mark00s

I wanted to get your opinion on whether this dealer trade in value is reasonable. Location: NYC

I have a 2012 FWD TL with the technology package, black on black with the upgraded oem 18 inch wheels and the AWD steering wheel. There is ~29K miles on the car and I have all done all the maintenance at an acura dealership. I have a few minor dents on the bumper, but aside from that the overall condition of the car is very good. The offer I received was $16,000.

I am moving out of the country and am willing to lose a bit on the deal out of the convenience of not having to deal with a private party sale. I purchased the car brand new in May 2012, with an all in cost, including interest of ~$40K.

Your feedback would be greatly appreciated.

robpp

iTrader: (2)

use the KBB tool

be fair when you pick condition.

it will give you a good idea.

but in general that sounds awful low to me/

or go to a carmax and try them

TheMuffinMan

iTrader: (1)

- upgraded oem 18 inch wheels
Dealer doesn't care, nor does the average buyer

- AWD steering wheel
Dealer doesn't care, nor does the average buyer

- I have a few minor dents on the bumper,
Dealer does care

KBB the vehicle and for trade-in in my area it's ~$17-18k for 'Very Good' condition. Keep in mind the dealership has to make money on selling it, they aren't a charity. So they'll offer you $16k so they can sell it for ~$18-20k. If they have to respray the bumper, that's a couple hundred out of their pocket.

TheMuffinMan

iTrader: (1)

How much would you spend on a 4 year old FWD TL? People are talking about buying them for ~$21k on the forums, what do you think a dealer is going to offer for trade-in? They're not going to give you $19k if the sale price is $21k.

atl7

Is your TL a part of the Takata recall? If it's like my Acura dealer, they can't even sell any 4Gs until these airbags get replaced which could be 3 months or so. A situation like that would definitely affect trade in value.

hadokenuh

Like others have mentioned, it's a little low but not out of place. I would try other places that buy cars like Carmax and go with the highest since you are moving out of the country.

The car new was 35K after incentives and stuff. IMO It's really not fair to add tax and interest into trade in value though. So you are losing a little over 50% over 4 years on TRADE IN. That's a little low but not too bad. You can probably private sale for at least 18K though if you have some time.

mark00s

Thank you all for the responses. I will bring a printout of the KBB trade in values and ask the dealer to reconcile the difference and spot check carmax and another dealership.

My car is part of the recall, which is the main reason why I am strongly considering just trading it in since I won't be able to license the vehicle until the recall work has been completed.

TheMuffinMan

iTrader: (1)

I'll put $50 that CarMax will be within $1k (more like $500) of the dealer's offer. They all go off roughly the same tools.

JJones91

Do not use KBB, NADA will be far more accurate.

TheMuffinMan

iTrader: (1)

Private sale is always going to get you more. I sold my Pilot that CarMax and the dealer valued at $2300 (trade in) for $7800 on Craigslist.

It was meticulously cared for and just had high (highway) miles on it. The dealers would have just sent it to auction and hoped for the best.

wreak

The dealer is aware you're looking for cash right? Just asking because trade-in is usually a term used when you're trading your vehicle into a dealer looking for credit towards another purchase, not just a cash payout. I would guess you might get more in a trade towards another car versus a straight sale to the dealer.

JT4

I agree with the others who said the offer is on the low side. The other issue you have is that since you're not trading it in for another car the dealer has less room to make the numbers work for them, so they gave you a low offer.

With that being said, if it was me I would tell the dealer I wanted $18,500. Of course he won't give you that but my goal would be to get somewhere in the $17's.

Good Luck..

csmeance

You can easily do private sale in a few days and get more than that price. Have you tried carmax?

avi8or

I paid $18,500 + $199 doc fee + TTL for my 2012 Base FWD from a Honda dealer this past January. It had 25,000 miles on it and was in very nice condition.

avi8or

Also, the black book average trade-in price that csmeance listed should be more what you are looking for from a dealer offer. However, that is a national number and you are not trading it to buy another car, so your offer will likely be lower. Especially if you told them you are moving overseas and need to sell the car fast.

Getting an offer from the clean column is rare unless the balance is mixed with the price of the new car one would be purchasing.

Jakes_tl

list it privately for $18 - 18.5K and you should be able to sell it.

Vanderjdm

I live in Cincinnati. Dealers here advertise the 2012 TL fwd base with those kind of miles at around 21 to 23 thousand. I paid 23000ish for mine six months ago. A sh-awd 2012 with the tech package and similar miles would probably go for 25000ish here.

Sell it privately if you can. It'll sell fast if you price it right on autotrader.

ABDomega

OP, are you trading the car in to the dealer and buying a car from them or selling just it to the dealer?

Mr Marco

OP,
I just got $14K for a 2009 TL SH-AWD HPT with 97077 miles on it. So $16K is straight up theft.

BTW, I really wanted $15K, they started at $12,500.

hadokenuh

Did you trade it in to buy a new car?

The OP is just selling his car because he's moving.

TheMuffinMan

iTrader: (1)

Correct, advertise. Knock off $1-2k with negotiating. I guarantee those dealers paid around $16-17k for those cars.

The OP has a FWD w/ Tech therefore he should expect FWD prices.

TheMuffinMan

iTrader: (1)

AWD is more desirable than the FWD *and* he's not buying a new car. He's dumping it.

If you purchased a 10 year old BMW from the same dealer, they offset the increased trade-in value by what they made on the BMW.

Mr Marco

Nope, bought the BMW from another lot a while back. Went to look at an Accord wagon for work/costco runs and ended up spending four times what I intend to pay. Thus, I defeated the point of buying a POS that I could spill paint on or fill with bark chips and not give a shit about.

They will make good money on his trade no matter what he gets (so why let them rape him.) There will be some idiot like me who will comes in with the intention of buying for practical reasons and walks out with more car then they need.

Mr Marco

To this point, he needs to shop it around.