I'm in the market for a new car. I had my '07 TL Type S appraised by the dealer and he gave me the low ball of all low balls (imho). I have an 07 CBP TL Type S with about 100,050 miles on it. The car is in good condition on the outside, it has a scratch on the bumper and a few others. No dents on anything like that, basically with a good detail it would be fine. The inside is clean no ripped seats or cracked dash. Mechanically it runs like a champ although the 105,000 service is approaching. I owe about $7,000 on it and I told the dealer I owed $8,000 just to get some cushion built into my negotiations. He basically said he could make the trade a "wash" and I wouldn't carry anything over. I used Edmunds TMV and it says in clean condition the car should get about $12,000 and for average condition it should get about $10,000. Are these number correct or is there a more accurate source to check?

 

He going to try to make money off your car. Simple as that. Sell it yourself to get more out of it. Trade ins aren't a very good idea if you want the best deal. So much for 07 CBP TLS till the wheels fall off huh?

 

I may have to explore the private sale option. Lol... I've grown tired of the 3G but I'm not 100%. I get the new car itch every once in a while.

 

Trade ins are always a bad idea, unless you don't mind taking a loss and don't want the hassle of selling the car yourself. As far as driving a new (or used newer) car, ask yourself the following:
-is my current car in decent shape such that I can continue to drive on and like what I'm driving?
-is my commute sufficiently long so that I'll spend more time in the car and getting a new one is worth the payment (unless you plan to buy outright in cash)?
-is my current car decently reliable (you can see yourself doing the 105K service and driving it for a lot longer without expecting other breakdowns)?

Of course, many here (myself included) will try to convince you to keep what you have. Cars are such a horribly depreciating asset that sometimes there's no justification for spending $30-40K on new when it'll depreciate, require repairs, and may not be as reliable as what you already have. I was often checking out new cars when my car had a horrendous rattle that was bothering the crap out of me - I finally found and corrected it, did a few minor mods to keep interest in the car (added BT streaming), and now have no justification for a new car (plus, I primarily use the car for commuting, which is only 400 miles per month). Making payments for such a low mileage commute (15 miles each way 14 days a month makes no sense for me).

One more thing...if you make your trade a 'wash', the old loan will go away, but you basically get no equity in what you have, therefore, you pay the whole price on whatever you buy (including the sales tax which will typically be close to $3000 on a car that's $40000, depending on your state's tax rate), and base payments on that plus whatever you put as a down payment on the new one. Payments even with a decent down payment, say $10,000 on a $40,000 car will be in the neighborhood of $550 per month and that's based on a 5 year loan. 2 of these payments = your 105K service and then your TL is ready for the next 100,000 miles.

Best of luck in your decision.

 

Go to Auto Trader Trade-in Marketplace if you want an accurate trade-in value for your car. My dealership is a certified trade-in marketplace dealer and if you accurately describe your vehicle on the website, if the physical appraisal checks out with your description when you get here, we will give you that exact number there on the spot.

Auto Trader now owns Kelly Blue Book so they are pretty close in what an actual vehicle is worth. let me know if you have any questions

 

If you decide to sell, a private sale will be the way to go on a car with over 100,000 miles. Dealers will discount you way to much. As far as setting a price, the car sites will give you a ball park but also look at as many actual listings that you can find and try to contact the sellers to see what kind of interest their cars are getting at their asking prices. Not all sellers will oblige but I would guess many will if they know they're talking with a fellow Acura TL owner. With a private sale, you can show potential buyers why your car is special. Dealers can't do that.

 

just sell it by yourself.

 

Dude I will kill you if you trade that thing in for $8,000 are you kidding me? The dealer will easily flip that thing for $16,000 in a heartbeat.

Also, that Edmunds TMV seems insanely low. I looked up the value for my 04 TL 107k and it says around $9000 retail. The KBB and Nada values for this are 11-12k. Edmunds is saying $7500 private party for my car. This is comical. You can barely get an 04 Civic for $7500, let alone a TL. It's a rare car and the only other 04 TLs I've seen around me for sale had like 130,000mi and were selling for around $9000.

Anyway, your car should be able to sell for around $15,000 easily. Don't go to the dealer.

 

Dealerships will do anything for a sale, especially on their new vehicle car lot. I was trading in my wife's 2005 Mazda 6 for a brand new 2013 Honda Civic sedan and she still owed $6500 on the car. The dealership was offered $4000 for the trade-in when KBB rated it at $8,300 average. I told them i wouldn't take anything less than $8,300 and they counter offered with $5000. I got up, told them that i'm not doing business with that kind of an offer, and started to walk out. They stopped me and "ran some numbers" again in the back with accounting and they took the Mazda 6 for $8,300. You just have to show them that you're in command and depending on the dealership, they will conform to your offer (for the most part).

 

Lmao.... after thinking about what erdoc48 said, I think I'm keeping my car. I'm going to use the money I was going to put down and pay off some other bills. It's about time I start making some better decisions.

 

Thanks for taking the time to write that out. I think I got caught up in the whole situation. I took a few days and thought about what you said and realized there are a lot more productive ways to use my money. I'm going to pay other bills I have and then focus on paying the car off. Thanks again!

 

^ you're a wise man. No sense getting another vehicle until you really need a change for other reasons: family size changes, utility needs, or fuel economy reasons. The TL is a great 4 passenger vehicle, but if you need room for 5 regularly there are better choices that have a legitimate shoulder harness for the middle back seat.

 

^^^ Wise choice! Stay away from the stealerships...

 

IMO I would much rather sell the car privately to another person even if its for the same low ball price that the STEALERSHIP would give you and feel better that I hooked somebody up and karma will take care of the rest.

 

I'm in the same boat as you bud.

 

I just checked the suggested retail value of my 06 navi TL with 62k. $16,000. That's the same price I bought it for from the dealer 7 months ago and 10k miles less. Holding its value!

 

One of the perks of trading is your taxed on the difference of your car and the one your buying plus not having the hassle of selling. It a personal choice but I totally agree with Erdoc48. Good post

 

While this is true, you still have to do the math to see if it works out in your favor. For example, let's say your trade in is worth $10,000 and the sales tax rate is 8%. This means you would net a savings of $800 by trading the car in to the dealer. The question then is, would you be able to sell your car privately for more then $800 above what the dealer would pay you for the car?

 

I agree or what are you willing to let it go for if you do sell privately. Or depends on how bad you want the car your willing to trade for. Usually not that bad lol.

 

Sorry but I had to say that Type S with over 100k miles will not sell for 15k easily.

I've seen 2007/2008 Type S over 100K not sell easily for 15. :/