z0lt3c

iTrader: (1)

Went to look at an 07 today with the idea of trading in my 04 (loaded w/ 82k miles) and moving up to a slightly more modern version of the same thing. KBB trade-in value showed an expected trade value of $17k-$18k. I eventually stopped at 3 dealerships; BMW, Jeep and Lexus... Lexus was actually the lowest at $14K, the other two both offered $15K. I am shocked at the gap between online valuation tools and the dealers offers !! Looks like I'll hold onto my 04 for a while longer yet. I did get them down to $22K on the 07.

cdew002

KBB is always high - they are typically the average ASKING prices on vehicles.

Edmunds TMV shows the average SELLING value, so you may see something more accurate.

Or, maybe you just got lowballed. Either way, print and take the KBB value when you're selling and the Edmunds value when you're buying.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

stop looking at kbb and think that's what you should get, their numbers are most of the time off.

another thing you can do is to check out carmax, that's another reference

RCsGX

Stop looking at all of the online pricing guides. There starting points and most are too high anyway. Youd get a better idea checking other local GXs on eBay, craigslist, local classifieds, dealers etc. Just keep pressing the dealer, they can always make it work on paper, you just got to have good negotiating skills.

9 times out of 10 youll get more money selling your vehicle outright, not trading it in.

z0lt3c

iTrader: (1)

KBB "trade-in good condition" was inline with the MMR on most vehicles as well.

The BMW manager pulled this trick, printed out the Manheim comps and highlighted vehicles with my mileage and up to 15K miles more... Averaged it out to 15K. I then highlight the comps with my mileage and up to 15K miles lesss, averaged it out to 17K.

I got the same story about the Gold/Beige color combo from all three; hard to sell.

Try finding an 04 w/ 80K miles on any sales forums (CL, ebay, etc) for 15K --- it's a crazy low price.

clubsport

if i ever saw an 04 fully loaded with 80k miles for $17k i would've bought it in a heart beat...
i almost picked up an 03 loaded with 65k miles for $23k but i got even luckier and picked up an even lower mileage one...

don't upgrade it's a waste of money really...

cdew002

I bought an 04 with 86k miles for $21,500; they were asking $24,500.

Granted, that was two years ago, but may give you some reference. I still think it was a steal.

Toys4RJill

I would say the color combo is what is bringing the price down, if it was a black on beige, you would probably get $16-17K

cdew002

Are you keeping in mind that a trade in is going to be valued far less than what you are seeing on CL or cars.com, etc?

Dealers have to make a profit, and they will either do it on the trade in or on the new car you're buying (or both if a dolt walks in). So the fact that they went to $22k on the other truck may indicate they were going to try to make their money on your trade in.

Options2k

I definitely feel for you....as I am in the same boat and experienced the same thing. What I am able to gather so far is that the dealers just offer what KBB (or NADA or Edmunds) give as the base estimate for a "fair to good" condition trade-in without accounting for the options. Therefore, if your car is fully loaded you are going to see a bigger gap. Yes, Lexus is actually the "worst" of the bunch. Perhaps, they have to support a higher infrastructure cost.

I am leaning towards either selling the GX myself or keeping it. Currently, negotiating with a local dealer by focusing on the "delta" between the car that I want and my trade-in. I am in no hurry. Let's see what happens.

Cheers.

clubsport

...................

ROSCOGX470

I never thought a color combo could affect a price by over $1k either way. Mine is silver/grey leather, am I lower or higher than the average?

z0lt3c

iTrader: (1)

IMO Silver/grey is fairly desirable and would be no worse then average. I heard that that most desirable is White/Grey but that kind of data is hard to confirm

RickC5

The three "most desireable" colors are silver, black & white according to a news story I saw the other day. Any other color may adversely affect your trade-in value. I have found Edmunds to be a good source of info on the effect of colors on trade-in values.

Don't forget that dealers make much more profit on selling used vehicles than on new ones. This is because the potential buyer has no clue how much the dealer paid for a given used vehicle, as compared to a new one. New cars prices are all over the internet, but the same type of data doesn't exist for used cars.

Lastly, no matter what online values you find on your vehicle, no dealer will give you even the lowest number you've found. The latest "scam" is where the dealer tells you: "I can't/won't give you any more for your vehicle than what I can get a similar vehicle for at auction." In my experience, this almost always results in an offer that's several thousand less than the values provided by NADA, KBB or Edmunds. In addition, condition plays no part in the offer either. Local dealers here totally ignore condition when making a trade-in offer.

Matsui

It is amazing how low some of the GX are going for in Washington DC area. Just saw couple of adds on craigslist that are selling for $12.5k and $12.9k. Here is one of them.
http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/n...129990988.html