BEWARE of this Dealer

Why not post what car it is, I can give you an idea of what market is on it.

Just had a customer come in with a Lexus RX, Auction was $19k, best bid I got from anywhere was around $18500, Galves was around $18k on it if I recall, and Edmunds was closing in on $20,500.

This was an 04 RX330 with Navi and 25k miles, I can buy 06s for $22k and 05s for $20k or so.

The customer was, by the time he got to us, very frustrated that everyone was trying to steal his car because Edmunds.com showed the "True Market Value" of his car and that if the dealer tried to offer less we were trying to rob him. His position was understandable, from the info he had, we were a pack of theives. But if 7 dealers are all within the same # on your car, I'd find it hard to believe that 7 dealers let you "walk" with uncompetitive trade figures.

 

I agree. That's what all the dealers used for my trade in.

 

Galves does, www.galves.com I think it's $25/mo I pay $199/year or I can look the car up for you.

 

Our dealer doesn't even use Black Book anymore. We go straight to Manheim or Odessa so we can see what they are selling for at auction. We still look at Blackbook, but use the other two more often.

 

I would never count on getting any 'book value' from a dealer. A dealer generally has to prep the car for sale and transfer it to auction, which is going to be at least a few hundred dollars. I agree with Jabber, the best gauge of the market is to look at the latest auction prices only. That being said, for whatever reason, legit or not, you will find a wide variety of quotes from different dealers so shop around.

You're much better off moneywise selling your vehicle private party, any dealer and even the books themselves will tell you this. But then you'll have to deal with all the "customers". Maybe it will be a good exercise for some people to see how people behave from the other side of the fence- then getting $2K under KBB will seem like a deal! I have my own strategy for weeding out the tire kickers, time wasters and lowballers, but a dealer doesn't have that luxury as people will cry bloody murder on the internet.

 

My experience with selling used cars taught me that it is not only easier and more convenient to trade it in with the dealer, but it also delivers a great and sometimes even a better financial value. In all instances in the past where I tried a better deal selling my used car privately, the extra money I made for the sale compared to the trade-in (don’t forget to account for the tax advantages of trading in) would be like 200-300 bucks, that’s all. I actually had one instance where I actually got a better offer from the dealer with my civic compared to any private buyer. To me, even 300 bucks is a very low "profit" for the time wasted with the tire kickers, etc... So, starting now with this Prius I decided to finally quit the private selling drama and I did get a very good deal with my dealer... I doubt I would get more than the 300 bucks profit selling it privately...

 

Spoken like a true Stealership employee! There are no tax advantages to selling your used vehicle to a Stealership.

If you want the get the least amount for your vehicle then trade it in to a Stealership. I understand why people do this, because it is easier and fast for them, but if you want the most dollar for your used vehicle sell it on your own.

It is bad enough you are going to get overcharged for that new vehicle you purchase at a Stealership, so why get taken again with your trade in? Yes it is a little more work but is worth it.

 

I guess you have not read my post above. I have sold many used cars in my life. In ALL occasions, I got quotes from the dealers first, and then in ALL occasions ended up selling it privately by very little extra after I factored in the amount I would have saved in taxes by trading-in. So much for privately selling BS... not worth it!

 

Have no idea about your state but in mine there is a tax break. You only pay sales tax on the diff between the selling price of new car and trade in price on old car. Cant do that in a private sale.

 

I guess it's a state law, or maybe "rest" don't know about it... I just saved $1295 in sales tax by trading in my current car to get the prius... I would have to waist a lot of time and gas to be able to sell my trade-in for $1295 more than the price the dealer is paying...

 

Incorrect, for most people anyway. Yes, some states don't give you a sales tax credit on trade-ins, but the majority do.

Here's an example..

New Car: $30,000
Trade-In: $18,000
Difference:$12,000
Sales Tax on Difference: $1,005

In this case the customer got $18,000 for the trade-in, and a sales tax saving (At 8.375% which is the rate where we are) of $1,507.50

So that's the net equivalent of $19,500. Say you sell the car privately, you ask $21000, someone offers you $20k.., no matter what you ask, people ALWAYS offer lower. So you spend $100 advertising it, spend $150 getting it cleaned up, etc.

What's the savings? Now, take, say, a 99 Camry with 125k miles, that's a $2,500-3k trade that is an easy $4900 private sale, on that car you might be able to net $1k or more, so that might be worth doing. Clean cheap Camrys are also REAL easy to sell as that's the type of car people look to buy from private parties.

The other thing to bear in mind is what a PITA it is to sell a pricey car privately. First, you're up against someone like myself who'll ask $21,995 for that same RAV4, but I'll have the car certified, offer 3.9% financing, etc. You'll have to find a cash buyer or deal with getting paid by a 3rd party finance provider.

You can do better selling privately, there's no question, and in some cases it's silly to trade. It just depends on the situation, but as a general rule, late model, mass-market cars can be a bit of a chore to sell privately.

 

I have never heard of this. What states do it?

 

Depends on the state, but I know that NY, NJ, FL, MO, IL do. IIRC only about 4 or 5 states don't, CA being one of them.

I can always look up specific states in the big evil NADA title and licensing book.

 

Add Idaho to the list that does do it. $$$$$

 

Thanks rld. I wasn't wanting to look up a car. I was just curious if there was a free, online site where one could get black book and galves prices like there is for Kelly Blue Book.

 

None that I am aware of. Galves charges for access, so does BlackBook. Both have websites, but, IIRC, both are about $200/year to access. What's even pricier are their PDA options. I don't subscribe to Black Book but I'll be happy to provide market based data.. I am the guy who started the #1 topic on edmunds town hall

 

Very well explained. My 07 CR-V fitted perfectly the example where selling it privately would not make any sense at all, it would actually be the silliest thing to do considering the hassle of dealing with used car buyers. But I found selling even old reliable cars may not be worth it.

I used to have a 02 Civic, which was very easy to sell. I did not even looked at the dealer to use as a trade-in to buy a CR-V because I use to live in a college town and knew students were dying for it. Sold it easily for 8K at that time, I think the KBB was 8.2K or something similar. Thought I did a great deal until I asked my dealer, after selling the car, how much he would pay for it and he said probably around 7.5K because they sell Civics like water in the desert! That would mean extra $630 of savings in tax breaks, therefore 7.5K + 630 = 8,130!!! So, I not only wasted money but also wasted a huge amount of time and patience selling the *&^$#@ car privately... That was when I said, you know what... I'm done with selling cars privately for EVER...

 

Subscribed to Black Book only once a while back ($99.00 for a year), now asking the Dealership to look at theirs and they actually let me see it for my last two trade ins....

 

No matter what KBB prints as wholesale trade-in value, certain dealerships will always say the value is too high. Maybe they have a book that arbitrarily subtracts a certain amount off of whatever the KBB values are. The dealer has to pay as little as possible for the car and then sell for as much as possible.
This is how they make money. They don't have a problem listing cars for sale at KBB retail.
Use the lowball value book to value your trade in, then use the high value book to sell their used cars. They get it both ways.

 

They just passed a law that any car traded newer than 86 to at least in 90's that gets less than 18 mpg that is traded to the dealer to be junked gets a voucher for $4500 dollars if the car being bought gets an improvement of at least 10 miles per gallon. For a preius should not be a problem. Also Pennsylvania is giving $500 rebate on buying a hybrid and the new Prius qualifies. How sweet is that. KBB says my 96 Ford Explorer is worth around $3000, but by me getting that gas guzzler off the road I get $4500. The car must have been licensed an insured for the past 6 months so don't think you can grab a $300 klunker from the junk yard and make a profit. This is for legit cars being driven now to get them off the road. Do a Google search Clunker Rebate, tonzs of info out there.

CARS Cash for Clunkers Rebate Program - Fuel Efficient Vehicle Voucher | Toyota