Any buyers who have recently done a trade-in?

[das internet]

The title is deceptive, this is actually a leasing thread. When you get right down to it, trade-in value is what's relevant when comparing leasing vs. buying. Take the following example:

The 2012 Jetta S Lease Special.
$159*/Month. 39-month lease. $1,999 due at signing. (Excludes title, tax, options and dealer fees. Excludes TDI models.)

This is based on MSRP of $17,415.
You pay $8,200 over ~3 years.
A 3 year old Jetta with 40k miles is going to be worth a minimum of $14k retail (irrelevant), and anywhere from $8,500-$10,500 trade-in. So, if prospective trade-in $ < $9,215, leasing financially beats buying, unless you could've prospectively bought it for much less than MSRP. Also, the base-model that you're leasing at that low rate has a proportionally lower retail value (trade-in value) than a loaded car, especially if you got the manual trans, making leasing more attractive if you would've gone with the base model either way.

So, this is what it all boils down to:

1. Has anyone recently traded in a ~3 year old car, and did the dealer offer KBB or did they low-ball you? I'm guessing VW dealers are probably worse than others in this respect, C/D?
2. Does anyone know of any lease deals better than the one discussed above?

[AQ]

A local volume Honda dealer is offering the 2012 Accord LX sedan this month for $169 per month, zero down (except for tax, title, license, and the dumb $179 service fee), 36K miles, 36 months. MSRP on that car is about $23K. They usually fluctuate between $179-199 per month for these leases... I got my 2010 almost two years ago for $179 per month, same terms as above, and Honda paid my first month's payment as well. I think the dealer reduced the payment to $169 because they want to clear inventory for the upcoming 2013 Accord.

[pknopp]

There is not set procedure dependant on what type of dealer you are. One's experience elsewhere will not likely mean much to your experience.

It's all up to the individual dealers appraiser.

[bigbodybenz]

KBB is irrelevant. Market value is what drives trade-in $figures$. At times KBB is spot on, other times it's off by thousands of dollars.

Think of it this way, would you buy a car that KBB says is worth $20K when everyone else is selling them for $18K (market value)?

[Knight2000]

My favorite conversation EVER with a customer who was trading in a car (when I was selling) ---

Customer: $11,500?? But Kelly Blue Book said my car was worth $15,500.

Me: So here's what you're going to do -- call Kelly Blue Book and tell them you want to sell them your car for $15,500.

Customer: Kelly Blue Book doesn't buy cars.

Me: *blank stare* Exactly.

[GoBigRed79]

KBB, NADA, Black Book, Edmonds are just guides. Local market/auction prices dictate what trade offers you will get. Try to find out what a car is actually selling for in your area and you can get a good idea what to expect for your trade (I usually figure between 10% and 15% below the prevailing retail market for a trade-in if your trade is clean, more for rougher trades).

When I traded my last car in, I went to carmax first to get a baseline. Go when they are not busy and it takes 20 min or so you get it in writing. When I found a car I wanted to buy, the dealer I was at offered $1500 below the carmax quote. I haggled them up another $1k. I then showed them the carmax quote and they matched it. In this case the carmax quote was actually a good quote for a trade per my research. I have herd mixed things about carmax for trades, sometimes they are really good, sometimes they lowball, it just depends. But it is always good to have that baseline figure in writing if you need it.

[Knight2000]

KBB, NADA, Black Book, Edmonds are just guides. Local market/auction prices dictate what trade offers you will get. Try to find out what a car is actually selling for in your area and you can get a good idea what to expect for your trade (I usually figure between 10% and 15% below the prevailing retail market for a trade-in if your trade is clean, more for rougher trades).

When I traded my last car in, I went to carmax first to get a baseline. Go when they are not busy and it takes 20 min or so you get it in writing. When I found a car I wanted to buy, the dealer I was at offered $1500 below the carmax quote. I haggled them up another $1k. I then showed them the carmax quote and they matched it. In this case the carmax quote was actually a good quote for a trade per my research. I have herd mixed things about carmax for trades, sometimes they are really good, sometimes they lowball, it just depends. But it is always good to have that baseline figure in writing if you need it.

Why didn't you just sell your car to CarMax?

[GoBigRed79]

Why didn't you just sell your car to CarMax?

Because you only pay sales tax on the difference between the sales price and the trade amount here in Nebraska. So if you are going to trade it is best to try and trade at the dealer you are buying from. My trade value was $13,500 (it was paid off) so it makes a difference.

[Knight2000]

Because you only pay sales tax on the difference between the sales price and the trade amount here in Nebraska. So if you are going to trade it is best to try and trade at the dealer you are buying from. My trade value was $13,500 (it was paid off) so it makes a difference.

Makes sense. Thank you.