So I've moved in and out of several vehicles here in the last couple years, and I finally figured something out. This may be old news to most but I was (appropriate adjective here - I can't think of one) to discover this: The dealer trade-in value these sites give is total b.s.

The figures are already stupidly low compared to what they say you can get selling it privately, but then the dealer undercuts the trade-in values by 1000s more. I'm looking at trading my '04 for an '08. I've talked to dealers in El Paso, Houston, Las Cruces, Alamogordo, Albuquerque, Chicago, even Biloxi and it's always the same thing. They tell me those sites don't reflect what the dealers will actually give you for your vehicle. Then wth is the point of the damn sites?

Invariably they tell me to sell it myself and then I can get more, but then I have to deal with the lowball retards, the trade-you-my-crap peeps, the nitpickers acting like it should be in mint condition and not a daily driver. And the biggest part of that is most of us just don't have the disposable income to be able to pay cash for a big-ticket item like a vehicle, so you either take a beating on the price or hang your head in shame and shamble in to the dealership.

I had a dealer tell me a little while back that lots of times the lowballers are dealers hoping for the catch of the day. They look on CG, Autotrader, Cargurus and the like and will offer half of the asking price. Sometimes people take it, most times they get told to jog on, but it's worth it if they can scoop a truck or car and then put it on their lot with a 200 or 300% markup.

The industry around buying and selling vehicles is right up there with the medical industry in this country. I mean, why in hell does checking my credit score ding my credit score??

Okay, off rant. I guess it's just the old middle-class struggle. Plus the Dallas/Orlando/Baton Rouge/etc. shootings got me pretty riled. AND I paid $950 for dental work this week, which is about half of what I owe for the work, so can't afford those new LED headlights I been wanting for my rig!

 

This is why beer was invented. Its non-prescription.

Stay positive

 

You make good points. We had to fight for 41 days about my wife's '16 Camaro 2SS until we finally took delivery. Car dealerships are a joke. I've actually been looking to trade out Jeep Liberty Jet in for a new Canyon All Terrain but no one ever has the color I want. They want me to order one or "we'll bring one in from another dealer" sort of crap.


The beauty of it is when you don't NEED the vehicle so you can easily walk and leave them scratching their heads. Not that they really give a crap anyway. They're all thieves.

 

Mmmmm. Beeeeeer.....Tru dat.

Yep, looked at trading the '04 for a new Tundra but I want it my way (idiot, right?), specifically the color and 4 doors, so I said, what the hell and built one on the Toyota website and sent it out into the world. Got a call within the hour from a local-ish dealer saying they got an internet query and had the exact truck I wanted.

Anyone wanna guess? Yep, wrong color, two doors. Called me back twice to verify the color and the doors, "Lemme talk to my manager..." Haven't called me back but sent 3 emails hoping they provided good customer service and if they can be of any further assisitance blahblahblah. They have 3 trucks like I would like in Houston where I work but they're the high-end versions so they're out. Don't really want to get rid of the H2 but I really could use a truck.

So anyway I don't REALLY need a truck, don't need to go to a dealer, except maybe for the free bottled water and 6-hour old coffee. So I'm not out anything.
Oh yeah, got a pre-approval from the bank today to trade the '04 for an '08 I found, so yeah. Experian. Equifax. Trans Union. Ding ding.

 

What's something worth? Whatever someone is willing to pay for it.

Those are guides nothing more. If KBB and NADA were accurate, they would have changed the values of all the 2005-2010 Toyota SUV's a long time ago. You will not find a clean Toyota rig for anything less than 5-10K ABOVE book value. They're unicorns. This is what they go for all day in the PNW.

Anyhow, I got sick of looking for a Toyota so I went with a Hummer H2, so happy I did. Best rig ever!

 

ive gone through tons of cars. those web sites give you an estimated ball park. usually knock 2-3k maybe even 4 off the their trade in values. it also highly depends on the dealer your going to as well as the car your trading in. the issue with these trucks is that they are to old and most private banks will not approve people for the loan because they are still pretty high priced + age. for example my h2 books around 19~ (KBB / NADA) which is extremely high when you think its 13 probably 14 years old. this will make dealers not even want to take your truck in on a trade in. therefore they will offer you the lowest number.

most dealers ive dealt with use Galves which is not free. ive seen some dealers just print out the value, run the car fax and if your car starts a/c works and no engine lights they will just give 500-1000~ below the number on the sheet. some dealers go out of their way and inspect your car like its on Barrett Jackson and come back with some outlandish value. its hit or miss.

for reference i had my truck appraised by a nissan dealer for the hell of it. they came back with 11.5. while NADA tells me trade in is around 15. and NADA private value gave it 19.