Trade In Problem

[Xanthos]

I'm with a lot of the other people on the thread - Take it to carmax and see if you can get something better for it there.

Or try selling it privately. If you can sell it before the car comes in, great! Otherwise, you'll still be able to trade it at that time.
- X

[z06invb]

Most dealers here go by the days Black Book auction prices. One of my dispatchers picked up an 08 300C for 19k. When Chrysler did the employee pricing plus rebates a few months ago it killed the resale on them.

Good luck with it...might check E Bay for sold prices and someone already recommended Car Max.

[GaryTucker]

Unfortunately I will have to agree with what everyone is saying here. There are a bunch of 300C's on the auction block right now and Chrysler didn't help anyone but themselves with their rebate scheme.

I ran into this with my Trailblazer SS...bought it at employee pricing for about $7k off of sticker and thought, "I'm in good shape"...then GM decides to do a price adjustment midyear and lower their prices...my $7k off went to being only $2k off...now I'm hosed as far as values go. It didn't matter what I paid or what I owed...the new "deal" was on a car that was $5k less...so I would have taken a hit on selling it. Fortunately I wasn't in your shoes with a car sitting there...but I was in an upside down position a little longer than I wanted on that loan.

I wish you luck in getting the deal done...but the used car market sucks right now. There are a bunch of used cars that were traded in during cash-for-clunkers that didn't qualify for the program but were traded nonetheless because people got motivated to trade. A glut of used will continue to drive prices down as more and more cars show up at auction.

[two_wheel_mayhem]

You should have seen that one coming.

Your trade deal might come out better on a truck or something, but not on a Camaro.

[Capstone]

Originally Posted by Wrighteous

I can afford the car, and there will be nothing stopping from getting it, I just dont want to get ripped off. I checked carmax, but the closest store is 4 hours away in Jacksonville.

It's worth the full day lost to sell your car for what it's worth.

Car Max has stayed afloat for 15+ years doing this, so they have it down to a science. They don't get caught up in the emotion of the sale like you know the dealer is trying to screw you with in your case.

[Mark25]

The real trick is to pay cash for your cars...if you can do that, then you don't have to do any bickering...and it makes it a lot easier to simply sell your car to a private owner (and at the price you believe it's worth)...

[GaryTucker]

Originally Posted by Mark25

The real trick is to pay cash for your cars...if you can do that, then you don't have to do any bickering...and it makes it a lot easier to simply sell your car to a private owner (and at the price you believe it's worth)...

Or at least sell your trade-in on your own and finance with your own bank. I've had to borrow/rent a car for a few days at times in doing this, but always came out better. It's also one reason I miss the good ole days of aggressive leasing!

Example...Pick up new car on 36 month lease, drive it, enjoy it, maintain it. 36 months later-drop off old car pick up shiney new car, repeat.

I never put excess miles on the cars and always kept them garaged and maintained like they were mine. This was the biggest downfall for most leasers...too many miles and they drove them like rental cars.

I really do hope the OP figures something out...

[Wrighteous]

I just found out that it was shipped last night, so that gives me a little more time to figure out what to do. Thanks for all the input everyone.

[Q-ship]

Dealers don't really use Bluebook anymore, they use Edmunds which is closer linked to auction prices and lower than bluebook, or the auction values (blackbook). You can forget the 22k that is what the dealer will price it for when they sell it, private seller is the 19k and you ain't getting that out of them either, the 17k is what blue figures as trade in value with a normal inventory at auction and with a large number in auctions that is out the window. Sorry but your car is high mileage which is a hard sell if they lot the car (they will auction it probably) and right now car business is slow. You are just picking the wrong time to be trading in a car to the dealer or selling one. Dealers make most of their money on cars sales on the used car lot through low trade in and selling for top bluebook (yes here they use bluebook cause it is highest value).

Try to sell it yourself and pay off the loan, then get your own financing through a credit union or bank then buy the Camaro. Your going to lose money on the 300C, buying any new car your going to loose something.

[rodscamaro]

Sell the car youself and make up the difference. Thats about the only thing you can do. dealers are always going to lower than you expect on a trade in. My last vehicle I sold they wanted to give me less than trade in value in fair condition, I sold it privately. Good luck!!

[AnnaBear@SpartaChevy]

One last bit of advice...

Take it to a Dodge/Chrysler dealer and get a 'buy figure' on it. Many dealerships buy cars outright and it SHOULD be worth more to a Chrysler dealer than it is to a Chevy store.

Good luck.

[Iwantone2]

Maybe it depends on which Carmax you go to, when my bro was trying to sell his Rustang, car max offered him a rediculous number. Then he went to the dealership and they offered him 2K more than what Carmax did.

When I was selling my truck, Carmax offered me 6K. I sold it private party for WAY more than 6K.

If you can, try selling it yourself. Autotrader and craigslist work wonders

[Brady_SS]

Originally Posted by Iwantone2

Maybe it depends on which Carmax you go to, when my bro was trying to sell his Rustang, car max offered him a rediculous number. Then he went to the dealership and they offered him 2K more than what Carmax did.

When I was selling my truck, Carmax offered me 6K. I sold it private party for WAY more than 6K.

If you can, try selling it yourself. Autotrader and craigslist work wonders

Carmax was unbelievably low last time I traded a truck in. 3k less than dealer offered in trade and 6k below private party blue book. Never again will I waste my time with them.

[2001ragtop]

The least expensive thing to do is to keep the Chrysler.
If you did take very good care of the Chrysler then keep it.
Pay it off, and drive it for the next 10 years. let this be your "daily driver". it will pay you back when you drive it with no payment required.

Later, (or right now) get the camaro and let that be your special car and keep it garaged.
If you know for sure you can't afford two car payments, you should wait and get rid of the Chrysler first.
Drive the Chrysler another year, send extra cash specifically to pay down the principal, and keep paying it down till you can break even and get rid of it.