[idealflaw]

hey everyone. i figured someone here has some experience with this.

my current car, at trade value gets about 3k less than i could sell it for in the paper/internet. my problem is that if i sell it on the internet, i may end up without a car for an indefinate ammount of time.

anyone have any advice on what to do? Personal experiences? I don't want to get screwed by the dealer...

 

[Godiva]

You could try the local paper. You might have a chance of coordinating the sale of the old with the arrival of the new, but you'd have to do some fancy dancing. You should be able to get more in a private sale....but that would also depend on how old your old car is, how many miles it has on it and what kind of mileage it gets. With gas what it is, trying to sell an older truck or SUV when you've got gas prices and the 'employee discount' programs going on...it's going to drive the value of your old car down.

While I wouldn't normally advise a $3,000 hit.....it might take you months to sell your old car and you might be without a car until your new Prius arrives. So it might be less hassle to just take the trade in offer and try to negotiate the best price that way.

 

[BIF]

I had a similar problem. The Toyota dealer was only going to give me $12,000 for my BMW. I got $15,000 by selling it to Carmax.

Go to Carmax and get an appraisal. If the car isn't too old, you might be surprised at what they'll give you for it.

Plus, Carmax is very fast and efficient when it comes to finalizing the deal. No dickering, and no surprises.

 

[idealflaw]

you know what? my friend said the same thing, actually. i'm going to take my car to Carmax.... I wish Carmax sold the Prius, because I like their no-haggle business model...

 

[ceric]

Carmax is a great idea. However, in California, they only cover the LA, not the northern CA yet.

I found internet advertizing more effective than local papers. Over the years, I noticed that the amount of ads of auto on newspaper has decreased dramatically. People simply place their ads on cars.com, yahoo Auto, etc. And, it is less expensive.

 

[DanMan32]

They do have a few Prius Classics, at ridiculus prices. Ridiculous as in too high. A 2003 for the price of a new package 1 '05? Please!