Better off selling or trading in?

[Shelly Sikeowitz]

I know in the future I'm gonna be driving an SS, I just haven't figured out when. What I am wondering though is how much can I expect to lose on a trade in? It'd be a lot simpler but I have a distinct feeling that the appraisal would be especially emasculating. I've spent a total of about $25,000 on my car (23,000 on the car itself, 2K on upgrades) and I'm not expecting to get that much back for an LS but I think there is still a decent market for the V6's pre-owned. I'm honestly not looking for anything special, I can skip leather seats and studio stereos, I just want the stick shift and the big ol' 8 cylinder. Would you sell your car on your own or just wait however long it takes to sell to a prospective buyer? Besides that, is there anything I should know about making the jump from LS to SS? Personal experiences?

[jd10013]

you'll always get less trading in. the dealership has to get the car for a couple thousand less then they can sell it for in order to make money.

and it's doubtful you'll get the cost of the upgrades back.

[1BADLS3]

You'll definitely lose money on the upgrades. Best to pull those off in either case and try to sell them separately, so long as you kept the stock parts to put back on there.

Trading a car in probably isn't as bad as you're imagining. It's not likely that you're going to get NADA or Blue Book full retail...The dealership will probably offer you somewhere between wholesale price to just over the stated low value in either case for NADA/BB.

What you have to remember with the trade is that you get a tax credit if you trade. If your sales tax rate is 8% and you trade in a $20,000 car, then that's $1600 back in your pocket on the sale of the new car.

It also depends on how much it's "worth" to you to sell private party if you're only going to get $3k-$4k more for the car. Let's assume you can ask a whole $4k more if you sell the car privately. Almost half that difference is made up by the tax credit if you trade, so really you're looking at a gain of $2400. Then, some screwball is going to try to bid you, so you might only walk away with $1000 back in your pocket if you negotiate $1400 off the asking price. Plus you have to deal with the Craigslist idiots, the test pilots and tire kickers, the no-shows, and you've got to keep insurance on the car while you're selling it.

In the end it's up to you. Me--I hate dealing with people so I've traded some of my cars. Not all of them. Look at the potential deal and decide what's best for your situation

[PoorMansCamaro]

currently, depending on how many miles you have on your 2010 LS, you'll see about 18k for trade in.

[SSBlack]

What 1BADLS3 said, plus, selling it yourself involves the title transfer nonsense. And these days, Craigslist interactions can get you killed.

If the hassle of selling it yourself is worth the extra cash, go for it.

[Thyshallsmite]

after everything is said and done you'd probably get a grand more from private party if that, its really a question of if ya want to deal with the hassle or not.

[Silverlsinva]

When i did the Ls to SS upgrade i haggled quite a bit before i settled on a deal i told them i wasnt taking less than 20k for my car and i told them that i didnt need a new car so i can still drive away if they didnt want to make a deal My car had 15k miles on it.

[AKAviking14]

Don't trade in. Privately sell your car. It will be well worth the wait I guarantee it. That is what I did when I traded up from my 2LT RS

[RiCorvette]

I was offered $14,000 for my 07 Ram 1500 5.7L Hemi with ultra low miles by Dealers.
I sold it for $18,000 on the street. It took several months but I was in no hurry.

[Fiveg56]

In MN you save a ton on taxes if you trade it in....you only pay tax on the difference between the new vehicle price and the trade in price...

[5cents]

You'll get more selling it yourself, especially if the vehicle has mods, it's just a matter of finding the right buyer. Dealers don't look at the cost of the mods you've made to the vehicle when figuring the trade-in value, in fact they tend to frown on mods because what you did to the vehicle may not appeal to potential buyers. So, any variation from stock is generally looked down upon.

The plus side of trading-in = TAXES. As far as I know, everyone pays a state sales tax on purchases, the amount varies from state to state. In my state when you buy a new or used vehicle, you pay sales tax only on the amount of difference between the selling price and the trade-in allowance.

[Xorak]

OP is in CA and i'm pretty sure they don't give a sales tax credit on trade ins.

so in that state, i'd try to sell it myself before trading it in.

[VTXrider]

I think it really depends on the tax laws in your state. In Florida if you trade-in you can reduce the taxable value of the purchase by the trade-in value. This can be almost as much as you would get by selling privately but with no hassle. If your state doesn't give you this credit you definitely do better with a private sale.

If you can, put the car back to stock and sell the aftermarket parts separately, most aftermarket lowers your resale value.

[bannonm]

Originally Posted by VTXrider

I think it really depends on the tax laws in your state. In Florida if you trade-in you can reduce the taxable value of the purchase by the trade-in value. This can be almost as much as you would get by selling privately but with no hassle. If your state doesn't give you this credit you definitely do better with a private sale.

If you can, put the car back to stock and sell the aftermarket parts separately, most aftermarket lowers your resale value.

Last I looked CA sales tax was 7.25%. Even if you got full price on the car at $23K, you're looking at $1670 in tax savings trading it in. So the question is how much is the difference selling outright vs. dealer trade. You didn't give specifics on the mileage, but it is a 3 year old model now. One way it might work out better for you is to deal with the same dealer you bought the car from. He might cut you a better deal since you're trading up.