What Exactly is Your Trade Worth?

13COBRA

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Really awesome info in this whole post! Thank you.

No problem. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Vauto calls that "velocity selling" I believe. Definitely true. Quicker turn makes more money for service and more cars on the street. That's s proven fact I would say. I am surprised you say hard packs are a thing of the past. Last time I "shopped" that to see how we stack up most dealers are still around 700ish if you combine new/used in my area.

Correct.

I'd like to be in Maryland then. The Kansas City area has one of the highest density of franchise dealers per capita in the country; and that's even after the 2008 fallout of a couple dozen stores.
 

bssmith1220

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You should see Virginia. The have no real processing fee cap so they take our lunch money all the time by advertising/selling cars for no front profit but having a huge (1000ish) processing fee. Where Maryland is limited to 300.
 

13COBRA

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You should see Virginia. The have no real processing fee cap so they take our lunch money all the time by advertising/selling cars for no front profit but having a huge (1000ish) processing fee. Where Maryland is limited to 300.

Florida is the same way. A lot of guys have an $899 or $1099 fee. Crazy.

State of Missouri is $199.99.
 

spitin venom

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I see you copied and pasted vAuto. Be careful with that program. It is not the end all be all for pricing and appraising. It is a very good program but it does have its flaws. It is pretty obvious which dealerships use it to price their cars.
 

spitin venom

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California has an $80 doc fee. We are so regulated here it is very hard to make a decent profit.
 
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spitin venom

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Yes but the near 10% ttl fees that are included on every car make it hard to buy a car too.

I agree. The government makes all the money in taxes and fees on the deal. Much more than the dealership does! They are the real crooks in this scenario. I hate that they always add a couple useless forms every year. Ever deal is the size of a book now. They also have stupid programs that the dealer must run that they charge us for on every deal just to give the state more money.
 

ON D BIT

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I agree. The government makes all the money in taxes and fees on the deal. Much more than the dealership does! They are the real crooks in this scenario. I hate that they always add a couple useless forms every year. Ever deal is the size of a book now. They also have stupid programs that the dealer must run that they charge us for on every deal just to give the state more money.
Only to waste it by building a train to know where and water aqueducts that take water back to the sea.
 

13COBRA

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I see you copied and pasted vAuto. Be careful with that program. It is not the end all be all for pricing and appraising. It is a very good program but it does have its flaws. It is pretty obvious which dealerships use it to price their cars.
You have to use common sense as well, but it is one of the best evaluation tools in the market, if not the best.
 

hockeylover86

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Here in MI it seems like most trade ins are valued at around what they would sell for at dealer auctions. I guess it makes sense if they dont want to recon and sell them on their lot, they just move them to the auction and arent out any $$.
 

13COBRA

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Here in MI it seems like most trade ins are valued at around what they would sell for at dealer auctions. I guess it makes sense if they dont want to recon and sell them on their lot, they just move them to the auction and arent out any $$.

That works sometimes...but again, a 1-owner, meticulously cared for vehicle is going to be worth more than a rental return.

Also, a 3-owner vehicle ran into the ground and never following the suggested maintenance intervals, may not be worth as much as a rental turn in.
 

Satyr

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How well should trade-in offer correlate with similar models on the lot? For example, if I have a car that I am looking to trade in and the dealership has the same model/options with similar mileage, what percentage differential should I be expecting? I recognize this changes by dealer, but on your lot, for example, how would you approach this?

I've had a couple times in my life where I've gone to a dealer to trade a car that they have a lot model of. I always assumed that would give me a decent bartering tool. It's never worked the way I expected, and I have easily seen a 25% difference in my offer vs the sale price of their current lot model. I understand that a profit must be made on their end, but the figures have always seemed exorbitant to me. That being said, I have been able to eventually find a dealer with a reasonable offer.
 

13COBRA

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How well should trade-in offer correlate with similar models on the lot? For example, if I have a car that I am looking to trade in and the dealership has the same model/options with similar mileage, what percentage differential should I be expecting? I recognize this changes by dealer, but on your lot, for example, how would you approach this?

I've had a couple times in my life where I've gone to a dealer to trade a car that they have a lot model of. I always assumed that would give me a decent bartering tool. It's never worked the way I expected, and I have easily seen a 25% difference in my offer vs the sale price of their current lot model. I understand that a profit must be made on their end, but the figures have always seemed exorbitant to me. That being said, I have been able to eventually find a dealer with a reasonable offer.

I guess I'm not sure what your question is, but I'll do my best.

If you're trading a 2013 Fusion, for a new Fusion and your Fusion is worth $13,000. I don't care what new Fusion you're on I have them all marked down to about invoice minus the rebates, it's worth $13,000. If you change to a low mile 2016 pre-owned Fusion, I may be able to "show you" a little more for your trade off of our internet price, but you're still getting the same amount for your Fusion; you may just be paying a tad more than the pre-owned one is worth.
 

ON D BIT

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Here in MI it seems like most trade ins are valued at around what they would sell for at dealer auctions. I guess it makes sense if they dont want to recon and sell them on their lot, they just move them to the auction and arent out any $$.
Why would they pay more for your vehicle when they can buy the same car for less at auction?
Because of this they offer auction like prices on trade ins.

Great you have an 03 cobra you see the ads all day at 20k. The dealer sees the 03 cobras auction at 13k.
Now why would any dealer give you 18k when they can purchase the same car at 13k?
 

Klay

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Good information. It's ironic you posted this because my wife and I just bought a 2014 Chevy Equinox for her and the salesman went over similar stuff with us. They essentially broke even on our trade because they gave us what they could get at wholesale (trade was going straight to auction).
 

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