Trade In Advice

[EmersonHart13]

Thinking about getting rid of my wife's Scion tC. I know for private sale you want to fix as many issues as possible and clean it up as best as I can.

For trade ins to a dealer I have typically just brought it as is because they seem to barely look or care. CarMax seems to inspect so the more that is fixed the better?

The car has a few issues and I am debating on what I want to do. There are multiple small dents on the outside that would need to be PDRed. The sunroof makes noise at high speed (doubt they would catch this), the HVAC fan makes a faint noise at low speed, and there is a humming in the rear either from the brakes or a bearing(it is speed sensitive and really only shows at high speed). Other than that it just needs to be cleaned and is a good reliable car. I just want to, obviously, get as much as I can for it without having to try to private sale the car for months.

What are your thoughts?

Thanks,

John

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[syP]

carmax generally SWINGS from 4cyl cars.. especially toyota/honda

 

[EmersonHart13]

That is great to hear, now the question is, do I fix the stuff or just clean it up nice?

PS it is an 06 with the automatic in light blue with just under 80k.

 

[smug]

I would just clean it so it looked decent and bring it in. Car max just takes it for a ride around the block

 

[Bruce Jibboo]

ya doubt the appraisal will change with that stuff, if trading it in.. who gives a fawk.. if private sale, at least disclose the couple things, the buyer will appreciate the honesty

 

[EmersonHart13]

If I go private I would probably look to fix it up. They tend to look a little harder.

Thanks,

John

 

[bikrboy128]

I would just clean it so it looked decent and bring it in. Car max just takes it for a ride around the block

most places dont give a fuck about small things like that. when i sold my 02 camry the guy at the dealer drove it around the block, pointed out the chips in the windshield, and the dent on the bumper. he didnt care about the pulsing front brakes, or the shot to shit tires. if it runs and drives nice they run it through their detailing department and throw it on the lot.

 

[Malakaone]

I just traded in my Infiniti with 146000 miles. It had a new exhaust (3weeks old the other one fell off!), newer tires (2 years old), newer brakes (1-1/2 year old). Did it matter I don't think so. Get as many prices for your vehicle trade in as possible. Look at Kelly, Nada, MMR (if you have access), and that newer one that is out there (forgot the name) and be ready to fight. I had a Service Enginr Light on and they could care less. I got $4500 for it.

 

[GTwolf]

Clean it for sure and if you feel like it fix the dents, dealers make a big deal out of dents and scratches, generally in the form of largely over quoting body work and trying to knock it off the trade allowance.

 

[Turk]

I wouldn't even clean it. That way it hides the problems.

 

[JDHedman]

I would bring it into carmax. I sold them the Exs Tc.

 

[Aircal]

Don't pdr the dents not worth it. Clean is a nice touch. No check engine light is a nice touch to. And carmax dosn't just drive it around the block. They are listening and have a really good idea what would need to spent on it to get it past inspection, if it's going to be retailed.
And if you trade it for something there it's worth another 7.25% or what ever the tax rate is where you live.

 

[Outlaw]

Word. Carmax will PDR it and do any airbrushing to hide stuff.... they're masters of polishing turds. Bring it in dirty and just see what happens. They're going to give a price based on their sales history, so they're not really concerned with minor cosmetics. Noise is probably wheel bearing.

 

[PANDA]

My mom had a 06 Lancer that she just traded in for a CRV. It was a decent car, 60K, new brakes, new tires, maintained well. It was in a accident but the carfax was clean. Interior was kinda wiped out cuz of dogs. We started at carmax to see what they would offer for it and to also drive other small SUV's. Figured that would be the minimum a dealer would offer. They offered 5K. Went to Schaumburg Honda they offered $2500, they said they would have to take it to there mitsu store or some shit. After I told them carmax offered $6K they offered $4K. So always don't accept the first offer. The dealer at Schaumburg Honda was a DICK and I don't do biz with Bob Roahman dealers so we went to Brilliance Honda in Crystal Lake. They didn't have the white CRV she wanted but did a dealer transfer to her. They are really nice honest people at that establishment. Anyway Brilliance gave her $5K, which was +$500 over KBB trade in and she would save on tax so she traded it in.

Didn't do a single thing to the car. Sure it had a dent or two and the car was dirty but it seemed the dealer didnt give a single fuck about that stuff. They put it on the lot for $8999 and it was gone in a week.

Private party I think just be honest about the car. Fix anything that wont break the bank and clean it up real nice.

 

[EmersonHart13]

Great advice, going to run it through the car wash and empty it out and go to CarMax today and see what they say. CarMax has a mini she likes so that would work out.

For some reason or another KBB says the tC is worth about 2-3k more than the lancer even though it has more miles. Looks like I should be getting between 7-8k. We will see what CarMax says!

 

[Aircal]

Great advice, going to run it through the car wash and empty it out and go to CarMax today and see what they say. CarMax has a mini she likes so that would work out.

For some reason or another KBB says the tC is worth about 2-3k more than the lancer even though it has more miles. Looks like I should be getting between 7-8k. We will see what CarMax says!

Which carmax? To bad you don't know someone that works there....

 

[EmersonHart13]

My wife stopped by the one in Oak Lawn (it is by her work) and they offered 6500. Not impressed. I hoped the car was worth more.

 

[Dan00Hawk]

My wife stopped by the one in Oak Lawn (it is by her work) and they offered 6500. Not impressed. I hoped the car was worth more.

You said you were hoping for $7-8k, right? With the tax savings on a trade in, that's an additional $450-$500... That puts you right at about $7k then. Seems in line with your earlier expectations. We all expect/want our own cars to be worth more, but sometimes there is a difference between what the market price for the car is, and what we want. You just have to decide which is most in line with reality. The fact is, though, that car is never going to be worth more than it is today... Best of luck with whatever you decide. :smile: