Have dealers been fair with Trade-in Value?
 

I'll admit I didn't search for this topic already because I'm too excited knowing my car is ON ITS WAY! Should be here today/tomorrow! (Hoping tomorrow as it would work better for me...)

ANYWAY! I'm going to be trading in my current car and was wondering if any other BRZ buyers have had decent experiences on the value given for their trade in? I have a 2011 that is in good shape and I'm hoping that Kelly Blue Book is correct in the value I should expect... So, can anyone confirm/deny that dealers have been fair with trade in value? I'm scared that I'm going to get a crap offer and have to walk away after all this time of waiting! :cry:

I'm in the same boat as you, I have a 2011 Legacy with almost 34K miles on it. KBB is around $16,400 and the Subaru dealer I went to gave me a trade in value of $16,000 before any negotiating. However I went to Mazda and they offered $15,000... Are you trading in another Subaru, or a different make?

As a safeguard, I would go by a Carmax or similar and get a quote. If the dealer gives you a worse offer you can go sell it to carmax.

You'll find that most dealerships evaluate trade-in value based on a combination of NADA black book values and Manheim auction records. KBB can be spotty.. sometimes accurate, but sometimes too high.

Remember that trade values can be negotiable as well. Competition is your best leverage, so as stated above.. try other dealerships to get a "buy price". Carmax is usually pretty solid.

Every trade in situation is unique, so asking what other people here have seen will most likely not be a good indication of what you should expect.

I got GTP value (guaranteed trade-in program from Subaru - you can get a value of their web-site) for my 2010 SE STI and was VERY happy. Given that in NJ you pay tax only on the price difference between trade-in and new car - we saved another $1900. There was NO way I could have sold it privately for "trade-in+$1900".

Good point.. If you have a late model used Subaru of which you are the original owner, you will get the GTP value if you trade it in at a Subaru dealership.. The GTP values are usually pretty good.

Yes, it really depends on a number of factors, some of them being regional. I recently traded in a 6.5 year old used Mazda 3 and I was able to get the full KBB value with some negotiating, but those cars tend to sell well used and get good gas mileage which is something used car dealers want on their lots.

Used cars that are in demand, you should be able to get KBB value on your trade-in. What make and model do you have?

I got 18650 for a 2010 speed3 with 33k miles, nearly bald tires, and a door ding - so I think I've been doing alright with trade-in :)

2011 CR-Z KBB is about $16.5k to $17k. Dealer offered my $15.5K. It sucks but I've been watching the local market and I know how hard it is going to be to sell around here. It's to new to sell as used. People figure why not just get a new one.

I'm going ahead with the trade in. I'll save about $1000 on taxes and not have the hassel of trying to sell it myself.

I've been trying to get my dealer to raise the trade in value before my BRZ comes in tuesday. Manheim doesn't always help for cars that are rare... We've come to an agreement that come monday I'm printing trade in values from KBB, NADA, and Edmunds. They are going to pull Manheim auctions (my model trim car hasn't been auctioned within the last year, so they've been telling me a trim lower than mine) and analyze from that point. It sucks for me because Saab only made 621 of my car. So I'm trying to argue up about $3,500 in value on trade...

It's a shame for people who drive a lot, because according to their website if you have a 2011 model car it can't have more than 15K miles, otherwise the GTP is not applicable, and I have 34K... :(

You drive a lot of miles :)

Your dealer seems to be giving you a very fair price considering the miles.

I just managed to get in myself. For 2010 they offer 30000 miles. I had 28600 at the moment of trade-in.

Keep in mind at Mazda they could have been discounting the Mazda more to show you more money on your trade... Often times a dealer will do this to make it look as though they're giving you a good trade-in value, when in reality they're just taking money off the top of their own car. This won't be the case with the BRZ because no one is discounting them, so the trade-ins may not look as good as if you go to say, Mazda with an MX-5 or Hyundai with a Genesis coupe.