SOLD MY FRS TO CARMAX TODAY :(

[FRSDude]

I think you guys are missing the boat on what he was trying to do. It's kind of why pawn shops exist. When you really need to dump something fast to move on, car dealerships offer that "out" for you. Sometimes its ok to take a small loss to move on mentally.


CarMax figures their numbers from both their own auctions and Manheim MMR. Buying low and selling high is the basis of capitalism. Which is why we all of jobs and can even drive FR-S's


The best thing to do in a pinch is to get the paper appraisal and shop it around to a few Toyota dealers and see if you can manage a few more hundred dollars out of them. Trust me it works.

[eikond]

Originally Posted by rice_classic

Actually, that's exactly what I'm talking about. The assumption was that you wouldn't be donating a BRZ but some 20 year old beater in that scenario.

If your car is worth more, either trade-in or private party, than the tax break of donation, then to donate would make poor financial sense.

I figured that was obvious.

yeah, sorry.. I must have mis-read your post. You said that if the car was worth so little that you had to lose money to trade it in, then you should donate it.

In this case that would be a bad idea. Some people assume that the tax write-off you get on a $15,000 car is worth $15,000 in your pocket. That is far from the truth.

The only time it makes sense to donate is when the blue book value of a car is like $2k or more but you can only really sell it for like $500.. In that case donating it *might* turn out to be more profitable for you.. and a good cause is nice as well.

Just be clear that the value of the car you donate is not what you'll see in your bank account after you pay your taxes.

[jwoodland]

Feel for you losing a car that you enjoy but, you made the hard choice and did the right thing.

[Ocala FR-S]

Originally Posted by rice_classic

Actually, that's exactly what I'm talking about. The assumption was that you wouldn't be donating a BRZ but some 20 year old beater in that scenario.

If your car is worth more, either trade-in or private party, than the tax break of donation, then to donate would make poor financial sense.

I figured that was obvious.

I figured it was obvious that this is an FR-S forum. What's up with the 20 year old beater?

[rice_classic]

Originally Posted by Ocala FR-S

I figured it was obvious that this is an FR-S forum. What's up with the 20 year old beater?

Few things in this world are as pedantic as the internet.

"Worth so little" was the operative term. Donating doesn't apply to the OP's specific situation. General statements are general.

Obviously he wouldn't donate a $17k car but if it's really in excellent shape it stands to reason that he could have sold it for >carmax but <private party which would = quick sale + more money.

Selling a car to a person who's in the business of selling cars is always the "easy button" in offloading a vehicle, but it's almost always the most expensive (you get the least for it). With the exception of a beater as once you get down to a low enough value-point, one may consider one's time more valuable than the effort. This was the case with my 200k mile Prelude. It was worth more than the donation tax write off but even though I got less for it by trading it in, the value difference vs me selling it privately was ~$800. In that case, I took a hit but the hit was < the value of the time it would have taken to sell it myself. Another way of looking at it is that I spent $800 for the luxury of expediting the process of selling my old car. The OP probably spent several thousand to expedite the sale of his.

Fun times, back to work.

[iAgui]

Haha, this guy...

Don't ever get married, man.

Originally Posted by ihaskrayon

why not just sell the wifes car and keep the FR-S?

[ihaskrayon]

Originally Posted by iAgui

Haha, this guy...

Don't ever get married, man.

I'm getting married in a month

[Dake]

Originally Posted by dizzario

You either work for Carmax or you PDF'd this page to print it and staple it to your Carmx application.

I used to work there - don't anymore (I've mentioned it in other threads), though I left on great terms.

The thing I appreciated, at least at my location, was no one pretended Carmax was anything more than what it is.

It's an "easy" place to shop where everything is laid out, in real time, right in front of you. No, "Let me check with my manager" BS. You see the finance offers straight from the lenders on the screen at the same time as your consultant. And if you feel you've been low-balled on your appraisal, ask to talk to the buyer who did it. Our buyers wanted to talk to customers to find out what they thought. Do you pay more for the convenience? Absolutely. But you do get some intangibles as well. It's up to you to decide whether it's worth it.

I had customers complain about pricing and say, "Well, I don't need the extended warranty, I don't need the thirty days, I shouldn't have to pay for it." and the simple response was, if you go to McDonalds and buy a Big Mac and tell them to hold the lettuce you don't get a discount either. The price and product is there, it's your choice to take advantage of everything or not.

When it comes to appraisals it's the same in reverse. CM has to turn around and sell the vehicle either on their lot (after spending to recondition) or at auction, and they're in the business of making money. But you also don't have to worry about trade-in games, "you buy from us we'll give you more/whoops, lost the key/nonsense". You want more, put it on Craigslist and suffer the experience the OP did.

[continuecrushing]

Originally Posted by ihaskrayon

I'm getting married in a month

ABORT! ABORT!

DANGER WILL ROBINSON, DANGER!








Jkjk, marriage isn't that bad

[Nissanfan]

FYI,

Carmax uses BLACK book value, when buying cars. Those are prices from the auctions, dealers get their cars from. IF you went to a regular car dealership, you probably could have pulled Blue book value from them. Again, like everybody else said, should have waited and sold it privately.

[hexproject]

what was the hit that people are getting then?
did OP mention that? 9K hit?

any one wants to post their hits after certain milage and months of driving FRS?

I think with all these TRD, Monogram edition coming out... the regular FRS will take a hit faster..

I am sure they will have more limited.

There will be a TRD turbo, Monogram Plus, and whatever else they come up with.
And it's going to be about the same price or cheaper...

[poptopclk]

I say you got to put 17K miles on one of the most fun cars to drive.

You got to have people say nice car many times.

You will always have those fun memories of zipping around curves like nothing else.

Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all....

always a half full glass please

[jcblown13]

CARMAX
You might be able to PURCHASE for a good price there. Might.

But they SERIOUSLY LOW-BALL offer for your vehicle. Funny how you never get to come face-to-face with the turd that made the offer. It always comes from Mr. Niceguy salesman you met at the showroom front.

Don't waste your time with them.

[Majic86]

I've never been a CarMax person as EVERYTHING they sell is priced far above the market, and their buyback prices are typically much less than a normal dealer will give.