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Smart Shopper Real-World Trade-In Values
38947 messages, Last post on Dec 08, 2009 at 12:48 PM
You are in the Smart Shopper Forum. Your Hosts are kirstie_h & tidester
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get trade-in, private party, dealer retail values.
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Replying to: british_rover (Oct 23, 2009 1:22 pm) I have been bringing up a few cars for you to tell me about and advise me about before I buy. Thank you all so much, especially volvomax, axeteira , british rover, Ex grad student, and a host of other people, whos names are being missed but their contributions not forgotten. I had posted a message, and in the replies, again, were reiterated the advice to buy something other than a Japanese econobox, with lower miles at the same price. Today, thankfully, I was able to do just that. After I posted on Cartalk, Docknick strongly advised me to go for a low miles small brand car rather than a high mile Jap. As I had been doing for the past month, I put “Chevrolet Cobalt Manual” into craigslist and got a few hits. There was one which sounded pretty good. This was exactly as a poster on Cartalk had described; a senior lady, selling her rarely used car. I immediately called her and asked her about it. She said its for sale still. I asked her the VIN; she gave it to me shakily belying an inexperienced seller. I then ran an Autocheck report, score was higher than the range for similar vehicles of that year. She said its still available, and quoted me a cash price which was pretty low. I asked her what the deal was, and she said that she got divorced last year, and did not need a stick shift. Immediately I called my friend up. There was no time to lose, especially at this price. “In two years of me knowing you, I have never mentioned an emergency, if ever there is one, its now.” He said, fine, “I'll take you to her house,immediately”. I got on the bus, got off without paying the fare, and went to the nearest Chase bank. Got the cash out. Eyeballed 3 different immigrant types whom I thought were going to take my cash away. My friend was waiting from me in the car lot. I kept trying to call the lady to ensure that she allows me to see the car first. The repeated calling worked, and I arrived in a rough part of town at 630 pm. I was scared of keeping so much cash with me, especially since we had driven to a rough neighborhood. A short diminutive lady came out of the house, barking dogs kept up a din. Hi, I'm from Rice University, I spoke to you over the phone etc etc. She said, yes here is the car. She got the keys from inside the house, and then she gave them to me. I said we are leaving our car here; and we took it for a test drive. The interior was in poor shape, it had been abused by her grandson. Cigarette ashes in a ash tray etc. I was a little disappointed. There was a ding in the side of the car, which seemed like it had come in recently. A piece of plastic from the side panel had broken and was hanging loose. I was disappointed. But, the months of looking up good deals on craigslist, and discussing them with a lot of people, that Samurai training kicked in and I thought: if this little guy is mechanically sound, I think I have a good deal for the money. I asked her if I could take the car for 15 minutes for a longer drive. She hesitated. Said “ my neighbors offered me the same price that you did, and there is one more person who is offering 500$ more; but you called me first. Now if you don't like the car, it might not be the car for you, no problems” . I allowed for the fact that she was pretty senior, and a little eccentric. “Ok ma'am, its a small request. 15 minutes of a drive” I and my friend took it to one place for a mechanic, didnt find it, another place; sorry Sir we're closed. It was 615pm . A third Autozone mechanic was just coming out of his car. “Can you please take a look?” “Sorry Sir we're closed. I need to do this immediately because the deal is going go away”. “Monday Sir”. “Okay, why dont you just see the engine a little bit and see if everything looks alright”. “What year?” ; “2007”; “what model?”; “Chevy Cobalt.” “Is the check engine light on?”. “No, not at all”. “Okay then”. The mechanic peered over the open engine bay. “Its a new car, it doesn't have any leaks, you wont have any problems. Chevys last till around 75000 miles without any trouble.” “Brilliant” I thought to myself. Thank you so much, we had to get going to the old lady's house. Drove back. I saw the lady speaking on the phone with someone, telling them the vehicle number of my friends car. She was talking to the police since we had taken so long! Well. We're here ma'am. You shouldn't have called the police etc...you had my number, you should have called me first. I lost it in my answering machine, she said. I was still befuddled by her sensibilities. “Okay ma'am, I think I'll buy the car”. “Okay then” . She signed the title over, the registration was out, she gave me her registration mailer. A piece of paper served as the receipt. I paid her the cash, and she counted it out. I still have to go get her signature on form I 130 U and get the spare tyre, set of keys, and remaining receipts of maintenance. I and my friend drove back along US 59 to Rice U. The sun was just setting. Orange hues pierced my eyes in congratulation. My first car was with me, and all was well with the world. Gentlemen, I would not have been able to do this without your extensive, excellent, exhaustive support, and fantastic advice. I bow, say Namaste (I'm Indian) to you all. Thank you so much, for your help. I bought the 2007 Chevy Cobalt with 23,000 miles on it, no accidents, one owner, a price well below kbb. Cheers, Houstonrice.
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Replying to: houstonrice (Oct 23, 2009 6:43 pm) tidester, host SUVs and Smart Shopper |
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Phoenix Az 2006 Miata Sport - AT 54K miles (factory warrenty ended at 50K) good condition - no accidents needs tires I am looking at the described car at a franchised dealer (not Mazda) and am trying to determine what to offer. It has been on the lot about 2 months. Also what is the approx wholsale or auction value of this car. Thanks!
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Massachusetts 2003 Nissan Murano SL AWD 115,000 miles Fair Condition - No accidents - paint chips and some small scratches Pumpkin Orange color Tires - new All maintenance up to date with receipts to prove. Looking to trade in above described vehicle for a new Nissan Murano (2010); hopefully in the next 2 - 3 months!!
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Replying to: houstonrice (Oct 23, 2009 6:43 pm) I'd have emailed you about this, but your address is 'private.' Remarks like the above aren't really helpful to the general discussion; we're almost all of us immigrant types in America. Some just are more recent than others. This is not to suggest to let political correctness get in the way of self-preservation; but as a public discussion, it's a sensitive subject. Cheers, -Mathias
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I have a general question on trading in a car that's worth close to or equal to the vehicle you want to buy. On several occasions recently, I've e-mailed dealers offering to trade my car for a used one they have on the lot. With the trade-in value of my vehicle, I should have to pay little or nothing extra in cash to close the deal. Invariably, I get no response from these dealers. My conclusion is that dealers really don't want to take in a trade that's equal to (or almost equal to) the value of the car they are selling. The car they have on their lot is a headache to sell and they don't want to simply replace one headache with another (especially since my car may not be the same brand as the dealership sells, causing them to send it off for auction). They would much prefer to get an all-cash buyer or one who will finance or lease through their organization. Is the answer that simple, or am I missing something? Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated. Most of the inquiries I've made have been casual and I'm not at the stage where I've found a car so compelling to buy that I need to press the issue by visiting the dealer in person. Plus, I'm not keen on giving any business to a dealer that has declined to send me a response by e-mail, even if that response is a firm "no."
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Replying to: longislander1 (Oct 25, 2009 10:05 am) If you just want an actual cash value to your vehicle,go to Carmax. they give you a written cash offer good for 7 days. Hope this helps. 
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and some dealers are terrible with dealing with Emails. Either get ignored, or a canned "come on in so we can talk". Not all dealers, just some. I can't see why they will care about your situation. They take trade ins all the time. As long as you don't mind paying retail for their car, and taking sholesale for yours, it doesn't matter how much they are worth. Sometimes, they might even have to cut you a check. anyway, you aren't trading car for car in that sense. you are selling them one and buying a different one, even if they prices are exactly the same, and no money will change hands. |
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Replying to: steine13 (Oct 25, 2009 5:16 am) And well, I'm absolutely fresh off the boat; but you do understand the situation being made; I was just being honest about what happened. Cheers, |
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Replying to: longislander1 (Oct 25, 2009 10:05 am) |
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