Nikki

What is a good asking price for a 2004 Acura TSX? I have been searching and am happily surpirsed at the high asking prices for this car. It has kept it's value extremely well within the first year.

5,500 miles
6-speed manual
non-navi
OEM apearance package
Rear Spoiler
Silver Star wheels

The total cost of the car when I bought it in May 2004 was ~$30k and I have the window sticker.

The car is mint, there are no scratches, dings or dents on the vehicle (I had two tiny dents removed this weekend for $75 and you would never know they were there)

I searched on Autotrader for 2004 TSXs within 300 miles with less than 30k miles on them and the average price was $26,105. I realize that this is probably high because dealers are CPOing them, but even the lowest price was $23,999 and those cars had 30k miles on them, wheras mine only has 5500.


KBB's Private Party retail for excellent condition is $25,200 (this does not include the OEM kit since that is not an option) and for good condition (though I don't see why it wouldn't be excellent) KBB says $23,825

I had it assessed at Carmax and they said $21,500, which didn't really appeal to me.

So, I was unsure if I should ask higher than KBB since it has the OEM kit-maybe $26k or if I should just ask KBB?

LannyM

Selling an almost new car can be tough. Sure you've got $1600 or so in upgrades, but they are not necessarily what a potential shopper would want. And unlike buying new, the buyer has no choice in options. Another downfall is that many buyers like dealers because they can get them financed, take trades, do paperwork etc.

So, in order to sell, you've got to make your car price-appealing to a potential buyer. And since new '05s are selling for close to invoice, about $25,500, I would think you're gonna be at least a couple grand less than that.

I know there hasn't been any sales on eBay of more than $23,000 as well.

I hope I'm wrong and you can get more, but you'd have to be really lucky to find just the right buyer.....

Nikki

Well I'd be happy to get any more than $22k really, but I was just wondering what I should ask.

Do you guys think that if I put it for $26k I will get higher offers than if I put it up for $25k, or will it just get less responses?

I personally would much rather buy a car from a private owner and know they were the only owner, have all the repairs receipts, etc. It also is much more attractive to me when I see an advertisement from a private owner who has several nice photos than an ad with a single dealer photo with bad lighting.

iamhomin

Hey,

The market for a 6spd TSX is extremely low- therefore regardless of the asking price you see on the web, you have to lower your price to make it sell (I went through the process just last month and sold it couple of days ago). If you're looking for a trade-in, the dealers will offer you a wholesale price of an used vehicle which will be around $20,500-$21,500 since you're mileage is extremely low, but I doubt they'll go over $21,000 since the 2006's are soon due.

My car had 28,000 miles and was in excellent condition, KBB, edmunds, NADA all rated it above $21,000, but I had to let it go for $19,500 (and this was through private sale). I initially aimed for $21,000, but it just didn't seem possible. Plus, you have to factor in the fact that all vehicles depreciate over time- so it's not good to hold onto it when you're trying to make a sell.

If you're near NY, contact user 'psteng19'. He test drove my car and is extremely interested in a 6spd TSX. Perhaps you two can strike out a fair deal.

Nikki

Well maybe then i could try $25k and if I don't get any calls within a week, do $24k. Wait maybe 2 weeks, then say $23k and hopefully try to keep it at that. I really don't want to resort to Carmax for $21,500.

Alin10123

It's going to be hard to get close for what you paid for on a slightly used car. The reason being that cars depreciate the quickest when they are brand new.
I would try putting it in autotrader on one of those "list until it sells" deals and your local advertising for car sales as well.

Then i would start a tad higher than what i "ideally" would want for it. If that doesn't work, i'd go to a more realistic price about 2 weeks later. Then if in 2 weeks it still doesn't sell or at least get any prospects, i'd go down even further.

Are you selling to get another car? You may just want to trade in at the local dealer. I know that in the state of Ga. if you trade in a car you actually save quite a bit of money. So if you can only get close to trade in party on a private sale, you probably should trade it in. How it works is if you get $25,000 on your trade-in and you buy a car for $30,000 you will only be taxed on $5000 instead of the whole $30,000. So in Georgia with taxes ranging from 5-7% you would save at least a minimum of $1250. Plus you dont have to go through the hassle of spending money to list it and you dont have to deal with having to let people drive it and etc... It could end up being time consuming.

No, i dont work for a dealership lol. Just giving me 2 cents based on my prior experiences.

LannyM

Well, $25k seems like a reasonable level to start at. Put it at $24,999 like dealers do; it sounds a lot less than $25,000 .

I think starting much higher than that might prompt someone to not bother offering, but it's still going to come down to finding someone that wants your color combo, tranny, no nav, wants the kit or at least doesn't mind it, etc. If you find that person you could do pretty good, because mileage/condition appear perfect.

What are you looking into getting to replace it?

Nikki

Yes, I am getting a new car but it wasn't worth it to trade it in. I would give it to Carmax before I traded it it. Reason is this: I would save maybe $1200 in taxes but they're only offering me $19,500 for the car and Carmax would give me $21,500, so I wouldn't be gaining anything from the tax break. I am thinking of possible leasing first, so that I don't have to put down a lot of money at once, and then I would have as much time as possible to sell the TSX. Then, when I sell the car after maybe a month, I will buy the car off the lease. The reason for doing that is I will save $500 every 6 months on insurance, and I really don't want to lease the car anyway.

psteng19

You near NYC/NJ? What color?



I highly doubt you'll be able to get anywhere close to what KBB quotes.
I've been following used TSX sales for probably the last 6 months and it's been pretty slow.
Well priced ones get snatched up quickly, so the market is definitely there, but mostly for those looking for a really good deal (like myself).
Be ready for all sorts of lowball offers after you post it up

And with '06s coming, it should further drive the prices down so you should act quick.
As someone already said, $25,500 seems to be the going price for NEW '05s, but that's for the educated crowd.
The average consumer probably hasn't done research and will be getting schooled by the dealer.

Glad to hear you worked out a deal Jeff

iamhomin

Thanks Terrence,

It was sold at $19,500- but since the rear left door needed repair, I figure the car was sold at $20,000. A thousand less than what I aimed for, but great nonetheless.

Happy shopping man, hopefully you'll find one of your taste since the 06's will cost near 30k OTD.

magnifico

nikki, what car are you looking to get ?

Nikki

It is Carbon Gray, and I'm not near that area, sorry. I ordered a 330i.

S14 n Tsx

are you intersted in selling your oem kit???

Nikki

I don't think so, since I don't think it is easily removeable and it seems like a hassle.

magnifico

psteng19

The fact that it's manual also makes it harder to sell IMO.
Given that the majority of USA cannot or does not want to drive stick.

Then you'll have the few that want to drive nothing but stick, but there's a lot less of those around.

owkone

Check the CarMax prices if you were to buy one. Then ask $500.00 less. Tell people you are asking $500 less than what they will pay at CarMax - that I think should be good selling point.

Powered by Honda

330i eh? So nice. E90 is so nice. Good luck!

BLkJacK

I was happy getting the car for this price. No remorse... The car was listed for $23,900. What I did as a buyer was checked kbb and NADA and got an idea of what the dealerships would buy the car back on trade in for and figured I'd offer just about that b/c we all know very few dealers give you fair trade-in when you're looking at something new. I considered myself lucky to get the car at that price. I would have settled at $22k though, 6-speed or not.

iamhomin

BLKJacK, where were you when I needed you?

Nikki

LOL I checked CarMax in my area and there is one with 6k miles on it selling for $26k.

These are the listings, they are all 2004's , I'm surprised that there are as many manuals. There's one that has 10k miles that they're trying to sell for $27k! It must have navi or something??

$24,998 -- Automatic -- 18K
$23,998 -- Manual --44K
$23,998 -- Manual -- 39K
$24,599 --Automatic --30K
$24,998 --Automatic --21K
$25,998 --Automatic --6K
$23,998 --Manual --25K
$26,998 --Automatic --10K
$22,599 --Automatic --56K

Nikki

I put it up for sale in the classifieds section

https://acurazine.com/forums/car-parts-sale-361/fs-2004-tsx-cg-mt-only-5k-miles-320228/