forafriend

Hi, all. My friend bought a then slightly used 2010 RDX Tech in about 2012, and enjoyed it all these years. She's now buying a battery electric vehicle with delivery a few weeks off.
Her white / tan RDX Tech Package has 128,000 miles and is in decent shape for an average condition car of that age and use, though it's not perfect: the backup cam is fritzing, and the a/c is weak and needs a recharge.
She just got a new battery, oil change, and one axle (pretty certain front) brakes from her Acura store in January.
She's by nature a gentle driver, no smoking or odor issues inside, driver's seat leather shows normal age wear (and the upholstery inside is not all torn up like some get), no kids messed it all up inside, the backseat rarely got used, not used for towing, and she keeps it garaged.
I'm helping her decide about selling this RDX herself or trading it in, partly depending upon what her new car dealer offers. Anticipating that wholesale trade offer will at best be a low ball figure, I'm here seeking your expert advice about pegging a rough true market value for her.
Do you think that $11,500 makes a reasonable private party actual price point for this RDX? Forget the KBB B.S. estimator, that's really not objective data: it's slanted or geared to both understate wholesale trade-in and overstate full retail, while this used car market is so terribly tight that a low mile, long term owner car is a premium product. Compare pricing at retail on cars.com and autotrader.com for a better guide.
Sorry, I won't have any photos until she decides it's time to sell, decides to do so privately, and then washes it for taking pictures.

Tomtwtwtw

Hard to say with today's market, but I would recommend checking local/regional sites to try and find 2010-2012 cars in similar condition/mileage to get an idea of what your starting price should be. A quick check on autotrader shows that that most cars in the 11-12k price range are older and/or higher in miles. But you'll want to check multiple sources to get a good overall picture.

Also, if the a/c needs a recharge, I'd recommend getting that done before selling it. It's relatively cheap and will be one less reason for someone to low-ball you. May also want to look into the back-up camera just as well if you want to maximize your potential.

forafriend

That's good feedback, thanks, particularly about the a/c. What local sites do you check? Cars.com and Autotrader using zip codes is all I tried so far for her.

Tomtwtwtw

I would also check out Craigslist, Carmax, Carvana, etc. Don't just focus on private party listings, you can expect people to cross-shop retail used cars as well.

forafriend

Autotrader and Cars.com are primarily dealer driven, with Autotrader now charging for private party listings and Cars.com excluding them entirely. These things changed, plus now FB Marketplace feels more and more like Craigslist, and not in the best of ways...

forafriend

Update: the camera lens was merely muddy, camera works perfectly. So silly, but that's how it goes with a long distance friend's car. A/C recharged and fine, again a simple thing but not for a person less well versed in things automotive.
We'll see what the market bears come June.