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trade in value

Joined
16 May 2001
Messages
1,363
Location
Detroit
i took my 96 nsx (30k miles) to a rover dealer to see what the trade in value would be. they quoted me $35k. does this sound right or are they out of their minds?
 
That sounds about right. [EDIT: Upon further reflection, that sounds slightly low. I would expect trade-in to be maybe $38-40K.] Remember, they expect to make a profit by selling it for more than they pay you for it.

If you sell it yourself, you can probably get low to mid forties for it. Of course, you have to deal with strangers looking at it, asking questions, driving it, etc.

Another factor that may make it a slightly better deal to trade it in is that if you're buying a car from the same dealership where you're trading it in, there are potential sales tax savings in most states. For example, if you get $35K on a trade-in for a new car that costs more than $35K, in a state with 8 percent sales tax, you will save $2,800 in sales tax on the purchase of your new car. So the $35K they are offering would be worth $37,800 to you.

[This message has been edited by nsxtasy (edited 15 April 2002).]
 
Yes, that is low. Retail for a clean 96 should be ~45-48k, therefore, trade should be somewhere ~41-44k. HOWEVER, remember trade value is usually a made up number...... of sort. It depends ENTIRELY on what you are buying the new vehicle for as to what they show you for your trade. ex. You pay sticker for a car with 5k markup, then they may show you 3k over trade value for yours and they'll net 2k deal and you'll feel like they gave you a great trade value. If you negotiated the new car down to an invoice deal, then they may HOLD 2k on your trade so that they'll make 2k. Then you feel like they tried to steal your trade and end up hating the dealer and thinking they are crooks. Retail to retail or wholesale to wholesale. You can't expect to get all the money for your trade and buy the new one at invoice. Cash difference is what really matters. If a fair deal for a new car is 55k and your trade is really worth 43k, then you should negotiate to a 12k cash difference.... plus tax, tag and fees. (whack, pack and heart attack) It doesn't matter if they sell you theirs for 70k and give you 58k for yours; it's still a 12k difference.... did that help?


And, Ken is right about the tax savings, of course. Not just the money savings but the time and aggravation savings of having to sell it yourself.

[This message has been edited by Nsxotic (edited 15 April 2002).]
 
I'll defer to Todd's advice on what's appropriate for a trade-in value, although I would be surprised if trade-in would be as close to retail as Todd seems to suggest; while $35K may be low by a few grand, I highly doubt you would get $44K from a dealer. Except, as Todd notes, perhaps when they're making a lot of money on a new car sale.

Basically, you want to keep the two transactions separate in your mind. On the new car purchase, you can always shop around at other dealers to see if you can find a better price. On the trade-in, you can always sell it yourself as an alternative. The transactions aren't really related except that (a) there is a potential for sales tax savings (but the dealer is well aware of this), and (b) you can always use it as a negotiating point.
 
I think $35k is really low. Based on 2 month old auction information, a 96 should be worth between $42400-$45500 for a T and $40400-$43300 for a coupe. And those are avg to clean numbers, not even x-clean.

A friend of mine sold a blk/blk 96 T to an Acura dealership in the winter for $46900. I think you should be able to get at least $41k. If you are about to accept $35k or anything close to that, please let me know and I'll buy it from you. Seriously.
 
Originally posted by WeakestLink:
Based on 2 month old auction information, a 96 should be worth between $42400-$45500 for a T and $40400-$43300 for a coupe.

Are those auction prices or retail ones?

What's the relationship between trade-in price and auction price? Should trade-in be less so that the dealer still makes money if he takes it to auction, or not necessarily?

Just to point out some additional information, there are 30 1996 NSX-T's listed on autotrader.com right now. Most of the asking prices are right at $50K; a handful are in the $45-47K range. My general assumption is that it's reasonable to expect most of them to come down $3K from the asking price, and some may even come down as much as $5-6K.

BTW, there are so few coupes that I don't think you can legitimately discuss what they "ought" to sell for. Too small a market.
 
Todd is right on the money. I got low $40s "wholesale" for my 95-T about a month ago. My deal was wholesale for wholesale. And don't forget everybody needs to pay bills so the $2k mark is pretty standard.
 
Originally posted by nsxtasy:

What's the relationship between trade-in price and auction price? Should trade-in be less so that the dealer still makes money if he takes it to auction, or not necessarily?


Ken,

Trade-in prices are typically lower than auction prices but can vary, as Todd pointed out, based on the sale price of the new vehicle sale. Prices at auctions are not always the steal that everyone believes them to be.

Chris
 
I was shopping for a CTS and the website offers a blackbook wholesale trade-in price.
This is the book the banks use. Your 96 NSX-T with 30,000 miles has a trade-in value of 34,500 US. This is the high price, you don't want the low price.

Opps, I wrote 34,500 CDN at first.

[This message has been edited by rcarlos (edited 16 April 2002).]

[This message has been edited by rcarlos (edited 16 April 2002).]

[This message has been edited by rcarlos (edited 16 April 2002).]
 
Black book is not the book that the bank uses. Black book is the ONLY book that is exact based on what cars go through auctions, where you are in the country and when. Therefore, they are used by dealers to appraise trades. Trade value is usually between rough and average black book. AND, black book for an NSX is utterly ridiculous to use as a guide. Most banks, when determining how much they will lend, use KBB or most often, NADA left side. However, many banks buy the customer, not the just the car. Here's an example of a bank using NADA to 'book out' a car. Their guidelines will likely read.............. 115% of NADA trade in (left side) plus tax, tax and fees. ex. NADA value = $50000. x 1.15 = 57,500 + 3000 tax (@ 6%) + ~500 for tag and fees. EQUALS ~60,800 available advance after cash down. And if the customer is strong enough, they'll even stretch this number (especially for an NSX)
 
Originally posted by nsxtasy:
Another factor that may make it a slightly better deal to trade it in is that if you're buying a car from the same dealership where you're trading it in, there are potential sales tax savings in most states. For example, if you get $35K on a trade-in for a new car that costs more than $35K, in a state with 8 percent sales tax, you will save $2,800 in sales tax on the purchase of your new car. So the $35K they are offering would be worth $37,800 to you.

[This message has been edited by nsxtasy (edited 15 April 2002).]

The tax savings doesn't apply in Michigan, they don't charge you the difference between what you are trading in and the new purchase. This is handled differently in every state, but I know in Michigan it won't save you a penny in Sales Tax.
 
Here's another one of my thoughts. Any dealer that is going to any of the books to find the price on a NSX either doesn't know what it is or if they do and they're quoting prices from the book, in my opinion doesn't want your business.
 
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