Bichon

Around here, dealers scoff at KBB and Edmunds; when it comes time to appraise your trade they pull out a copy of Galves, a guide with much lower prices. (And since the Galves guide is published weekly, if the economy or the market for a particular class of car tanks, their offer reflects it)

venZon

I was in the same boat when selling my impreza.

THE GOOD
trade in
-whatever amount they trade in your car for you don't pay taxes on.
ie. Lets say they give you $10,000 for your trade in it's actually $1200 (12% tax where I live)

selling
-You'll get more for selling it privately

THE BAD
trade in
- If your car has any mods done to it it actually lowers the value of the car. Most places will tell you to convert the car back to stock.

selling
- you have to wait for a buyer......

sktn77a

iTrader: (2)

Right now is a GREAT time to buy a new car. Dealers are so desperate to move them, I don't know anyone who'se getting over invoice (except for, maybe, the Prius). It's also the WORST time to sell a car - you won't get anywhere near KBB trade-in from a dealer - probably at least $5000 less for your car. You can try CarMax and get a slightly better deal, but not much. If you can sell you car for KBB trade in to a private buyer, I'd take it.

You should be able to get the IS 250 for several hundred under invoice.

VikH

iTrader: (5)

It varies by dealership. A plus to the trade-in is that you are not taxed on the trade-in sale of your car. (varies by state)

IS350jet

If you feel like getting an nice, cold, hard slap in the face, trade it in. The dealer's first offer will do that to you because it's generally thousands *below* wholesale. Car salesman are masters at smoke and mirrors. They love trade-ins because it enables them to create more *magic* in their numbers. You might think it's a great deal because that's how they made it *Look*.

http://www.edmunds.com/advice/buying...2/article.html

I know this article is a long read and I've posted it before, but if you are serious about beating the salesman at his own game, it is a must read. It's called "Confessions of a Car Salesman" It talks about all of the tricks salesmen use to dupe you. Be very suspicious of the 4-square!!

tsx_lex

Just wondering if it's a good idea to sell your car to carmax? I heard from a friend they offer pretty good price... does anyone know anything about selling your car to carmax?

Thank you

Recluse

That's how I sold my IS. There's really no reason not to give Carmax a shot: their appraisal only takes about an hour, and it's free.

sktn77a

iTrader: (2)

Carmax were great 4 or 5 years ago. You could pretty much rely on KBB trade-in or even more for a high demand car. Today, they're only a little better than a dealer trade in. but it does no harm to check them out.

tsx_lex

How about retail price? Do they match it closely with kbb? a difference of 1.5K or 2K at the max. is also fine with me..

Recluse

I got slightly above the "good" trade-in value for mine. That was in March.

tsx_lex

I guess I'll have to take it to carmax and check it out myself.. thanks a lot for all the pointers though!

Fizzboy7

Carmax is one of the biggest scams of the decade. They are no different than any other modern car dealer. All my local dealers will do the exact same service that Carmax does. And every dealer, including Carmax, will give you the same low price for your trade-in. It's all hype and total BS. They gear their program to make the most possible money off the buyer/seller, just like every other dealer out there.
Keep this in mind... any dealer that offers a one price policy (where there is no haggling), has completely taken out any chance of you getting that good bargain. So in the end, you lose. It's that simple. They have geared the system to their profit needs, not yours. I would never step foot into a dealership that strips away my chances to better myself.
So sell your car yourself and avoid all dealers. They are all the same and you lose out using them.

meefer

iTrader: (8)

When I sold my Accord, I got prices in these ranges (99 accord v6 lx)

Private $5500
Carmax $4500
Trade in $3200

I went with Carmax since it was way less hassle then private party. Besides, my car had one foot in the grave anyways and I didn't feel like getting a bunch of angry phone calls from a private party buyer.

tsx_lex

I guess some people have mixed opinions about carmax, but all-in-all seems like it's not a bad option and probably you can get almost the same amount you would get from a private party (probably 1K to 1.5K less than private party).. right? Anyway, I'm going to give it a shot at carmax and with private buyers as well...

likwid8

I've taken 2 cars to carmax and have gotten better offers than doing a straight trade in at a dealer. Don't go in there expecting to get private party value, best you'll get is probably somewhere between good and excellent trade-in value depending on the condition and availability of the car. You'll definitely get more money selling privately, but if you don't have the time to wait to sell, carmax is a good option since its free.