harrington

This is the nicest 1 year old black ES350 you will ever see. This car is perfect and has about 8,000 miles on it. It has the premium plus package and navagation system. I have never sold a car other than my local newspaper and would love to hear some suggestions. Is trading it in an option or will I get killed.

MX5NES350

Depends on your purchase price but here are my thoughts -

• Traditionally, trade-in will kill you
• Cars coming off lease being sold as "Certified" will be more attractive because of warranty
• So in essence, you'll probably sell at a loss if you need to dump it

Sorry, but selling a 2008 car still in 2008 is a bear. There really isn't anyway around it.

LexBob2

Yup. You're going to take the big depreciation hit in the 1st year.

If you have a CarMax near you, you might stop by and get an estimate on your car from them. It's an easy process there, and would give you an idea of your cars worth.

MD350

I totally agree. I work for an auto finance company, and the 1st year is the worst in depreciation. You are going to get hit hard.

However, if you try to sell it yourself, you may be able to get $2K to $3K more than a trade. Carmax will give you wholesale.

codex57

Carmax sucks. I can't imagine anyone selling a car there. As others said, they give you wholesale. And it's low wholesale.

Still, you should go there and get a quote from them. It allows you to establish a rock bottom price. Also, check their inventory and see if they have anything close to establish a market price. I doubt they'll have any 08s, but there may be an 07 somewhere in the nation. I wouldn't go beyond a couple states though.

Then, run a check on craigslist and autotrader. That'll give you an idea for asking price. If you're not in a hurry, ask what everyone else is asking (adjusting for condition of the car of course). IMO, Craigslist gives you your best chance of getting a decent response online.

Finally, see if there's an organization or place where the public can drop their car off to be displayed for sale. This is usually a weekly thing. Possibly monthly. Around here, a local community college does this every weekend. Buyers love it b/c they just go to one place to check out a whole bunch of cars in person w/out any pesky salesmen around to annoy them. Sellers love it cuz you get responses from SERIOUS buyers. 95% of the responses you get from online are not serious buyers. This way gets serious buyers cuz they've already seen the car in person (the one here also lets buyers, under supervision from staff, to open the car and check out the interior). So, if they're interested in the car and a test drive, they should be fairly serious already. I ultimately sold my BMW this way and I've heard multiple accounts from various people that they bought or sold cars from this method as well.

Oh, and I got about $6K over the Carmax price. If I weren't in such a rush to unload it (due to a baby), I prolly could have gotten another $2-3K I believe. Still took me almost a month to sell, but if I could have waited another 5-6 months, I think I coulda gotten that extra amount.

Kaius88

I've never sold a "new" car before, but the old cars took about 2-3 weeks to sell via Craigslist at around Kelley's Blue Book. People who want to buy a new car at used car price are really the smart buyers. Although I cant imagine accepting a big wad of cash when doing the exchange...kinda scary to me. I mean, how long would it take to count $30k in Ben Franklins?!! This is why a lot of people prefer to get killed doing trade-ins. I'm keeping my car for 10 years, so I'm not too worried. This ES350 is built to last!!! I can't believe the toughness and quality! AMAZING!

LexTund

I suggest you go on Cars.com. There you will find examples of your car and the asking price. From there, establish your own asking price, but expect lesser offers. Also, post some pictures of the car, including the interior and the odometer. You may also want to sign up with CarFax, which publishes a report of any damage to your car. Most buyers want to see this report.
Good Luck.

ESDragon

I traded in my 07 ES with 7000 miles for 29500. Purchased it for 38k. You will take a big hit if you trade in. Better off selling privately. Trust me I tried, but if someone is willing to fork over 30k for a USED car, they might as well buy new.