If any are trading in their used vehicle to purchase 'new', one should consider the pitfalls on doing so. I've presented my options to each and every dealer over the years and all have the same response. A.) My Presentation to salesman: The first words of the salesman or close to it is, "Do you or are you trading anything in". My response is, "NO". From that point, we discuss the entire options and packages to determine the best price. Once the price is equitable to both, I then say, "I'm not trading anything in"; 'Let's work with those figures now'. All the salesman are in a complete panic and seeming overwhelmed. The answer immediately is, NO, we cannot determine price without a trade. WHY? Because, they're stealing your used car and laughing at you at the same time. All responses are very much welcome and post your thoughts upon the aforesaid issue.
i beg to differ with that , but it all depends on how bad they want to sell you a car, my dealer could give a rats butt if I have a trade or not. he will deal with me cash or trade. it don't matter to him. I have done both. bought my 2015 Ram with no trade, cash deal. he knew I didn't have a trade so he made me a great deal on it with rebates and other discounts and pretty much I got the steal from him. now when I bought my 2017 Ram, Yes I had a trade, he made it where I wasn't upside down and I also had rebates and a 1.9% interest rate . I gave him my ceiling on payment and he beat it and then some. so it all depends on who the dealer is and how bad they want to sell you a car trade in or not. And I have bought 19 vehicles from my dealer in my lifetime. reason I by frm him? I may not get the cheapest price but I get dam good customer service when I need it, such as loner car every time my car/truck has to spend time in the shop. But he knows what I can and cant afford. And even though I bought my challenger in New Jersey, he treats me like I bought it from them.
I agree that dealers like trade-ins so they can maximize their profits. Just look at private sale vs. trade-in car values on Kelly Blue Book. Because of this, I have always sold my cars privately. It is very easy (and free) by posting your ad and photos on sites like cargurus.com or cars.com. No dealer will let you walk away because you don't have a trade. They might, however, try to make it up somewhere else by including various fees, like "dealer prep," or warranties and dealer "add-on" equipment. Just be prepared to say no.
I always tell the dealer that I may or may not consider trading and would like to go on the basis that I will NOT be trading. Now either way one should be somewhat familiar with the value range of your potential trade. Both as a trade or to a private party. Of course there are many that don't want to mess around with a private party sales and that prefer to make it easy trading to the dealer, KNOWING that they are losing money doing so. Of course then you have the consideration of saving sales tax, which can be a substantial amount, when trading(for those states where it applies.). A buyer should have some feel for the typical low to average price of the car they're interested in buying. But bottom line regarding trades, it definitely gives the dealer a place to so-call hide the profits when their dealing with two variables, as opposed to one. (Car being sold and car being traded.)
Dealers are a buyer when you offer a trade. No big surprise when they do EXACTLY what you would do.....get it for as little as possible. It should be easier today for anyone making the trade. Great thing about the internet......TRANSPARENCY!! A dealer looking to STEAL YOUR CAR!! Is a moron looking to BLOW HIS SALE on a new car. This has actually happened to me. A low ball offer is an insult in a world where finding the REAL VALUE of my trade is so very easy. A smart dealer will offer a bare minimum of a KBB trade in value.......any lower and he's insulting you. OF COURSE you'll get less when you trade vs. going to the hassle of selling your car yourself.......the dealer is a business after all and if he's going to tie up cash in your trade you have to expect he will want to make a return on that cash. As the person trading we all have to decide ahead of time what we'll accept and then stick to it. Emotion over the DESIRE for a new car you really want......that's the enemy here. You gotta be willing to walk away. Realistic thinking about timing in my area is a piece of the puzzle too. I just traded a '14 5.0 Track Package Mustang for my new Challenger. Here in the spring a Mustang, like most pony cars in the N East is a far easier sell. I considered buying a Challenger last Sept but quickly decided against it after the first low ball offer on the car. Doing the deal just this past week got me an offer 15% higher than that dealer I had talked to just 7 months ago. I understand why......he could easily have been stuck with the car in inventory for 6 months. No matter what though.......you aren't being ROBBED when you take a little less for a trade than you could have gotten on your own.......by trading you're paying something for the convince of not having to deal with "test pilots" and the hassles involved in selling a car to an eventual buyer.
No Shit! Traded my Dodge Ram in for Challenger they gave me $12,000 for and turned around and sold it a week later for $19,9000. Talk about a rip off!!!!!!!!
How is that a rip off? You sold your truck to them.......they found a buyer willing to pay a whole lot more. Not sure who got it wrong........but I do know either you accepted to little for your trade or the new owner of your old truck paid more than he probably should have. But the dealer? Hey....he never held a gun to your head and said, "Give us your keys!" .....and I'm sure the buyer of your truck wasn't held at gun point and told, "Buy or Die!" Ultimately if you REALLY want to feel good about any new car deal, regardless of the deal involving a trade or just an outright purchase.......you're probably going to regret any deal made where you haven't completely researched your market for the value of both the car you want to buy and the amount you should expect to get for your trade. Then STICK TO YOUR GUNS.......and always be willing to walk away. I think where a lot of folks go wrong here is found in the emotions surrounding that new car they want so badly that they let all buying and selling discipline take a back seat. Do this and they'll definitely go home with a new car.........but buyer's remorse over the cost is likely to happen too.
i drove 1300 miles one way to buy my car and it was a used one at that. I live in West Central Louisiana. around here I was going to be $8000 upside down on buying a used RT with Low mileage from a ford dealer.he actually had 2 of them used on his lot. but the first thing I said to him was "do I look stupid?" first off they were selling those cars at above new sticker price. told them that was bullshit, and to think I was going to put my self upside down like that , that was bull shit too, I walked, never heard from them again and they were a local dealer for me. found my present car online and it was in New Jersey, used 2009 RT with 33,000, I was trading a 2009 SE Challenger and by the time I would have been up there there would have been 41,000 miles on it. I talked to the salesman on the phone and in emails.for 2 weeks. off and on. I owed $19,000 on mine for the payoff. he decided to give me $20,000 for a trade, he only saw pics and videos of my car to make the deal. I only needed a couple of 1000 more to put the payments were I was with the trade, that there made me make the 2 day drive to my sisters place to stay for the deal, and she only lived an hour away from the dealer. So the Salesman at Vann dodge made me an offer I couldn't refuse. Even my regular salesman back home said he couldn't make me that kind of deal. no hard feeling either, he even told me to go get that car. Vann dodge had my trade in car for about a month when they finally sold it, they even got $25,000 for it, so more power to them, I still stay in contact with the salesman that sold me the car and have talked a few times since then. I always have my standards, followed after my Dad on that, 3 things he never trusted----1. politicians,2 insurance salesman, and 3. car salesman. all of them will lie out their ass to make the sale. only 3 car salesmen I can trust, and the one in new jersey is one of them the other are at the Dodge / Chevy dealer I have here at home, and which I have bought 18 other vehicles from them over my life time. as Of now I still have my 2009 Challenger RT and it is paid for. love that sound right there too.
