Trade-in for a Prius?

[prius grandma to be]

Hi,

I'm brand new to this and would greatly appreciate some advice.

My daughter plans to buy a Prius, but because they are so popular, both she and I are wondering if dealerships will accept a trade-in as part of the process. She has a 2003 Passat with potentially very expensive mechanical troubles and we're trying to figure what is the best route for her. Do you ask the VW dealership (where it is currently waiting to be repaired) if they would be interested in buying it? Do you fix it and sell it to a private party, disclosing all that you know about it? Or do you fix it and take it to the Toyota dealership in an effort to trade it in?

Obviously, it depends in part on the cost to repair the problem (It may need a new transmission .). But it would help greatly to learn about other peoples' experiences.

Thanks!!!!

[chinoloco93]

My recommendation is as follows:
1. your trade in will be really beaten down in this "softer" sales market. so its not worth trading in. Every dealer will tell you its a soft market and not give you anything for the trade in car.
2. Craigslist has been great to us. We sold two cars that way. But always disclose everything you know about the car.
3. Price your car to sell. Nothing else matters. If its attractively priced, someone will still want it, even if it needs a new transmission. Check kbb.com, edmunds.com and so forth. Always grade your car's value a little less then what you think it is because we always tend to think our stuff is better and it will prepare you better when people make an offer.

when we wanted to buy a corolla and get rid of a perfect 07 lexus, the dealerships offered us 6,000 less then what we eventually sold it for. we got our full price because we priced it well and we made small drops in price every few days until it sold. As always, priced right, a car will sell.

I think its better to disclose a problem and reduce the price a bit then to go through the hassle of a repair and then trying to for the auto shop to warranty the work.

Thats my suggestion. Good luck with yours.

[prius grandma to be]

Thanks for your input and quick reply. We've had great luck with craigslist, so I will happily pass your suggestion on to my daughter. I hadn't thought about selling the Passat before it is fixed.

Thanks again!

[stevendwatson]

You can always try and at least get a trade-in quote. I traded in a 2003 Dodge Ram quadcab and received quotes ranging from $7500 to $10,340. The dealer I ended up going with came up over $1300 in their trade-in quote to match another dealer (always have them write their sales and trade-in quotes on the back of their business card).

Never hurts to find out.