I got appraised for a $3200 trade in!!!!!

My car - 1998 Chrysler Sebring LXi, every option in the book. No problems whatsoever. Excellent condition. Blemishes - 1 rim has a slight dent, not close to enough to break the seal on the tire. Tires will be needed in about 10K. But really, there's nothing wrong. If you want to be picky, yes, theres a small ding in the drivers side door, no paint missing, and a few very minor scratches that aren't noticed until up close. Same with the couple rock chips on the front of the car. What do you expect from a used car though...

I checked NADA and Kelly Blue Book before I went in. My car is worth roughly 9K private party sale, 11K retail, and about $7500-$8200 trade in.

I was told, "sorry, thats the BEST price we can give you - since we are a BMW dealership, we'll only pay whats close to auction value...and since you don't have a BMW..."

You know what, go ***** yourself. Less than 1/2 the value of the car is sh*tty - its enough to make me pissed. At least the car is paid off. Guess I'll wait it out until someone finds a buyer. If your interested, I'm negotiable. Check out the car at:

http://staff.xu.edu/~ball

Erik

 

Have you tried getting your car appraised for free at Carmax?

http://www.carmax.com

Also keep in mind that American cars depreciate like heavy bricks, no matter the condition they are in. I personally like American cars but this is my biggest beef with them...you pay top dollar when you buy them new and resale value 3 to 4 years down the road stinks. Blame the never ending string of rebates and special 0% financing deals on new Big 3 products. When you sell a domestic car, you soon discover the real value equation behind them.

Also understand that BMW dealers are not interested in your type of car. Their used car clientele are looking to get BMW's, Mercedes, Audis, Hondas, Toyotas, Lexus, etc. Chryslers are largely irrelevant to them as they can get them out of their used car lot, so their only option to get rid of it is at a dealer's only used car auction. Same story with korean makes.

So before you get angry at your dealer you need to understand where they are coming from. Your car will be very difficult for them to sell....it is a money pit.

Dealer trade ins typically don't give you much money for your car. I would suggest for you to try to sell it yourself privately. It is a pain in the A$$ but the effor might be worth it, specially if the car is nicely kept, all service records available on a nice folder and it is generally a cream puff. Put an ad in the paper and see if someone bites.

Used car pricing guides are just that..guides. A used car value is just an opinion, not written in stone. Also take into account the brand, type of car, model, trim, mileage condition and region where you live. It could be that Chryslers in your area are not very well regarded as used cars.

Do some research and have fun. Trading in for the sake of trading in and losing your shirt is the worst deal you can make in your life. Don't be a fool!

 

Hard to get a lot of money out of a 5-6 year old american sedan.

Good luck selling it on your own. You should be able to get a better return if you can find a private party looking for the perfect Sebring. . .

I only got $5000 for a 5 year old Saab when i bought my Defender 90 back in 1994. I was bummed, but it had a lot of miles on it and was beginning to have serious problems right as the warranty was running out and was glad to be done with it.

 

"Also understand that BMW dealers are not interested in your type of car."

That is the problem, it's a Mini dealership. Mini is in the price range that they should expect less expensive cars to be traded in. I too have had my vehicle apraised by the Mini dealership and was told a very unrealistic price. I have never in my life paid MSRP so I have never been upside down in a car. I have the car on the side of the road at a "sale your own" car lot now and am not very happy about it. The car has never been outside overnight except for parking garages during vacation. Even the trade on my current car I wasn't insulted by the price like the Mini dealer gave me. I had bought a brand new Explorer, drove it 6 months and 16,000 miles and they still paid off the vehicle.

I know I can sale the car for atleast payoff but I'm not happy about it. I've never had to do it before so why should I have to now on a $21,000 vehicle. Yes it is a Mini but it's still an inexpensive car. I wouldn't expect to go to the Dodge dealership and get screwed because I don't drive a Mercedes but Mini thinks they can. Between this and the incompetence of the sales and manager staff to return calls I think very poorly of MINI OF NASHVILLE .

BTW, I may give the salesman and his manager a big button phone as a present when I pick up my car.



_________________
home.mchsi.com/~mini/index.html

 

My dealer told me flat out to take my car to Carmax because they'll offer me more than the dealership would pay me. And that's with a Saab and a Miata to trade/sell.

I'm selling the Miata privately and taking the Saab to CarMax this weekend to check on the price I can expect.

Tom

 

Hate to say it, but dealerships can't offer a lot for cars period. Remember, they're in the business of making money, just like everyone else - what sense does it make for them to spend $6k on a car they know will auction for half that? Its one of those sucky facts of life, last resort when you can't sell your car. I id okay with my Jeep and my Beetle... but the Jeep was at a friend's dealership, and the Beetle, well, I dunno, just got somewhat lucky there. Classic is a good dealer network.

 

Some Basic Car Dealer 101:

You do not know for sure what your car is worth. You may look at NADA & Kelly, but the info published to the masses is not accurate or timely. BTW,Edmunds.com has your car valued a little lower. You also do not say what the mileage is.

What determines your cars value is

#1 Auction sales of the same car. Dealers attend & receive weekly reports on what sold & for how much. Why would they pay more for your car than for one at auction?

#2 Bank loan value. You car can only sell for what a bank is willing to loan on it. Unfortunately loan value is less than wholesale. A smart dealer will try to buy any car between the two values, if possible.

#3 Availability, how desirable and available is this car. Sorry to say Chryslers are not that desirable and a dime a dozen.

#4 They're right. Your trade will immediately go to an auction. A MINI dealer will not keep such a vehicle.

#5 0% financing on new cars - has caused used car values to drop like a rock in the past few months.
5a. Why buy used & pay higher interest when for the same payment you can get a new (less desirable) car?
5b. Has created a glut of used cars forcing prices down (supply/demand)

Retail value is meaningless on your trade. After all the dealer must make your car ready for sale mechanically & cosmetically, advertise it, hold it (interest costs), and has overhead to recoup - all before he makes a dime.

Your best bet is to sell the car yourself to a friend, relative or stranger for less than retail. They get a deal & so do you.

 

When I traded my 2000 Mustang in last month, they flat out told me that they couldn't sell that car, because they only sold Mini, and the other dealerships on the block only sell new and used imports, so the only thing they could do was put it on auction... i was able to dicker them up a grand more than what they offered... on a side note, i was also told that they didn't break even with what they gave me at auction either.... woops...

 

The very soft used car market is what is screwing people on trade-ins. They are trying to run a profitable business, and the profit margins on MINIs are fairly low from what I understand. Yes, I could have gotten more selling mine separately, but I couldn't absorb the dual car payments/insurance costs/etc. not knowing when my old vehicle would go. I did my homework and knew what I was getting into.

 

Don't Ever go to CARMAX!! They will never give you what you the car is worth. They use Black Book Pricing which is on average $3-$4,000 less then KBB and once you sell it to them they will turn around and jack the price up 2,500-$3,500 after only sending it to the detailer, slapping it in the car wash and placing it on the lot. I used to work for CARMAX back in the day and they are really not worth it what-so-ever. If you are truly interested in selling the car list it in Auto Trader, Ebay, or find a good location to place it and get a private party to buy it, and not some trade-in value or any other car company.

Mahalo,

Kevin

 

I have to give props to Carmax. I sold my car there when I bought my Mini. They were nice, the price was good, and they went beyond what they had to to make it pleasant.

I am the biggest whiner about bad customer service, so I don't often compliment companies.

PM me if you want details.

Jeff in ATL

 

When I gave my deposit for my MINI I asked the MA what they would give me for my 94 Honda Del Sol with 265K miles on it.

Oh how we laughed...HaHaHaHa....Ha.....heh.......(sigh).

 

Trade in Value- did they screw me? Sure that is their job. If they don't then they will charge me even more for my MINI.
I had my trusty 1991 Dodge Caravan with 125,000 miles on it in tip top shape after spending two days washing scrubbing and polishing it to a cherry condition. I took it to several places before taking it to the dealer. Good thing because they all told me the same thing. No matter how good the car runs, there is no demand for a cheap old van. 100,000 miles makes it the sole domain of a used car lot/dealer. No new dealer will touch it so they must bid on it at 50% of what they think they can sell it to a used car dealer for.

According to Edmunds my van had a retail value of $2800-3000+. Wholesale of $1200. I could expect to sell it for about $2000. Used car dealers were willing to do $1500-1800 without looking at it much at all. The Mini dealer offered $600- they claimed something was up with the power steering because it creaked on turns. I didn't hear that and no one else did either. I was dissappointed but I had plan B.

My father sold the van to a private party for $1800 with a quick cash sale but had others willing to pay up to $3000 for it if they could have a week longer. $1800 was fine. The van had some trouble with intermittent stalling. Most of the time ran great and everything else was good. It was the car I drove everyday but it had some trouble and I didn't know what exactly was the cause due to the intermittent nature.

 

Order your new mini with exactly the equipment you want.Put your car up for sale,at whatever price you think it might bring.Take the difference between your "high"price and the dealer's "low"price,and divide it by the weeks on your wait list.Lower your price by that amount each week.If you're right and the car is worth big bucks,you'll sell early;if you're wrong it will sell late at close to the dealer's price,or you can trade it in on the Mini.
I sold my used car early and talked to my dealer about a "cancellation" car,I didn't like the color so I got on the web,and telephone.I found 3 MCS's within a 4 hour drive.I purchased one at list and couldn't be happier.My local dealer cheerfully refunded my deposit and has serviced me like one of thier own.
Your Mini dealer probably isn't trying to screw you on the trade in,but they do need to make a profit.Take a hit on your trade,the smallest hit possible,you'll enjoy the Mini so much that you'll soon forget about the bath you took on the Dodge.

 

>>Don't Ever go to CARMAX!! They will never give you what you the car is worth. They use Black Book Pricing which is on average $3-$4,000 less then KBB and once you sell it to them they will turn around and jack the price up 2,500-$3,500 after only sending it to the detailer, slapping it in the car wash and placing it on the lot. I used to work for CARMAX back in the day and they are really not worth it what-so-ever. If you are truly interested in selling the car list it in Auto Trader, Ebay, or find a good location to place it and get a private party to buy it, and not some trade-in value or any other car company.
>>
>>Mahalo,
>>
>>Kevin

I agree. I tried to sell my car to them before buying my MINI. I wanted to get rid of it fast but I ended up selling my car to my sister for what they were offering me. At least my sister got a good deal, rather than Carmax. They suck.

 

That car won't sit on a Mini lot. It'll go
straight to auction. The auction price is
the best you'll get on trade. Unless you find a
private buyer willing to pay more you are stuck.
Keep it, if it is a good car.

 

Yep. If you try to trade-in, MINI can do whatever they want. There's a high demand for their cars, they are selling at MSRP and a lot of people (like me) are custom ordering from the factory. Sell it yourself. I did. I took my about 2 months to sell a 94 Eagle Vision with 80k miles. I advertised in the local classified and "News on Wheels". What finally sold the car: I parked it in front of a friends house who lives on a busy street. Cleaned it up, put a big sign on it. Sold it the second weekend for about $1,000 more than I would have got in KBB trade-in value.

 

I would say never trade in a used car at a dealer, you will never be happy with what you get.
I would give a thumbs up to Carmax, where I sold my used car to get the MINI. While you will be able to get more in a private sale, Carmax had great service and is completely no hassles.
I had a 1998 Subaru Legacy Outback Ltd with 60k miles. I checked all the 'book' values, and decided that I might get maybe as much as 12k in a private sale, but maybe not. I set myself a goal of wanting to get a minimum of 10k for the car, or maybe more, but I wanted no hassles, no showing of my car to possibly uninterested private buyer who back out, etc..
I took the car to Carmax one day for appraisal: they offered $9,950 for it.
I went back the next day and sold the car to them and got my bank draft.
At my bottom line, but fast, absolutely no hassles, great service, more than I would have ever gotten via dealer trade in. Less probably than private sale, but 2 weeks of my time and effort to sell the car is not worth 1-2k$.
My 2c.

 

my bmw dealer expressly siad.. WE will screw you if you trade in here... so I knew up fornt.... however my mini delaer is right behind a carmax and they just tell everyone to go over there.. I did better I sold my honda accord back to my dad, to give to my sister.

 

It almost sounds like you think the dealer is obligated to take your car on trade and give you what a book says it is worth. They're not. If you want to get out of it what it is worth (or what you think it is worth), you put the effort forth to advertise it and sell it. They're price is another way of saying they don't want your car.

 

If I had gone through them, they would have shafted me. Instead I found another buyer myself for my Accord and got what it was worth.

 

any dealer will try to lowball you, since they wanna turn around and make money on your car. MINI wanted to give me 18k on a Lexus IS 300 with low miles. I told them shove it, and they gave me 21k :smile:

 

I actually got a pretty good trade-in. 94 Altima with almost 100k miles on it. Blue book was around $2000. Spent $100 on a detail job the day before. They offered me $2200 & I jumped on it. Left the car with them that day even though my MINI was still 6 weeks from delivery.
Lois

 

My dealer connected me with a guy who handles high-end cars on ebay ($50K+). My car was in great shape (but not a high end car), and he was willing to handle it. I had a 98 Camry XLE 6 cyl and sold it on ebay. He had a reasonable fee (covering his photos, write-up) + ebay auction fee and handled everything. I think his advice was sound about the soft market. I didn't get exactly what I wanted $$$, but didn't do badly either. He made a nice commission, too.
I certainly didn't have the time to sell the car myself. Anyway now I've been driving my baby 6 weeks, and couldn't be happier. Good Luck!

 

I had the same deal when I tried to trade my 2000 New Beetle Turbo for a MINI. They wanted to give me the auction price, so I just sold it on my own, and got what it was worth. Don't advertise your car on the internet. If you do, you might never sell it. I tried doing it that way and got one call in 2 months. Advertise your car in the newspaper of the largest city near you. I did that and sold the car in 4 days.
Good luck.