chasingthecool

i have a 2007 honda civic sedan auto with 66k on it. im not sure if i should trade it in for a TL or sell it privately. need some help on what you would recommend

princelybug

iTrader: (16)

Always sell privately if possible, because you'll make more money from the sale.

But, trading your car in is much faster, easier, and less hassle. However, you won't get as much money for it as you would by selling privately.

Aman

I'd sell it privately. You can get more money for your car.

I think dealers try to get you to trade in your car when buying another and convince you that you're saving money vs. selling privately, but I'm not sure if there are any real savings.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

I sold a 2002 dodge ram.
dealers only wanted to give me less than $1500.

I sold it on craigslist in a matter of 2 weeks for $4,000.
then put that money to good use at the strip club...eerrrr I mean a down payment for my current TL.

Rafiton

Yeap, go private.

In 2007 I sold a 2001 jetta for 8k and the Acura dealer wanted to give me 3,500 for it. And my car was in great condition.

Bayam0n

private sale is better. Stealerships are A-holes about trade-ins. You can keep you car in near perfect condition, and they'll NEVER give it to you for more then the lowest KKB amount, which is Fair condition. They never give it to you for good or perfect condition worth. NEVER. EVER. I know for a fact!

pimpin-tl

Private is sometimes better. But people don't think about this when they talk about Private sell.

When you sell private, you get a bit more money. But when you go get your new car, you must pay full taxes on it.

But, when you trade in your car, you only pay half the taxes usually, or less. So the difference you made on selling the car private to trading it in, is usually a wash. I usually just trade in because of this.

soon2b954

Selling your car private is the best way to go in terms of getting what the car is worth. Just sold my car a couple weeks ago and I have to say the older I get the less patients I have for tire kickers and people that want the car for nothing. Good luck!

ggesq

iTrader: (1)

If you have the time and wherewithal to deal with a private sale then go for it. There are tax savings/ consequences when selling it privately vs. trading it in. Like I said in your other thread, I suggest doing some research on the net to see the pros and cons of selling it privately vs. trading it in.

gatrhumpy

iTrader: (1)

^^ Great advice!

aiy_yah

It all depends on what the dealership offers. Sometimes they give good deals (my friend traded in 99 jeep and got $6K, even though people selling privately were asking for slightly less).

The dealership didn't want my 98 Civic when I bought my TL-S and I sold it privately for $3300, but took about 5 weeks of dealing with people asking me to part out or if I will take $2K.

So, it all depends I guess. Take a look to see what others are selling similar car for and see what the dealership is offering. Of course, as others said, you do get a bit of savings on tax - but it could only end up being a few hundred depending on tax rate and how much they will give you for trade in value.

It may be worth taking less to save yourself the hassle.

raf1919

ya it varies. i'm not sure how it is everywhere else, but in IL you pay taxes on purchase price minus trade in. so that can save you alot by trading in. for me i really think i broke even what i got for trade in and if i did private.

paki_munda

Definitely sell privately especailly if the car is in good condition.

I sold my last two cars privately. A 93 Accord I sold four years ago had 235K miles for $2,400 and an 01 Accord I sold earlier this year with 165k miles for $4,500. Both cars were in great condition and sold on Craigslist within 24 hours.

jhumbo

iTrader: (1)

It completely depends what the dealer offers and if your state only charges sales tax on the difference. I used to think that private sale was the only way to go, but I live in IL where sales tax is 7.25% and tax is only on the difference. I was selling a car that I thought should have been worth $15k-$16k and tried selling private and was having a hard time. (Another issue is that it is hard to sell a high value car private as you usually have to deal with waiting for the buyer to get financing. Also, people spending that much on a car seem to prefer comfort of buying from a dealer.) In any case, I went to dealers and just told them I wasn't going to trade because I would sell on my own. They usually asked, "What if we give you a fair price?" and negotiations would begin. I ended up trading in for $14k which gave me about $1000 tax savings. So I think I ended up getting about the same as what I would have for a private sale with a lot less hassle.

Just my $0.02.

images

iTrader: (2)

you have to remember that the dealership has to turn around and sell that trade in for profit, if you're trying to sell your car privately for maximum KBB, you're not going to be able to trade it in for that same price, as the dealer wants to at the very least, break even.

it's situational as others have said, take the car to the dealer, negotiate with them and see how much you can get, then go home without making a deal, give yourself some time to really think about the pros/cons, consider things like tax benefits, as well as making that sales rep sleep on a potential sale. negotiate, negotiate, negotiate.

low ball at first, dont worry about insulting the guy, this is your money you're playing with.

car is listed at 18000, with a KBB of 17500, you want to pay 16500 OTD, are you going to offer 16500? no... offer around 15000, he will probably say 17500, work your way into the middle, this will get you what you want 95% of the time, if it doesn't, just leave, don't get out smarted and don't get attached, you can find the right car at the right price, just go slow and get your moneys worth.

same with trade ins, if the trade in value is 15000, ask for 17000, he will probably offer 12-13k for it, work your way into the middle.

cars salesmen are just that, salesmen, nobody knows how to haggle anymore because stores have "set" prices, this isn't the case in car sales, it's a game, have a plan and play it better than the salesmen and you will get what you want for the right price.

jhumbo

iTrader: (1)

One thing to note though is that in general buyers are willing to pay a dealer more than they would a private party, so the dealer could buy it for the same as you would hope to get private and dealer could still make money.

True or not, there is a perception that buying used from a dealer means the car has been checked out and fixed up a bit more. Also dealers usually provide a short term warranty (usually 30-day or 60-day, sometimes 90-day).

MrHeeltoe

iTrader: (1)

Get a trade-on quote and try to sell it for $800-1300 more if you can.

jhumbo

iTrader: (1)

You'll need to get a few trade-in quotes. I have seen that different trade-in offers will vary by many thousands of dollars.

Petey1984

I recently tried to trade my 02 Tundra with 65 k on it and the dealer only offered me 8-9k tops i listed the truck on craigslist and sold it within a week for 12500

slcxow

Have some patience and sell privately.

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

Find a buyer and ask the dealer for a courtesy trade. The dealer will put down on paper the amout that the buyer is paying for your car, so you'll be happy that the taxes are only on the difference, and the buyer of your car will be satisfied as well with the paperwork. Coordination of both sales is the only problem.