bunka

Not trying to sell my GX on here but am interested in learning what the enthusiast on this site think my '04 Blizzard Pearl/grey interior, RSES, 3rd-row, NAVI with 25K miles should be worth? This has been a business vehicle and business has changed from sales (where I need the capacity in the rear) to more of a consulting gig (mostly telephone calls and design engineering work). This means that I really don't NEED this truck any longer. But on the other hand, I don't want to "give it away" either. I did see a couple of these sellign for around $40K about 6 monhs ago. Will I be able to get $38K for it today? I've seen the online figures but they can vary dramatically from site to site. I don't really want to watch eBay because it's not always a realistic measure. I've ALWAYS sold my cars myself in the past so selling it's the issue but rather an accurate valuation is my objective. Thanks in advance for the help!

EyeKutr

iTrader: (5)

i think it is worth about $37-38k in so cal market, i bought the same thing 3 mos ago with 36k miles for 34.5k (-rses)

GS450h FTL

I just traded my '04 with nav/no RSES for $35, it had 21000 miles

bunka

Looks like trade value icould be $35 and private party could be $38K. These numbers seem realistic. KBB has a trade in figure of $36K for good and nearly $38K for excellent condition. Didn't know if that was realistic or not.. I know most dealer's won't give Excellent condition for a trade, but figured a $38K would be a deal for a private party sale and it sounds like it is. Thanks for the prompt info guys!

llcc1975

Bunka - for what it's worth, I did some research before buying my 2005 a month ago and I came up with 2005 GX470s (NAV/ML/RSES) with average miles (15k-18k) going for about $38k at auction (even though black book wholesale average at the time was about $39.5k or above).

Didn't check on 04s but figure about $4-6k less.

I happen to work for a bank that leases cars and these numbers came from my off lease vehicle remarketing group so I deem them pretty accurate.

But then again, the numbers he gave me were national averages and different geographical regions will obviously have variances in pricing (sometimes thousands) depending on basic macroeconomic principles of supply/demand. I actually paid a bit more than auction just because I live in an area with almost no used GXs around. Consequently, dealers and private sellers were commanding big premiums over those numbers. And, I needed a car right away, I wasn't willing to go out of town to pick one up, I bought CPO from the Lexus dealer (in other words a confluence of factors that drove the price higher).

Hope this helps.

CVsIS250

www.kellybluebook.com

CV

bunka

Already had the KBB references. The dealer here is similar to the KBB I looked up previously ...

llcc1975

If the dealer is willing to give KBB wholesale, that may not be a bad number. KBB is only somewhat reliable, just like Edmunds.com and Nada.com. In the past, I've found KBB to be inflated (but that's a good thing if you are looking to trade or sell). None of these services actually give true and up-to-date auction numbers (most are about a month back). Dealers often look at more up-to-date regional auction numbers when coming up with trade values. Some dealers will look at Black Book numbers, which is published by Hearst. This is generally more reliable of a number as it is more up-to-date but is a hard number to come by when you are a retail consumer. This is of course a generality as practices will differ from dealer to dealer.

bunka

We actually got a pretty good trade in value of $37,500 which equates to KBB Excellent condition vehicle (which in truth this truck really was). The tax savings of the trade was about a $1,200 value in NC so that would have meant that I would have needed to have found a private buyer willing to fork out approxiamtely $39K in order to have equated to this trade figure (Kelly list "good" private party at $40K so this wasn't bad). The dealership we bought the new Hybrid from has a sister Lexus dealership which meant that we got a "relatively" high figure out of it and now they have a high-quality, low mileage GX470 they can put on their Lexus lot and probably flip for $3K or $4K with little or no effort. Wife now has a Hybrid Highlander Limited with the only option available, NAVI. With the extra cash, I will shortly be putting in an aftermarket RSES (in the headrest so that there is no drop down like the GX had). We are VERY sad to see the GX470 go as it truly was an exceptional vehicle (our favorite so far even over the BWM and Mercedes we've had in the past) but decided that this was a good deal at the right time (for us). In addition, we got a decent discount (not the best, not the worst) on the HiHi so I guess we did OK.

rxdriver

I've found that KBB is always low, and Edmunds is always high. An average of the two ends up being very realistic.

llcc1975

I think you got a great trade value for your GX bunka. If NC market is anything like the greater PHX area (low supply of quality used GXs), I'm sure they won't have a problem selling it for much more than what they gave you (even in light of the gas price inflations we are seeing).

What are your initial impressions with the HiHi? Just curious more than anything because I rented a few Highlanders in the past (regular v6 models) and was frankly very impressed with its smoothness and overall driving characteristics. In fact, I'd almost equate the feel to that of an RX (I hope I don't get censored for saying that here).

bunka

llc - We had an RX300 prior to the GX and this Hybrid seems VERY similar. We do miss the fact that even though this is the high-end Hybrid Limited, it does not have certain "comforts" like the power tilt steering and memory seats are not even available as options (bummer) but the 3.3 paired with the electric engine is the same as the RX400 so the power is similar so it's definitely more than adequate. The space is a little more than the RX was but of course is a good bit less than the GX. We had the rear seats in the GX but seldom used them so even though the HH has a third row, I doubt if we will ever use it. The NAVI is identical but we will miss the RSES. May have to address this missing aspect quickly before the natives mutiny. LOL

llcc1975

I gotcha, there are definitely some creature comforts that the LEX will have over the Toy, but the overall driving feel and character (which for me are more important) are very similar. I only asked because we looked at the RXs and Highlanders before getting the GX (I know, completely different vehicles). But, in the end went with a GX because of size (we replaced a 2004 Chevy Suburban with it) so going to a much smaller package would have likely resulted in my trading that in for a larger vehicle in six months (and in the process losing thousands). Know what you mean about the RSES though, our Burb had it and my kid will not let us go on roadtrips without having it on. Ergo, the GX has the RSES. Thanks again for the input. Enjoy your new car!

bunka

After considering the current discounts on the Hilander Hybrids, it looks like the TRUE value that I got out of my trade was more like $36K. Although I got some discounts in addition to my $37.5K figure, it seems that some dealers were giving discounts of as much as $4K (even on the Hybrids). So 1,500 (trde reduction) + 1,500 (discount) equals $3K off. Just wanted to post this so that others thinking of trading will see that $35K-$36K is really a more practical range.

Lwholesell

Ok...my first post but thought I would share it with you. Just bought my first GX this morning. She currently drives an RX 330 but with the new born.....needed something bigger. Anyway, and before I get started let me explain that I am a used car mgr at a Toyota Franchise, I have been looking for about 3 weeks for the right GX. Well, I didnt find the one I wanted (blizzard/tan) but I did find a beige/tan with Nav and entertainment 04 with 31k and paid 32,500 from an auction this morning. Granted I will pay approx $800 shipping cost but not a bad price...even if I did buy it Wholesale. Just thought I would pat myself on the back and share my good news