What am I missing? I have in my hand kelly blue book, and kelly black book values for my car. Dealerships all over aren't even coming close to my "good" condition trade in value for my car.

My car is really well maintained. Does not leak, no dents, very clean, new tires. What the freak?

I took it to one MINI dealership (name withheld, I am trying REALLY hard to be nice), and they didn't even quote me trade in value for a new MINI. Some bogus BS about "appraiser" not being on site.

I bought this car used 1 year ago with 45,000 miles... The previous owner was a MINI dealership ONLY maintenance kind of guy (OK)... I have also been to the dealership for more than half of my maintenance. in my 20k miles.

I have also called the MINI dealership I bought the car from and they offerred me (granted over the phone), less than 2000 off the LOW GOOD TRADE IN VALUE of my car!

What gives? Seriously... I am realistic here, I am not getting PRIVATE PARTY value for my car, I know that. But really? Where is the supposed resale value if NO ONE COMES CLOSE TO IT?

Heck I have great credit, and take meticulous care of my cars, I bring my own financing this should be a no brainer!

Is it the yellow?

 

I don't think anything is wrong with your car. Dealers are in the business to make money and will try to offer you the lowest amount possible. I think the trade in values given by KBB, edmunds, etc... are all just ballpark figures. Of course, YMWV depending on location, car, etc...

If you really want to understand what the value of your car is, find someone that has access to Manheim. Manheim is the auction service that many car dealers use. That's where you can see what cars are selling for at Auction. That price is really what determines what a dealer will pay for your car.

That said, my experience has always been that the dealers will typically offer you about $1K - $1.5K less than what edmunds says for an excellent condition car. Some will offer much less.

I just got my '11 MCS and I sold my '09 Civic Si to the dealership I bought the civic from (a Honda dealer). I got quotes from 3 different dealers for the car (I tried to sell it outright, but couldn't/didn't want to wait and deal with it). 1 Mini dealer offered me $16K, 1 Mini dealer offered me $15K , the dealer I bought it from offered me $17.5K I took that deal

My '09 Si only had 13,500 miles on it and it was flawless and completely stock. My advice to you is to shop your car around. Take it to Carmax and see what they will offer you. Be aware, though, that if your car is not COMPLETELY stock, you will get dinged for it. Carmax wants non-modified cars. You can call some of the Japanese dealers to see if they want to buy it. Around my area, the Toyota, Mazda, Honda, and Subaru dealerships are all empty. All they have are used cars and not very many of them. They are all desperate for cars to sell around here.

 

Thanks.. Yeah know that the KBB isn't the gold standard... or edmunds really, but these guys aren't even close to black book, and that is really a shame.

I do think the economy is really busted, and it is just now leaking into what we see now. I have the car posted here (thanks for the service honestly), and craigslist, and autotrader.

The car is nearly completely stock. Only thing done was a MINI FINI adapter (not by me)... which I think is a valuable addition.

I really am not trying to drive inquiries on my car, but I thought it interesting where we are today compared to where I was a year ago.

I guess it has been a while since I have had to trade a car, and I was shocked.

Well, my MINI is still my most loved car... I will dock her in the garage, and drive the beater to work in the crappy weather (save my mini for good weather). I am no longer going to search actively for a trade on this, as frankly I don't see many newer cars that are as nice (except a brandy new JCW of course!).

 

When I ask for trade in value they always say "yeh but I can get one at auction for $_ _,_ _ _._ _". I say "yeh but you want to sell a car too right? Thats your problem not mine that they are undercutting you and ruining the deal here today". All reports show that dealers make more off of used cars than new these days so you will get a low value. They really want your car and are playing the game. I had a surprise recenty on my 2008 where the dealer offered $2,000.00 over "real cash value". Unfortunately they didn't have the car I wanted so I still have my Mini. Thats not a bad thing. In my area dealers are buying cars without trade-ins. They really understand the value of used cars and what they can make off them. Be patient and grind them. It will work out. Good luck.

 

I really not trying to be an A** here but there are a few facts you need to face

- a used car is worth what you find a buyer willing to pay and not one cent more. All the books and web sites in the world can quote all the prices they want but if you don't find a buyer willing to pay it, it don't mean squat. A dealer buys what he thinks he can sell at a profit at resell. A private buyer buys what they think is a good deal for them . . . . no turn around there . . .

- In major metropolitan areas I've typically found dealers to give me a trade-in price EXACTLY what's been in the Blue Book. But, outside of those major areas, less so. Then it becomes a market issue ... or a personality issue. The used car guy may just be very aggressive in their effort to make a buck. And in a position to do so.

- It is true that the used car market is VERY hot right now in many many places. But is it in YOUR area?

- if you want to get the most out of your used car you probably want to sell it yourself. BUT that assumes you have the time and desire to mess with it. If not, then you need to accept that the time you did not want to spend equals loss in the $$ at sale.

- Where I live right now, I get a letter a week from local dealers asking to buy my cars .... the MINI and the HONDA draw pleas of, "we need these highly desirable used cars."

And have I run down to their lot for the great deal????? If it sounds too good to be true, it IS.

 

I recently heard about this site:
http://clearbook.truecar.com/

Might be useful.

 

Cool site.

Thanks for posting.

...Les

 

GREAT Site! I checked the prices for a couple of my cars and it was way more realistic than the dealers try to convince me of!

 

If you don't mind taking a bit of a road trip (~3 hours one way), you might try taking a spin down to MD to Carmax. In my experience, Carmax's "no haggle" offers on two vehicles that I sold them was extremely competitive. They'll buy your car whether you're buying something from them or not - same price. While you're down, you might also take a spin over to Mini of Baltimore to see what kind of deal they might be able to offer.

 

dealers are always like that. you have to remember that it is a business. when I was trading in one of my cars, I just kept shopping around until I found a dealer that would give me a fair price (which as $5k more than another dealer!!).

also, it might be worth it to think about selling it yourself if they are not offering you what you want out of the deal.

 

Mysticeti, thanks for sharing the link.

 

Hello,

I too thought my car would have held value with the dealership and was rudely awakened. My car was going in for maintenance at the MINI dealership so I decided to see how much they would give me for my car. When I inquired I got this whole lecture about how it's a good time to sell my car bla bla bla

When it came time for the rubber to meet the road they fell short....WAY short. Basically they were saying my used car that I purchased fell 30-40% in value in only a year...really? In doing all my research I knew what my car was worth so when they told me how much it was worth I was shocked. Then to really p*ss me off they told me I put high miles on the car in only a year, it doesn't have a sunroof/navigation/bluetooth and that I'm lucky that my car held it's value. If that's true then they are selling BS that a MINI holds it's value better than any other car.

Needless to say it was VERY easy to walk away with my car and a bad taste in my mouth over the experience. When I arrived home I was surprised to find out that USAA provides Black Book values for cars. The dealership claims they have some bla bla book value. What ever. Once the Black Book was calculated it was about 20-30% higher than the MINI dealership.

In closing the real kicker was they kept using the price that I paid on the car at the dealership...really? You're going to base trade-in value on how much I actually paid. It's all good as I will just wait until the 3rd Gen MINI comes out and if they disappoint me then I will move onto a different brand.

 

I guess i was really lucky, I just traded in my 2006 Cooper last Friday with 44,030 miles on it for $12,000 to the dealer. At first they quoted $10,000, but CarMax appraised it at $12,000 and they matched it! The KBB was $11,750, so feel I got a great return. I was so surprised how well my car held its value as I only bought it for $18,990!! I guess it just depends on region, etc. too. I heard now the used car market is hot and that in addition to MINI's being a high resale value, it's a good combination! On top of that, I got the $500 manual discount and a $500 return customer discount. I love MINI of the Woodlands, they have never done me wrong!

 

Fixed. CarMax isn't a bad idea if you're not satisfied with the offer. It does help your trade if you're negotiating on a new car as well, dealers don't typically love to buy older cars, especially ones that have a possibility of being wholesaled right off the bat.

 

There is only so much a dealer can give towards a deal. The deal balances out - whether its more for trade and less off the new car or less on the trade and more off the new car. It depends on the dealers overhead and business philosophy. Shopping and using the leverage is the best practice.

 

Considering how Mini dealers in my area refuse to move off of MSRP, they should be willing to work with people on trade-in values in order to sell some freaking cars. Needless to say, I had to drive 2+ hours away to find a dealer willing to do so.

It's the DEAL folks, don't get hung up on what you're getting for your trade (necessarily) or only what you're paying for the car or only what your interest rate is. Does the DEAL make sense? There are many ways to skin a cat when buying a car...

 

I see so much that's developed just in the last few years. I know it's getting old to hear it but it's just one more sign of the times that we're going thru. When we see the Postal system folding up, that's got to tell us something about the general climate of value.
I don't see a car out there, that would be worth giving up my MINI for.
I love a yellow MINI. It's my second favorite color.

 

I had a similar experience earlier this month...

I had my Mini in for service at the newest dealer in my area. I saw the Countryman and seriously considered taking one off the lot that day. Asked them to give me a number for my 2008 MCS with 34,000 miles, and they gave me a number that was $3000 less than the lower "Good" estimate from KBB. (Yes, it is in good condition).

It put such a bad taste in my mouth that I ended up ordering a Countryman from their downtown competitor (where I got my original 2008). I have no idea how much the downtown dealer will give me for it, but I really felt like the first offer was bordering on offensive. Now that I have the luxury of time, I'll just sell it on my own or go to CarMax.

I gave this dealer the courtesy of an explanation for choosing their competitor, and I received a somewhat defensive email reply about how my decision making criteria was unfair and how they use actual data, not estimates to determine a trade value. That may be, but when there are 3 Mini dealers in the metroplex within an hour drive and they refuse to deal on the price, they should expect that their customers will use other, less tangible factors to make their buying decisions.

Jeremy

 

I agree with Capt bj. The internet, black books, blue books, edumunds.com, etc. are good research tools, but you can wait all day long by the printer and you will not see a check from them coming out. It all boils down to that particular dealer's need for the vehicle, how quickly they can sell it, and what they've seen recently at current wholesale auctions.

Granted, a lot of dealers will try to screw you to get more money out of you, but in my opinion KBB and other websites have brainwashed society about the true value of their vehicles. Basically KBB and others take the vehicle price when new and subtract an arbitrary depreciation formula to arrive at their price. I used to show customers how on KBB.com you could type in 100,000 miles or typo of 1,000,000 miles and the value would change by a couple hundred bucks. Don't you think a car would be substantially less with a million miles? KBB has since stopped allowing you to put that many miles in.

A lot of times Mini's are harder to resale on the used car market just because they can be personalized so much from the factory by the original owner. Someone's taste may not be another's.

 

All well and good, so then, go online and see how much dealers are listing cars like yours for sale. If they're asking $22k for a car like yours, then how much is your trade worth?

There are plenty of ways to justify your trade-in value. And shop the crap out of it.

 

The issue for me is the fact that they say your car is worth such n such value then when I ask to see that source they come back snarky. I was told once I become a dealer then I can see that source they quote from. It's hard to believe that in this economy they can be so offensive when someone is just asking for a "fair" value for their car and is ready to purchase again. Apparently it's only fair value when you're screwed. In contrast my other car I traded in last year with MINI using their outside source gave me top dollar.

 

Exactly.

My local dealer was insistent on my trade-in's value. Then when he was trying to convince me to buy my Countryman on the Mini Select plan (which is a 60 month finance plan with a giant balloon payment due at the end) he said that I would be fine because of Mini's great trade value.

He said, "Try to find a 5 year old Mini for $15k, you won't be able to do it."

I said, "Sure, that's resale value. What would you give me for that 5 year old Mini as a trade-in? $8k?"

He didn't like that so much. But by that point I was disgusted with them and wasn't going to be doing business with them anymore anyway. The dealer 2 hours away from me gave me $1k more for my trade. They made the deal happen. That's what it's all about.

PS- the dealer I did the deal with has my trade in on their website for only $1500 more than they gave me for the thing. I always check that to see how much they hammered me. Knowing they'll probably drop $500 to move it, I think them making $1k on the trade is very fair.

 

Just traded yesterday a 2010 Cabrio non s with 6300 miles. They gave me $22k. I bought it from them in January for $24k. The new MSRP was $29.5k.
Got a 2011 with MSRP of $31.5k but paid $28.5.
I am happy with the deal.

 

I have bought maybe about 500 cars over time (sometimes I have had a car three to six months and simply want something else. )

Anyway, there's ALL kinds of car salesman. They range from the cheesy, lowlife type who will try to work anyone and everyone who comes into contact with him, to the other end of the spectrum, he won't play around and simply try to make a deal without being offensive or disrespectful.

Salesmen also vary on the deal they offer depending on what they observe about you.

If they think you are desperate, they will offer you $3,000 to $5,000 less than what they think they can get for the car on the lot.

If they think you are stupid, they will tell you all kinds of stuff that's usually inconsistent with what they said when you bought the car, e.g., some people saying they were told how MINIs hold their value, or "this is a great color for the MINI (when it's the least popular color and hard to unload); compared to when you want to trade it in they say "MINIs are not moving off the lots, the value has gone way down" or "that color is kind of odd ball, I will probably have to repaint it to get it off the lot."

Bottom line: There's a reason why buying a car and dealing with car salesmen #2 in the top ten most distasteful and distressful things people have to do in life.

I don't have anything new to add in terms of selling your used MINI. It's a well known that:

- Selling private party is the best way to get the most money for your car.

- Trading in, where you are buying a car from the dealer is the easiest way to get screwed on a deal. This is because the dealer gets huge profits on both ends of the deal, giving you way less than what your car is worth, selling you a new car at full price, plus "added dealer markup."

The beauty of this process is that the customer drives off in his new car thinking he got a great deal because the dealer gave him a really good price on the trade-in. But the fact is, that number is artificial because the dealer nailed the buyer on the price of the new car. (And the dealers always say that same thing "I can't work both ends of the deal. I can't give you a lot for your car (they can) and also discount the new car you are buying (they can). Fact is, 99% of people trading in a car will fall for this logic.

- Where a dealer making $500 on a deal is considered fair (per Consumer Reports) on trading in most dealers make about $2,000 to $5,000 on trade-in transactions.

- The second worst way to sell your car is shopping it at a dealer. This is because the dealer knows you are doing that because 1) you are financially desperate; 2) you don't want to hassle selling to a private party; and/or 3) it's simply convenient.

- The reason car salesmen offer low ball or insulting amounts for your MINI is because it works. 9 out of 10 people will be convinced to accept the offer. With those kinds of odds it's worth the risk that one of ten will feel insulted and drive off the lot.

- As some others said, the best indicator of what your car is worth is what someone is willing to actually pay for it. And as another alluded, it's what someone in your geographic region will pay.

- The worst indication of value is shopping the car around to dealers. 9 out of 10 dealers are going to low ball you, and significantly.

- While dealers do have some overhead when selling cars, it's up to you to decide within yourself what is a fair profit for that dealer to make on the transaction. I don't agree that "stiffing" the dealer is proper, but on the high end my feeling is that a reasonable profit is between $500 and $1000. Add another $500 for the risk the dealer assumes in having to sell your car, tying up his money until the car sells, a reasonable offer to someone trying to sell his MINI to the dealer might be around $1,500 to $2,000 below what the exact same condition car is selling on the private party market.

 

Let me add to my original thread...
A) I have since decided my car is too nice to sell, and dealers are idiots.
B) Every car dealership is really looking to make anywhere from 6-8000 on each trade/sale.

I found a 2011 Ford Fusion (used 1 yo, 9k miles - does not hold value), with a manual tranny. KBB retail is 18500... They have it listed at 19.9. I go in with my mini, KBB trade in, in FAIR condition is 14.5... They offer me 13. I call them back and say, OK... give me 13.5, and I will pay you 18.5 for the car.. NOPE they won't deal, why, did they buy it at auction at 19? I think not... By the way they relisted the car recently at 17, 500, great... but they won't even give me 13 now for my car? REALLY?

Ok... Fine... so Hyundai dealership IN A METRO area... c'mon please people... the area does not matter, its the dealer. Anyway, they offered 11.
Subaru, 12.

I said, OK I'll buy a new MINI then.. Maybe it's because it is a MINI, surely the dealership in a metro area, could sell a used MINI, after all it isn't a stripped down model. I wanted them to quote me a trade on a new CM, while it was in for routine serive... They didn't even show enough courtesy to actually get someone from sales to quote a trade. If they don't have time for me while I am in for service (for 2 days!), then darnit I don't have time to buy a car from them (where you know they will make a profit).

Keep in mind with all this, that, I have my own financing, and my credit score is above 750, I am (for them) talking a cash deal!

Now I actually LOVE my mini. I replaced the run-flats, and the car rides, handles, and performs like mad... I just wanted a newer car with a warranty, that was bigger. I considered the CM and the clubman too in my search, thinking the brand (MINI) hasn't taken off around here or something.

Figured Elantra, or a Fusion, or subaru, something with better fuel mileage was a plus too. Runs on regular fuel even better idea.

Also, having no end of time I paid to list the car myself, on auto trader, and cars (don't get me started on the darned phone calls from auction houses). I also listed locally on craigs list and in 2 metro areas in craigs. Most namby-pambies call and REALLY want the car... then I get sheepish calls back like "My wife won't let me have a car with that much HP." Give me a break, really, you are that hen pecked? Honestly this has happened about 3 times... amoungst calls from Nevada offerring their services to sell the car for me.

Honestly, my wife used to sell cars... GM/Dodge/Chevy... different dealers.. years ago... and she was quite surprised at the dealers too.

The link to the clearbook, is disheartening, but probably what these guys are using (thanks for the heads up). It is nice to know that JCW package I have is meaningless to Kelly Black book (which is what that site is using). Also nice to know NONE of the upgrade options that were ordered with my car (which all work flawlessly), are included in the value of my car either.

I never look at a car as an investment, but I am sorry I am NOT impressed with the resale value of the MINI.