I am trying to trade in my 2000 TL NAV 79K. I looked up the trade in value online at both NADA and KBB, and its around $8,500. So far i've been to 2 dealers and both quated me 6,500 to 7,000. Every dealer seems to want to know what I owe on my TL. Is it a bad idea to tell them what I owe? There pretty persistent with asking me. Whats the best approach to getting the best deal on my trade in?

 

Sell it yourself if you want to get the most for your car.

 

Can't, I owe money to the bank.

 

jus tell the u want 8500 and thts the bottom line. if they want ur business they have to give u atleast tht much

 

If you are still financing the car, the buyer pays your bank.
(similar to how I just bought mine)

Unless of course you owe more than it's worth...

Tip for getting deals at dealer: bring a folder full of printouts on your car (NADA & KBB info) and on the car you're buying (retail vs. invoice pricing, options, reviews, whatever)

A well educated consumer is a dealers worst nightmare... if the won't deal, be prepared to walk away.

GL!

 

It don't matter. The buyer pays off the bank holding title to the car. Remaining balance from the sale price is your profit. Straightforward transaction unless like TL Sport pointed out, your loan balance exceeds the sale value of the car.

 

Always go private sale unless your car is a piece of junk

Detail it up- put an ad in the Black Market section of this forum and on craigslist

Every day there is someone looking for a car here on acurazine

Lawaia is correct- you can sell your car- buyer pays the bank on your loan- pays you the differance of your total agreed price and you are done

Even if the buyer is financing- the checks just go to the right places

When you trade in a car- the dealer has to figure out their cost in the deal of reselling that car---so what you pay for the new car is inflated to cover that

When you buy- go in with your own finance arrangement in hand- credit union your bank cash whatever- go in with nothing and prepare for "an exxxperience"

 

My bank said that I have to pay off my car first before I can sell it. I only owe about $5500. Also, why do the salesman wan't to know how much I owe on my car? Is it some sort of tatic?

 

That is right if you want to sell your car. It is your advantage that you must pay it off, get the title, then sell it. It is buyer disadvantage if they have to pay the remaining balance with the bank that they don't even see the pink slip. Besides buyer has to go through a lot of paperwork to get everything go to their name; while the bank only deals with the original loaner. If I am the buyer, you show me the pink slip before I pay. and the pink slip probably doesn't have the buyer name on it. If the pink slip got lost, the bank may not want to deal with the buyer.

 

I know many people trade in cars without a problem but I hear many horror stories of the dealership taking 3 months to pay your old car off. Meanwhile your credit is getting dented for late payments . Just on that alone I would just sell it on your own, dealer will usually always try to lowball you or make up the difference on the new car.

 

It's a tactic but not a transparent one. When your selling a car and buying another one, in my opinion, you're really shopping the difference between what you can get for yours, and what the new one costs. Since both of these are negotiable, the "split" between the two is where the magic is.

The more the dealer knows about your circumstances, the more they know how to handle you -- simple psychology. You don't actually own all of your car. You own some and the bank owns some. That's a different scenario than selling something you own completely.

Depending on how much you owe, the dealer (they're in it to make MAXIMUM profit) is going to squeeze you down as close to that number as possible, because they know that's the nut you need to pay off.

Unless you REALLY don't want to sell it privately, you're going to have more hassles going through a dealer, because they're going to try to spin your head around several times to make you dizzy.

Best bet: Sell privately.

 

I don't have the money to pay it off and like acutee said, it's a lot of paperwork for a buyer to deal with, in order to buy my TL, and my bank said that it takes about a week to get the title released. Anyway, Thanks for all the advice. I know this topic does not relate to the TL. I guess I really need to figure out the best approach to get the best deal on my trade.

 

Trading it in will not yield you the best deal. Think about it... dealerships make money by buying at wholesale, and selling at retail. OBVIOUSLY, they're not going to give you retail value for it. Or even close to it. That would eliminate their opportunity to profit from it.

That said, selling privately is a pain in the ass if you still owe money on it. So your options are to deal with the pain in your ass of selling it, or take less than retail value for it on trade.

And OF COURSE they need to know what you owe on it. THEY are the ones that have to cut a check for it if you trade it in. Wouldn't you want to know that bit of info too?

If you need more specific info, feel free to PM me. I've been in the retail car business for years and years.

 

The retail value for my TL is around $11,000. All I am trying to get is the trade in value which is around $8,500. I've looked around on the internet and my TL is selling for $11,000-13,000.

 

Carmax and the dealers both quoted KBB "fair" values for my car, which I believe is in much better than FAIR shape. I would jump in this car and drive cross country with no worry. Be prepared for that. Selling privately has not been a walk in the park either. Plenty of "bites" but people are indecisive and drag out the process "still looking at other cars, waiting for my tax refund, can you come down another $300, etc.) I have decided without a doubt I'm going the dealer trade-in route from now on. My TL has been for sale ('00 with Navi) for about three weeks. I've spoken to and e-mailed to and fro with soooo many people, it is a hassle. I've had to lower my asking price to juuuuuust above the website trade-in numbers, even though Carmax and the Infiniti dealer lowballed me by about $1500. I said no thanks. I paid off my TL (ouch) and decided to sell it privately before I bought my new G35 two weeks ago. We now have 4 vehicles for 2 drivers, but I digress; the TL MUST be sold!!

I would not do it this way again. I've come off my asking price by $1000, and I priced it below the KBB et al private sale numbers. I don't know if potential buyers are checking these sites, but the offers are crazy. Private sale for my condition and mileage is about $8K, and one lady offered $5k sight unseen. Another guy offered $5800 sight unseen and would'nt budge.

To the OP, trade your car and be done with it. No continaully checking e-mail, fielding late night calls or running home to meet with virtual tire-kickers. Also, selling an Acura on a forum where everyone drives an Acura isn't easy either. I offered my car here for $1500 below asking price (which was already a bargain) and not a bite...good luck!
By the way, if anyone's looking for a 2000 TL with Navi, hit me up!

 

My experience with this last purchase was that neither Infiniti nor Carmax were willing to budge. So, I made the decision not to sell my car to them at a huge loss.

 

The woes of selling a car after the holidays and before tax refunds

Maybe better pics or description with your Black Market ad would help
Does your car have high miles or some other problem?
The conditions poor fair etc in the blue book relate to outer skin condition more than mechanical
Its all about looks!

 

Hadn't thought about after the holidays, but yeah tax time is killing me! My 2000 has 136K and I would say the condition is more good, than fair:

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/mrleeare...60762383036606