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How to shop for the best trade-in deal?

1162 Views 23 Replies 8 Participants Last post by  packout, 
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Where do you go to find the best deal for trading in your car when buying a new one? Carmax? Carmigo?
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bdjfywi4$ said:
Where do you go to find the best deal for trading in your car when buying a new one? Carmax? Carmigo?
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Are you already committed to trading versus selling? Do you know the sales tax benefits if any in your state for trading? Do you know your sales tax %?

All of the above need to be known first.
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bdjfywi4$ said:
Trade-in will be deducted from the total sale price to reduce sale tax which is close to 7%. Private sale is too much hassle for me.
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in that case, the strategy tree is easier to move forward. You should already know the price of the new Ascent from the dealership. You seperately negotiate a trade in price for your existing vehicle at the dealership and compare that with offers from the other buyers such as Carmax, other dealerships, etc. If the net cost from the dealership after deducting the 7% is less than the net going through Carmax et al. than use the dealership. I just went through this when I sold my 2019 Ascent Limited and bought my 2023 Limited. Despite the dealership's slightly lower trade in value they offered, the tax benefits netted me more to reduce the overall cost of the new purchase. In addition, there was the added benefit of convenience to complete the entire transaction in one day at the dealership. I ended up saving $$. I not only had explored the selling of my 2019 to Carmax etc, but also to other Subaru dealerships that I was not going to buy the new Ascent through (the dealership I bought the 23' from had no dealer fees). I was able to bring up the other dealerships' used vehicle offers, but not sufficient to offset the tax savings. My purchase price for my 23' was fixed through the VIP program as was the financing at Subaru/Chase lowest rates.
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Sparkland said:
Things are changing - Carvana offered me $36K for my 2022 Honda Ridgeline RTL-E with 1800 miles. I paid $42,500 (MSRP $45,500) 8 months ago. The days of breaking even on a trade-in are over.
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I recently noticed cars loaded in the vending machine, but - "The machine is open from Monday through Saturday by appointment only. As mentioned previously, every one of the 27 cars on display have been purchased already and are waiting for pickup." Therefore you can not simply go there to purchase a vehicle. - IMO, simply an expensive gimmick that will send them further into debt. They were getting grief locally, so they decided to hold the posse off and create some level of positive press. It doesn't change their bottom line.
denvergazette.com

Carvana's eight-story 'vending machine' opens in Denver

Reports of the demise of the eight-story, glass Carvana "Car Vending Machine" in Denver, were exaggerated.
denvergazette.com denvergazette.com


BACKGROUND:

denvergazette.com

Carvana put millions into a Denver "vending machine" and got nothing back

It catches eyes of drivers on Interstate 25, but perhaps not for the reason the company hopes it will.
denvergazette.com denvergazette.com

www.autoblog.com

Empty Carvana vending machine in Denver a billboard for company troubles

An empty, eight-story Carvana vending machine in Denver has become a billboard for Carvana's troubles and a magnet for news reports.
www.autoblog.com www.autoblog.com
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bdjfywi4$ said:
The car price and the finance have been fixed so the trade in is the last negotiation. When we bought my wife’s car we used car max. My worry is that the dealer can easily find out approximately how much Carmax is offering and will thus give a lower offer thinking that I will give in because the savings on taxes.

I was wondering besides Carmax, are there other places that are equally convenient and competitive in the offers. I was watching Driven on YouTube and the guy mention Carmigo which sounds intriguing.
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It is an out the door calculus regardless of how they get to the price. try other local dealers and carwiser.
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bdjfywi4$ said:
Has anybody tried Edmund.com. I went through the on line trade in estimate there and then someone tried to reach me by text. Not sure if there are any benefits working with this person when I can (and need to) go to Carmax to get it on paper. I figure all final trade in needs at least some sort of inspection and/or test drive.
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there can be two different type of offers. sight unseen and one with a full inspection. sight unseen offer will be lower.
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What was the cost price they sold you the gold plus? Identify the plan term please.
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Sparkland said:
I traded in our 2018 Subaru Outback 3.6R with 47K miles for $30,400 last June 2022. Today the offer is $17, 400. That is some heavy depreciation in one year.

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good timing
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