The old “there’s two kinds of people” thing is something I’ve never been nuts about. Still, I do think it’s appropriate when it comes to buying a new car and whether to sell the current car oneself or trade it in at the dealership (and we’re talking “normal” daily drivers here, not collector cars or creampuffs). Surprisingly, I used to be staunchly in one camp but have now crossed over to the other.
Years ago, trading a car in was absolutely never an option I’d choose. I knew I’d be getting ripped off by the dealer, and even if I made just an extra hundred bucks selling a car myself by putting an ad in a local paper (yes, I’m that old), it was worth the hassle. That way, I didn’t feel like I was leaving money on the table. Back in the day, it wasn’t a huge hassle. I’d get a few calls, a couple of people would take a look at that car, and one would pay close to what I wanted for it. Hell, I would have been embarrassed to even tell other car guys that I traded my old vehicle; that was for people with more money than sense in my book.
Today, that isn’t the case for me. I buy cars used and keep them forever – at least ten years, and only sell them when they have some kind of issue that I don’t feel like resolving. The value when I’m done with them is so low, and the amount I’m paying for the replacement car seems so astronomically high that any difference between trading in and selling myself won’t be much. Besides, I have Mercedes Streeter to pay trade-in value for my old ride and not complain when the cooling system blows up (it did).
Most other buyers would yell and scream that I sold them a rust bucket when they start to dig into the rockers (I had no idea it was that rotten), but Mercedes has never tried to get me blocked from Craigslist or sent threatening texts. You’d be surprised how many purchasers of a $1,500 example of what once was a $52,000 new car expect perfection, or else.
Worse than lousy buyers is the fact that the internet has turned the selling environment into a cesspool. Maybe our own Stephen Gossin or Ms. Streeter can deal with dozens of IS IT AVAILABLE replies, but the worst part is potential buyers who know from the web what I’ll get for my car in trade and think offering that amount or less IN CASH will make me want to hand them the title. Tell me why I’d do that and not just call Carvana.
I’ve also wasted Lord knows how many evenings waiting for no-shows or people who drive the car at wide open throttle and “will come back, but please hold it.” I don’t have the time, and the few hundred bucks (at best) I might make from a private sale isn’t worth it. The bigger issue is when trying to privately sell cars worth Actual Money. Most people do not have $15,000 or $20,000 in cash sitting around, so trying to privately sell some late-model car can be an even bigger exercise in frustration as prospects try to secure credit union loans or similar crap.
I must admit to feeling like a chump when I first traded in a car a few decades ago. Actually, it was sold to Carmax, a way to get rid of a car that didn’t even exist decades ago.
Still, what a liberating feeling; hand over the keys, walk away, and nobody is going to call or text me with YOU SOLD ME A LEMON I WANT A REFUND or subject me to the worse nightmares that Mercedes Streeter has had (hint: do not leave your plates on the car). I’ve never looked back; I’m simply paying for a service to avoid a task I don’t want to do myself, like painting my house. I still die inside a bit every time, though, and know that 22-year-old me would think I’m a loser. Still, 22-year-old me would think I’m a loser regardless; I probably do have more money than sense than I did then.
How about you? Are you still braving the interwebs of half-price lowballers and people asking IS 300ZX A FOUR DOOR, or will you battle it out in the sales cubicle for your next whip? Let me know and I WILL GIVE U $1000 CASH FOR UR CAR.
Top graphic images: Facebook; DepositPhotos.com
I’ve done everything but sell to Carmax/Carvanna.
I’ve traded in two cars, both were pretty end of life and I got what I felt was a reasonable amount for them, when I bought the Si in 24, I joking asked the dealer what they’d give me for my 03 LX and they offered $500 which is about what I expected, so I kept it; still have it today.
I’ve sold at least half a dozen cars myself, as recently as 2023, and have donated a few cars over the years. The donations were easier than a junk yard, but probably where those cars wound up anyways.
If I decide to buy a Slate next year I’ll probably be selling the LX afterwards, as maintaining three cars seems like more work than fun.
I sell privately. I over-disclose all issues I know about and price it lower than other comparable cars. I would be fearful trading it in that whoever sells it is not going to disclose issues and the next buyer would get screwed by the dealership. Plus, I buy my newer car first and sell the old one later.
I hate dealing with random people. As my 11 y/o niece would say, “I don’t like to social like that”.
I haven’t had a lot of cases where Ive traded stuff in, but on my last transaction when I bought a brand-new vehicle, I traded in TWO cars for it. They gave me 9K for my 200K mile 4Runner, and 5K for my 230K ’07 XC70 with a bunch of issues.
I likely could have gotten more for the 4R selling myself, but it had a bunch of issues I didn’t want to deal with or come back to haunt me. It was at the age when it needed a complete steering and suspension refresh, it needed tires, a front diff bearing was going and it was ROUGH at over 50mph, and the sunroof leaked like a mofo. The sunroof was the clincher; I had read horror stories of electrical system issues from other 4R owners with that problem. They came back with 9K (I was hoping for 10, 9 was my low limit), and I was like see-ya!
The Volvo was gravy, I was going to donate that just to get rid of it, it had a bunch of issues, and I wasn’t going to haggle with people over what was likely to be a $500 car. The dealer happened to be having one of those 5K trades in deals for beaters, and the Volvo qualified. I’m sure that was just incentives from FCA, but I was going to GIVE it away anyway.
The actual dealer paperwork said 12K for the 4Runner, 2k for the Volvo, and I’m happy with that.
14K of trade in to start with, plus the Ram was already about 12% off sticker. I was happy with that deal, I was out of there in less than an hour.
My dad’s logic all depended on car condition:
If you had a good car that didn’t need any major work, find the trade in value and sell it for say $500 more than the trade in offer to a friend that needs a reliable car.
If you have a junker that needs major work, accept the trade in. Selling a car that has issues to someone feels bad, let the dealer take that Karma hit.
Since I don’t have friends. Wait, I mean since I don’t sell cars until they are junkers, I just take the trade in value.
Usually sell regular old used up cars as the best/cheapest deal in the town/country: Gone fast and won’t get lowballer offers – and still get more than a trade in price at a dealership or scrap value.
Serious buyers can call. Unserious ones can get blocked.
My classic cars I’ve grown tired of are usually sold to other counties/countries. Little chance of seing them again and regret. And buyers from far away are usually serious.
I mostly sell privately. My buying and selling decisions are rarely perfectly aligned enough that selling to a dealer makes sense anyway.
Sure people can be annoying, but ignoring obvious junk messages goes a long way.
The last car I sold for significant money ended up being purchased by a BHPH who sent someone to pick it up and had a wire in my account an hour later.
I’ve sold my past 2 cars but only after buying their replacements.
If I somehow came into money and decided to buy a new car, I would sell mine privately, if I sold it at all.
I’m currently driving a 25 year old car. It runs great, but it’s beat up. I know I’d get more from a private sale than I would a dealer. (Probably not much more).
But, like I said, IF I sold it. At this point in time, I’d keep my old car for a winter beater. If I’m buying a new car, I want it to last as long as it can. Michigan winters are hell on some cars, so I’d let my current ride take that abuse for as long as possible.
I usually just wait till the car, or truck, gets wrecked, and get a newer one. Though I’ve had several just rust apart and get hauled away. Gotta love old cars!
When it’s time for me to get another car, it’s because the old one suxxx and isn’t really worth more than scrap value anyway, so I drive it to the local junkyard if it runs/drives, or if it doesn’t, I’ll call them and they send a tow truck.
Firmly in your camp Bishop.
Me too. 22-year-old Me was a moron.
I’ve traded in, I’ve sold privately (safety was a concern since at the time I lived with my aging mother, but my workplace was open to the public so that was a good workaround) and I’ve driven cars to the junkyard that were mechanically functional but structurally rusted beyond the point of practical repair.
I refuse to deal with the hassle of selling myself. As long as the trade is getting me pretty close to book value, the ease of the transaction and not having to deal with the general public is well worth it for me.
I usually sell to the dealer as the car is not worth much anyway. But the last car I sold on craigslist for around $6k and went surprisingly well. had 2 interested parties within a few days of listing and sold by the end of the week.
I’ve bought more cars than I’ve sold (I’ve currently got 3.5, and lost one to an accident when I was 17) but I pretty much always buy and sell privately, despite its shortcomings.
Trading in to a dealer, even if you’re willing to accept their super-lowball offer just to save yourself time and effort, isn’t an option if you’re not buying a new car from them.
Which I’ve only done once (get a new car).
So, Craigslist it is, as unpleasant as the experience can be.
The last car I sold, my ’00 Golf GLS TDI that I owned for 23 years (a lengthy love-hate relationship) I wound up selling privately to an eastern European guy who barely spoke English (he brought a friend to help translate). It was fine (the transaction process). But I don’t enjoy it of course.
The last car I bought, an ’89 Volvo 240 wagon (manual/AC) I wound up getting kind of scammed on, which is a first for me… previously, I never got a lemon or overpaid for any of the dozen+ used cars I’ve purchased. The Volvo seller told me the car had some kind of ‘wild cam’ installed, hence the loud, lumpy idle. For whatever reason, I fell for this, only to find out later that the stock cam was still installed, and the timing was way off and the exhaust manifold gasket had a leak. $1,200. later, both issues were resolved, but I’m still a bit peeved at myself for getting fooled like that.
Having a bad back is a feeble excuse for not spending as much time underhood/underchassis as a prudent shopper ought.
I’ve done both. The difference was in what I was getting rid of. In one case the old car was a massive POS that I was tired of fixing all the time and just wanted it gone. I told the dealer it was a POS and they gave me a pittance for it and it was hopefully going to be crushed since their search came up with “title irregularities” from the previous owners that I wasn’t aware of (but explained some things).
The other one was a decent car that had no known issues, was well maintained, and I was simply in the mood to get something else after 11 years of ownership. That one I listed on FBM briefly then sold private party to a former coworker and he’s enjoying it.
I don’t have much context for cars but I do buy, sell, and trade guitars constantly. It always comes down to how much trouble you want to put yourself through. The trade in will never give you the best value but it will get done that day. You have to decide how much your time is worth.
I work very full time and have a 2 year old, so free time is hard to come by. A few hundred bucks isn’t really something I stress over. It will take me weeks to months to sell a guitar at market value on a site like Reverb, and they’d take a cut too. I usually just settle for the trade at a store but negotiate a bigger discount on what I’m buying. They give you 60% of the market value for the guitar you’re trading and 10% off the one you’re buying off the bat but will usually go up to 15-20 if you ask nicely and aren’t a dick.
Cars are obviously much more expensive. If we’re talking several thousand dollars I’d probably try to sell it in Cars and Bids or something first and put a reserve at the KBB value. If the difference is $1,000 or smaller I’m probably taking the additional free time at this stage of my life. That’s how I view it at least.
I’ve never sold a car to anyone but the insurance company, I’ve totaled everything I’ve ever owned, plus one when I was driving someone else’s car. I’m almost dreading the day I own a car that DOESN’T get t-boned by some teenagers joyriding in a stolen Camry while I’m asleep in bed. What do normal people do??
What do you drive now? I’m just curious.
If I routinely got hit, I’d drive a tank.
Nothing right now actually. I haven’t replaced the last car I owned, a dearly beloved 2000 Cherokee that I slid on some ice at about 25 mph and just barely tapped against a Jersey barrier on a back corner, somehow doing more damage than Geico wanted to deal with. They paid me $1000 more than I’d bought it for, I couldn’t complain. But I live in the middle of the city, where parking is hell and driving is even worse. If I need to haul some cargo or travel out of town I just rent. It’s sad but I think everyone is less anxious about this state of affairs?
No… it makes sense. If I lived someplace very urban, with public transit sufficient for my needs, I’d do the same as you (and have, when I lived in NYC and London).
I donated my last four old vehicles to a charity. No hassle, I get a tax write off, and I can feel good about it. Before that, all private sales.
I did that once, when my ancient Audi became too problematic to keep on the road. It was right after 9/11, so I donated it to the Red Cross.
Of course, no good deed goes unpunished, so the next owner’s parking tickets came to me despite me submitting all the transer paperwork properly.
It does feel like less people are listing cars for sale online themselves. FB Marketplace was really great for a short period until scammers starting becoming 95% of DM’s.
I usually trade in as I’ve mostly lived in states that take the trade in amount off of the taxable total, so if the new car is $45,000 and they give me $22,000 for my trade then I only owe state sales tax on $23,000 instead of the entire $45,000 cost of the new car.
I’ve sold 2 vehicles to Carmax in the past 10 years. Both times they offered significantly more than what the dealer was offering on the trade in.
Same. I’d never buy a car from them, but selling to them is usually the winning hassle-vs-return sweet spot.
Oh this should be filled some interesting comments from the never buy new people who see cars as money and investments before fun and transportation. I have done both. If it is an old jeep or something that is not primary transportation of course I will private sell. If it is a newer but quickly dying pos like our Jeep Commander with bad transmission or our Hyundai Sonata with no ability to keep oil in the engine then hell yes trade it in.
I keep cars for a long time, but when the time comes, so far I’ve always done private party as they are enthusiast cars.
It takes a lot of patience to deal with lowballers and idiots who have no intention of buying the car. I remember spending an hour and a half talking about an M4 GTS I was selling, only to have the person who had questions buy one elsewhere.
When the M3 CS 6mt shows up I will have to sell the M6 due to driveway space, and I’m dreading it already…
There’s a breaking point. If what I’m selling is under (roughly) seven grand, a dealer might give me 2k, so I’ll give it a shot. Over seven grand, you’ll have potential buyers who need to secure financing, and I’m not dealing with that.
I like that plan.
Yeah, few people have that much cash sitting around. If they did, and they’re buying a daily driver (and not a toy/collector ride) they sure as hell are going to spend more than $7000.
I am planning on selling my 2021 4Runner next year before we relocate overseas, and this a big concern. I’m expecting it to be worth around $40-43k. I don’t want to deal with that much cash and potential counterfeit bills, and dealing with a private party financing or a check potentially bouncing makes me nervous.
So I’ll probably sell it to Carmax or Carvana just so it’s gone and I know I got a legit check.