Sadly..I'm considering trading in the BRZ. I need some advice though!
 

So after some thought, I am considering moving on to a car that can fit more than 2 people in it comfortably.

Not too sure what exactly still doing some research.

The problem is I'm not really sure if I should try to trade the BRZ in towards the new car,or sell the car privately and use the funds toward the new car.

I only have around $5k left to pay off.

Looking for some advice from someone with more experience than me in this situation

Which direction would benefit me the most?

Another thing, I could return the car to stock no problem if I was trading it to the dealer. The only problem I see is that the insides of my headlights are painted black, I dont see any decent way to reverse that. Does anyone know if they would even take the car with modified headlights?

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

I would say that you will get the most out of it by returning as much back to stock as possible and selling the car and parts privately. it might take a while to get everything sold, but it will most likely be worth more than a dealership will give as trade in value.

on the other hand, if the dealership gives you a trade in value that is only slightly lower than what you think you can sell the car for, then go for it if you don't want the hassle since you can instantly get rid of it instead of waiting for the right buyer.

either way, return as much back to stock as you can. and I doubt the dealership will care you painted your headlights as long as they work.

Sounds like good advice. Are you sure about the dealer being ok with painted lights? Never seen a Subaru dealership sell any modded cars ever, could be my area though.

Can anyone else chime in?

As long as the painted headlights don't affect the functionality of the headlight (i.e. reduce light output) then the dealership shouldn't have a problem accepting it.

Another route you could take is swapping headllights with another member. I'm sure there is quite a bit of people out there who would like a painted headlight but don't feel brave enough to tackle the job themselves..

Check out carmax for trade in values if you do return it to stock, they give crazy values sometimes.

In some states you get a tax credit on the new car from your trade-in. That (along with ease of transaction) can make it worth it to trade the car in even though the trade-in value may be slightly less than a private party sale value.

Even if the dealer was not ok with the painted lights worse they would do is dock you on what the car is worth because of it. They would do this because in their mind they would need to remove the lights and replace them with new ones so that they can resell it.

If you return to stock and your BRZ qualifies as certified pre-owned, iirc there's a mileage limit, that would give you some bargaining power and probably best trade in value.

Air force guy?


Anyways, yeah the dealer will take the vehicle with painted headlights. They don't care about modifications as long as the car is clean and doesn't have anything wrong they will generally go off auction value. For a limited with under 30K you should expect 17K or so in trade.


Being that your vehicle is almost paid off you could actually leverage that and maybe get a better trade value which would equal more equity for you and make the process easier. Sometimes it isn't worth the hassle trying to return to stock / sell privately. Depends on how long you have and how much effort you want to make for a 2-3K difference. These cars don't hold value very well unfortunately so its all dependent on condition and mileage. Mods don't add value either....

I was offered a year ago for my white limited with exhaust and some other mods left on the car and a front bumper that needed a respray 18k. The car had 30k miles. Area you are in does effect the price to so just kinda an idea of what you can expect I guess.

*this* - if your net after payoff is 10k for example, thats 10k of your new car that you don't have to pay taxes on. most states allow it, couldnt find a recent list but as of 2011 the only municipalities that didnt allow it are:
California
District of Columbia
Hawaii
Kentucky
Maryland
Michigan
Montana
Virginia

If it were me I would bring your car to a couple of dealers first to see what you are looking at for a trade in. You can then find out how they feel about any of the non-stock items. Test drive something fun that you might be getting to haul more people like a BMW 335i or a WRX. With that number in mind as a backup, you will better know how to price your car and what offer you might accept from a private buyer. Selling privately is a PIA, but unless you are losing sales tax credits as mentioned above, you stand to save $2-3 thousand on the exchange.

Take it to Carmax and see how much they offer.

Do your homework first and get a range of values from KBB, Edmunds, autotrader etc

I was in a similar situation a month ago when going for a new STI -- same reasons as you, needed more room.
If you want another Subie and don't have any accidents, go back to stock and use the guarantee trade in program, it is absolutely killer.

If you're okay with having a period where you won't have a car between selling privately and getting new one then I'd suggest going that route.
But keep in mind if your state allows trade in to lower taxes, you may potentially be looking at an extra grand on top of trade in value.

At time of trade in I had aftermarket OP, FP, CBE, wintertires, and springs on it. Except for noticing the tips, they never mentioned, asked or noticed the rest.

In my situation, after trade-in value and tax credit, I estimate that a private sale would've netted me maybe $1K more 1.5K tops but I couldn't be without a car and it saved me the hassle so it was worth it to me.

But yeah go around to a couple of dealerships, make sure their appraiser is available and just get a benchmark. Literally takes like 20 minutes.

Good luck!