they can sell easily they won't invest a whole lot in it. They will usually sell it to a dirt lot to make some profit on the other side since you are getting a good deal on the new car. They will probably come back with an offer slightly lower than what a dirt lot will give them since you said they were making some calls.

Sell your car privately. Do you have a CarMax in your area?
Click to expand...

Thanks for the insight.....I went to the CarMax website and it looks interesting. Unfortunately, there are no CarMax in my area, with the closest one about 4 hours away.
 
Dealers do not look at KBB or any other similar metrics. They look at the price that the vehicle is going for at auction, period.
 
Originally posted by: DrPizza
For shits and giggles, have your father go the dealer in a few days. Have him tell them he's looking at some other sort of car (not the IS300 - they'd be more likely to catch on - maybe there's a chance they won't recognize your car... I'm sure they see a lot of cars...) See what they offer HIM on the trade 🙂 Also, have him suggest that he'd be happy to trade it for KBB value.

It's worth a try - if they offer him $500 also, then try to sell it outright.

Hmmmmm..... now that I think of it.. I'm in the market for a used car. Maybe I'll hang out near a car dealer with a sign "wanted to buy: nice used car. Come to me after dealer tells you what your trade is worth."
Click to expand...

Hahaha, that is a great idea. You're bound get to get a lot of offers after the dealers offered them squat for their cars.
 
I would shop it at a few dirt lots if you don't want to take the time to sell it through autotrader/paper/ebay. I don't know much about the Dealership you are using but most people go to a Lexus dealer to buy a Lexus and not a prism. If you were trading at a Chevy dealer I'm sure they would offer you more but the Lexus dealer will more than likely send it to auction or a dirt lot. They want to sell you a Lexus but don't want to get stuck with a car that doesn't appeal to their target market. On the other hand I have made a tremendous amount of money on the backside of deals by lowballing trades and selling the cars to wholesalers. Also if they have a large used car selection with all makes and models used cars is where the money is at. They aren't making a whole lot at $1000 over invoice if there aren't any dealer incentives. The average profit on a used car was around $3-$4K on used versus $1-$1.5k on new when I was selling. I hated new cars.
 
OK being the nay sayer here. You are just starting a new job, You seriously need to wait a few months before buying a new car and make sure you are going to be in a stable job. Take it from me(unemployed for a year) trying to pay for a $500 a month car is a bitch when you don't have a job.

Also have to factor in insurance.
 
Originally posted by: isekii
just sell your car privately.
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if you own the old car free and clear, you shouldnt have a problem transferring title. like most states you only need to sign the pink slip away.
 
$500 HAHAHA. don't EVER go back to that sh*thole again.

I took my 93 sentra recently (before selling it) with 182k miles and a healthy oil leak in to carmax. They gave it a full appraisal and a drive and were willing to give me $900 right there and then for it.

That dealership thought they'd screw you.

I've said it before, but I can't be bothered here, so the best advice you'll read in this thread is that in line with JeffreyLebowskis'.
 
Originally posted by: JeffreyLebowski
OK being the nay sayer here. You are just starting a new job, You seriously need to wait a few months before buying a new car and make sure you are going to be in a stable job. Take it from me(unemployed for a year) trying to pay for a $500 a month car is a bitch when you don't have a job.

Also have to factor in insurance.
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exactly what i was trying to say....with the car payments and insurance (at least $200/month with a clean driving record), that's a lot of money per month. I had the same thought process as you did when I graduated, and am just trying to tell you what I would tell anyone in your position....wait a little bit until you are sure about the job, your expenses, etc.
 
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