[nigela]

I’m close to buying my ID.4, but the dealer’s offer on my trade in is substantially below what KBB lists for a trade in price, $10,000 vs $15000. Dealer says blah blah local market. We do live in a less populous area. Is the dealer messing with me, or is KBB not always authoritative?

 

[ExCivilian]

It's what they use to price things but it's not the only valuation system. The market price you'd be looking to list it at is KBB private party sale. The price between that and the trade-in value is your wiggle room with a private buyer.

A $5k trade-in delta is too much, imo. A $15K trade-in value indicates to me you have a nice vehicle that should fetch at least $10K on the open market, if not $15K, so I'd price it around middle of private party value and take anywhere between $12-15K if you can't get any higher. But I don't have any details regarding your vehicle--this is just piecing together some things so it might be useful or not.

One thing you can do is get a quote from CarMax or a similar site (KBB also has a cash offer system). You can either sell it to CarMax or bring that quote into the dealership. The difference between whatever they can screw you for in your trade-in value and then whatever they can squeeze from you on the purchase is their "profit" so they have no incentive to work with you or offer you market rate.

 

[Huey52]

I used several of the services to get a reasonable "go to hell" number for my trade-in (KBB, CarMax, Carvana, etc.).
You have to of course be reasonable about the condition of your vehicle, as everyone thinks their's is excellent.
You also have to take into consideration what the dealer will likely list the trade for or expect at wholesale auction and thereby the profit margin they will need.
Private party maximizes your ROI but may be awkward from a timing perspective.
I gave my salesman a reasonable number and told him I was "firm on same, especially as paying MSRP on the FE." The next day they accepted it. But then mine truly was excellent.

 

[Curtis55]

My dealer said they give KBB value, and after a quick inspection they gave me exactly what KBB said. So I was very pleased.

 

[javi_ID4]

Try also Nada Guides

 

[ErickF]

I got a Carmax offer that was 20% better than KBB. I mentioned it verbally to my dealer and they honored it without question (or the Carmax offer sheet I brought along). In Washington, our taxable amount is discounted by the trade-in, so I effectively got a 10% premium over Carmax.

 

[nigela]

Try also Nada Guides

Cool. NADA gave me $11.6k - $12.5k as a trade in value. Like @ErickF, I’m in Washington state, so the trade in lowers the sales tax. Unfortunately, I’m too far away from CarMax or Carvana for a sale.

I‘m going to look at other dealers. I got a good trade in offer from Campbell VW, but they are two hours each way from me.

 

[javi_ID4]

Cool. NADA gave me $11.6k - $12.5k as a trade in value. Like @ErickF, I’m in Washington state, so the trade in lowers the sales tax. Unfortunately, I’m too far away from CarMax or Carvana for a sale.

I‘m going to look at other dealers. I got a good trade in offer from Campbell VW, but they are two hours each way from me.

What is your deadline? Try selling privately. You could get more money for the car. Also, don't forget to view my buyer guide.

 

[ixlr08]

The two new car dealers and one used car dealer told me they used NADA values for trade-in values. But I think they tend to run low.

 

[Nai3t]

The one thing that outweighs any blue book value is the actual amount of cash somebody is willing to give you for the car. I tried pricing my last car at retail Book and I couldn't move it -- it took a couple of months after I relented and dropped the price.

I know that's "well duh!" obvious but Kelly's got to start somewhere, so they sample retail and wholesale sales to derive their estimates. But they can't capture the entirety of the market.

Some dealers advertise "We'll pay you Blue Book for your trade!" and hand over the printout to back up their offer. They may use that same printout to justify their sale price to the car's next owner, if they keep it on their lot. Others (like the dealer where I purchased the ID.4) offered me a lowball $11k and then immediately upped it to $13k when I balked. I think I can do $17k private party, but even $15k is better than what was offered.

So I always look at the blue books as starting points. Ask for more, especially if you're at the dealer and he's hungry for a sale, but in the end sell your car to who ever is willing to pay the most for it, regardless of what any pricing guide thinks it's worth.

 

[nigela]

Thanks for all the feedback! I found that KBB will generate a quote and I sent that to some area dealers. I have a local dealer who sounds very interested, and the estimate is for $13.5k. If that holds up, that’s a deal.

 

[ExCivilian]

They'll use whichever one is the lowest value to buy from you and then whichever is the highest value to sell to you.

 

[ErickF]

Cool. NADA gave me $11.6k - $12.5k as a trade in value. Like @ErickF, I’m in Washington state, so the trade in lowers the sales tax. Unfortunately, I’m too far away from CarMax or Carvana for a sale.

I‘m going to look at other dealers. I got a good trade in offer from Campbell VW, but they are two hours each way from me.

Carmax is really close to Campbell. I actually quoted them the online estimates from Carmax and Carvana and that was their basis for my trade.

 

[ErickF]

They'll use whichever one is the lowest value to buy from you and then whichever is the highest value to sell to you.

Have you been a Campbell VW customer?

 

[eldecarlo]

I’m close to buying my ID.4, but the dealer’s offer on my trade in is substantially below what KBB lists for a trade in price, $10,000 vs $15000. Dealer says blah blah local market. We do live in a less populous area. Is the dealer messing with me, or is KBB not always authoritative?

I’ve sold 2 cars to Carvana and had good experiences! Both more than I could get from dealers.