We’ve had mixed experiences with Carmax. We took an Outback there and got an offer that was comically low. When they presented it and asked what we thought I told them it was too low and showed them KBB/Edmunds. The person helping us was surprised that they were that far off. We sold it private party for several thousand more.
Took my wife’s Lexus there a few months later and they gave us a competitive offer and we sold them the car on the spot.
When I bought my car this year, I traded in my Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit. On the outside it looked great for a 2013 car. Luckily they did not look in the engine bay and found the two broken engine mounts or noticed the air suspension on the front driver side didn't work. They gave me a reasonable trade in value and I took it. If I took it to CarMax or had someone test drive it, nope. Thank goodness for lazy people.
I ought to try that with an Ampeg SVT 8x10 cab. Which gives me an excuse to buy an SVT.Originally Posted by Coyotesfan97
"You win 100% of the fights you avoid. If you're not there when it happens, you don't lose." - William Aprill
"I've owned a guitar for 31 years and that sure hasn't made me a musician, let alone an expert. It's made me a guy who owns a guitar."- BBI
My last two vehicles I found online. Both were used, from dealerships. I knew what I wanted, what price I was willing to pay, and I already had the money end worked out before shopping. Simple experiences, but no trade-in either time, and neither were expensive, sporty, or luxurious vehicles.
I've been in sales, and sales-adjacent jobs. I can appreciate a talented salesperson, but have no time or patience for games.
Per the PF Code of Conduct, I have a commercial interest in the StreakTM product as sold by Ammo, Inc.
Truth! When I bought my Ram, the dealer lowballed me with a $2000 trade offer on my old truck. I expressed disbelief and asked the salesman how they arrived at that number...he showed me a KBB printout for a 2wd truck in fair condition with a V6. Are people really that dumb? My truck was a 4x4 w/V8 in much better condition. I informed him the Ford dealer had just offered me $4000...he talked to his boss and came back with $3000...I said $3500 and they accepted. I checked their web site a couple weeks later and they listed it for something absurd like $7900. Based on my research I doubt they could have gotten $5000 for it...I'd thought the Ford dealer's offer had been quite generous.^^^ Dealer trade in is its own separate scam. Don't be lazy. Sell it yourself.
Last car I sold, I took to a dealer and they offered me $3500 trade in. I laughed. Did the thing with the holding my key for a few minutes. I was unimpressed.
After I bought the replacement, I sold that car for $6900 (full asking, I should have listed it higher) in 2 days on Craigslist. Met at the PD lot. Easy.
CarMax has made me some reasonable offers on my trades. Not a bad way to go if you're in a hurry. Still get better money out of selling yourself.
I have no doubt I could've sold that truck pretty easily on Craigslist for a little more, but the dealer hit the number I had in mind for a quick and easy transaction. The vehicles I sold to CarMax though were mostly in the $20-30K price bracket, and I question how strong the private party market is there. Maybe I'm wrong but I've assumed not too many people have that kind of cash to spend, and even those that do may be inclined to finance with a dealer given the rates that have been available recently.
@rob_s - I feel your pain on how difficult it is to search for a very specific set of options. When shopping for my Ram I found I could append any VIN to the URL https://www.ramtrucks.com/hostd/windowsticker/getWindowStickerPdf.do?vin= and get a window sticker. So once I narrowed it down somewhat in a search on CarMax or AutoTrader or whatever, I'd copy/paste the VIN and bring up the window sticker so I could see all the details in a standardized format instead of sifting through crappy pics and garbage descriptions. Made life at least a little bit easier, but there really ought to be a better way.
Re: carmax, we bought the MIL’s last car there. Really happy with that process.
I always at least get a quote from them. I generally leave the quote on the seat for the other dealers to see when they are figuring out what they want to offer me on the trade-in.
There’s a cost associated with selling a car private sale, and that cost is the headache and time involved, and having to talk to get another set of dipshits on the phone, and eventually in person. I have sold one or two cars private sale when I was younger and couldn’t afford not to. I can’t imagine dealing with that headache now.
NOT having to do that is easily worth a couple grand to me. Plus, as someone else mentioned, I’m pretty sure you only pay sales tax on the difference, so there’s a hidden value there in trading in.
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You asked about online but let me throw out an alternative. We got our '18 Taco through an independent broker, three states away and drove it home over a few days. Awesome experience, very competitive price. I spec'd out the truck on the Toyota website with exactly the features I wanted, no dealer added B.S. We knew the price before we went to the airport, had check printed in hand getting on the airplane (used our financing). She met us at a dealer and used Toyota's delivery system to have the truck delivered to the city we flew into, two hour drive for her to meet us. The dealer had no say in anything, just used their desk to do some paperwork. In and out and on the road in less than an hour.
I would only buy a truck this way in the future.
How did you find this broker? Is this a Toyota thing or a general auto thing? Thank you.
Depends on the value of the car. When I sold the Jetta I was driving up until last summer, I went private party because when I looked at KBB trade in vs private party value, the difference, percentage-wise, was quite significant. It may only have been "a couple grand," but that car was only worth $8K or so, and while I wasn't looking to get top dollar for it, it was a good car and I also wasn't about to give it away. I ended up selling it to a kid who had just graduated high school with his parents' participation, and got my asking price less $100. (I reduced it because after he agreed to full asking price, I realized that the tabs were about to come due to the tune of ~$100 and figured he didn't need to deal with that extra cost on his first car, and I had been expecting to do at least some negotiating anyway.) Dealing with scam emails from Craigslist was annoying, but in the end I got what I wanted, and he got a WAY nicer car then I ever thought about having at his age. I sincerely hope that it serves him well for as long as he owns it, and of course that he takes good care of it as well.
I have had three effortless buys from the local Toyota dealership. I had an effortless online buy from an Acura dealership in Dallas in 2013. And there have been two other effortless buys since 1990. I avoid the finance guy dance by showing up with my own financing and then being blunt about not willing to buy extra's. But I have encountered idiots along the way. I have had the luxury of not being in a hurry. Further, whereas I have made many impulse-buy gun purchases, there is zero in my head about a vehicle that stimulates impulse buying.
Funeral homes pull some of the same tricks as car dealerships. One standard trick is not providing the same casket that you selected and paid for in a prepaid arrangement. Many do not realize that the person helping them is working on commission. Some dental practices operate the same way.
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