What is the best way to trade in a car? (2003 S2000)
04-29-2004 | 06:13 PM
#14
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Joined: Oct 2000
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From: Sheridan
You will probably come out a couple of thousand dollars ahead if you sell it yourself, rather than trade it. After all, the dealer who buys from you has to profit from the sale. That means the dealer has to pay you less than retail to cover his salesman, real estate, heating and lighting and advertising. The dealer will pay you less than you can get and will charge the buyer more than you can get.
That is not a rip off. It is fair. The dealer makes a market, carries costs, has reliability that you don't have. You can sell it one day and disappear to the far side of the planet the same afternoon. The dissatisfied buyer has no recourse. If the buyer had to pay you as much as he would have to pay the dealer, he's getting cheated.
If the dealer would pay you as much as a private buyer, why would the dealer bother.
You might try a book like this with help on the paperwork. CHEAP WHEELS: THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO BUYING,SELLING,&ENJOYING USED CARS
by Lisa Roy Sachs (Author)
Think about a trip to www.amazon.com or your local book shop or library.
Like buying stocks, for buying a car, the buy and hold strategy offers you the least loss. If you buy an '03 and sell it in '04, you're very likley to take a loss. Being "upside down" in your loan is common in the first years of ownership.
In the big picture, there's no choice that is bad. One choice might vary by a few thousand dollars one way or the other, but that's not a big deal in buying a car one year, selling it the next year to buy another. If you don't want to take that loss, don't sell. Keep it and figure out how to live with last year's decision. It will build character.
I do think the carmax suggestion is a good one too.
That is not a rip off. It is fair. The dealer makes a market, carries costs, has reliability that you don't have. You can sell it one day and disappear to the far side of the planet the same afternoon. The dissatisfied buyer has no recourse. If the buyer had to pay you as much as he would have to pay the dealer, he's getting cheated.
If the dealer would pay you as much as a private buyer, why would the dealer bother.
You might try a book like this with help on the paperwork. CHEAP WHEELS: THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO BUYING,SELLING,&ENJOYING USED CARS
by Lisa Roy Sachs (Author)
Think about a trip to www.amazon.com or your local book shop or library.
Like buying stocks, for buying a car, the buy and hold strategy offers you the least loss. If you buy an '03 and sell it in '04, you're very likley to take a loss. Being "upside down" in your loan is common in the first years of ownership.
In the big picture, there's no choice that is bad. One choice might vary by a few thousand dollars one way or the other, but that's not a big deal in buying a car one year, selling it the next year to buy another. If you don't want to take that loss, don't sell. Keep it and figure out how to live with last year's decision. It will build character.
I do think the carmax suggestion is a good one too.
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