Trade in value

[ChrisZang]

Hi guys,

Ready to upgrade my ride
The dealer is offing me $10k for my car
2002 Boxter S
95k miles on the chassis
45k miles on the engine (IMS replacement)
new waterpump
low temp thermostat
underdrive pulley
power steering cooler
Brey-Krause deep oil sump
PSS9
Tarret sway bars
GT3 lower control arms
18" turbo twists (with curb rash) with TPMS
Litronics
Deambered
Aftermarket touchscreen double DIN Pioneer navigation/radio
XM and HD radio
IPod connectivity
Bluetooth
Rear view camera
Rain sensing wipers
heated seats
wind blocker
Carrera instrument cluster
1 year old A5 acoustic top with heated glass rear window

Shall I take the trade in offer or try to sell it myself in the spring?
I have enough money for the down payment, so I don't need to trade in, but would like to avoid all the hassle with Craigslist ....

[particlewave]

Something I've been contemplating as well. Dealer absolutely will low ball you, but they do have to make a profit and there is less hassle for you, but a private sale will get you more money...probably a couple thousand more.

Dealer is the safe bet, IMO, if you don't mind taking the 15-25% hit.
Dealing with private sales is just a headache and every idiot is going to want to test drive your baby...probably as hard as they can.

[DFW02S]

Be patient and sell it privately.
Your car is a great set up for anyone who appreciates the 986 S.

[Shergal farkey]

I brought mine privately from a dealer , it was a trade in, the book price trade from glasses guide was only £6750 for what was easily an 8 grand car plus... I haggled it down to 6,500 which was fantastic. There are deals to be done.

[Skrapmot]

As a rule, dealers will only buy a car from you what they could buy it at auction for, which is about a grand under low blue book.
I trade in my cars as I hate dealing with strangers, and unless you're selling a car that's a hot commodity and sells super fast (used Prius, Jeep Wrangler, Miatas, etc) it's a real pain.

[Skrapmot]

BTW, dealers don't seem to car about upgrades , just mileage , model and condition.

[thstone]

Straight Blue Book is ~$14.5K for private party sale. Dealer blue book is ~$12K. But to be honest, in this economy, it can sometimes be hard to get even blue book for a convertible 2-seater sports car at the start of winter. You have to understand that its a buyers market. With that being said, selling it yourself can be a PITA but you'll still sell it for more than trading it into the dealer.

[jcb986]

Go to NADA site and put your car in and see what they say. Skrapmot is right about giving you what they would be able to buy them at auction. But you should have a couple of thousand in your favor since your purchasing a new one. My best guess would be $12,500 on trade.

[husker boxster]

You have winter in California?

I say sell it yourself. Not sure if this is a factor in CA, but in NE we pay sales tax on either the cash difference when there's a trade or the whole amount of the sale price if there's no trade. So I try to calculate how much I'll save in sales tax with a trade and compare that to the extra cash I'd get if I sell the car myself.

[MConte05]

Just sell it on Craigslist the first week of really nice weather. It'll sell in days. I have sold several cars of mine. Usually the first or second person to come and check it out buys it within a day or two. Most people I've dealt with have actually been really nice, and had great conversations with them just shooting the **************** about cars.

For reference I sold a 2002 Subaru WRX with 165,000 miles on it for $9k in a week after posting it for $9k, almost no haggling, the kid reallyyyyy wanted it. And sold a 2012 Hyundai Veloster that I had for 5 months for $500 more than I paid for it brand new after rebates in THREE HOURS for my asking price of $17,500.

Word your ad correctly, have good pictures, and it'll sell quickly. Especially for a desirable car like the Boxster S. You are getting REAMED by the dealer, I would have just laughed and walked away if they offered $10k for trade in. They are going to re-list the car for $14-15k and enjoy their $5k profit.

If you are comfortable with $10k, list it on CL right now for $12k and it'll be sold by the end of the week, especially with that upgrade list.

[Topless]

That car should sell for $12k in about an hour if you get it in front of the right people. It just depends on how much convenience is worth to you. Top dollar right now is probably $16-18k but that might take months of tire kickers. Anyone in PCA-GGR know the car and have the hots for it?

A bunch of track rats are at Laguna Seca today and tomorrow. Spend $100 on a detail job, make a nice sign listing all the go-fast parts, take the day off tomorrow and park it in the cold pits for everyone to see. SOLD!

[Soetekouw]

Trade it in. The small difference you'll get for selling it yourself ($12K - maybe) or trade in ($10K) is probably not worth your effort. A Porsche is a specialty car and finding that 1 person in the haystack who wants to buy it (especially a modified car with no PPI), may cost you money (and you'll be closer to that $10K, anyway). This down economy also will make selling this car, difficult.

[MConte05]

Posting an ad online (free) and maybe having to make human contact (via email or phone) to several people for less than a week isn't worth an extra $2k in the pocket?

Man, maybe you Porsche guys have way more money than I thought. I know I'd could use an extra $2k. It's a desirable sports car for under $15k. Maybe if he was trying to unload a $75k used 911 Turbo thennnn maybe he'd have problems because of a "down economy" but get that car in front of a 20-something young engineer who wants a cool sports car for under $15k in California of all places, it'll sell no matter what the economy.

To the OP. Post on CL, just a blurb with the list you already posted here. It will take 10 minutes, and see how many offers you get within the first day, then reconsider trading in. Put on CL for $14k, people will lowball you by a couple thousand, but if you are comfortable selling for $12k, then bam deal done and both parties are happy.

[Homeboy981]

Strip the sways and shocks and sell them to me!

Past that….wait until Spring! Prices are slumping, in March they will be pumping - at least a couple grand more. It will give you time to put it back to stock trim…and you can offload the 'race' parts to someone like me and pocket and couple grand off of BOTH. Total is $4k MORE than you will get TODAY! My $.02!

[Perfectlap]

Sounds to me like your dealer is offering to sell your $14,000 car for a flat one time fee of $4,000. Better jump on that deal before he changes his mind!
28% seller's fee for an enthusisast-owned car...

[HAUSIDMT]

I would say wait and sell it privately.

I bought my brothers off of him after he did some of the same upgrades. We settled on a fair price, well above what they were low-balling you for. It is also a 02'S with 75K miles on the clock. My bank valued the car at $21K, so they were happy to give me the money for what we settled on. There are buyers out there especially for a well set up Boxster.

[HAUSIDMT]

Originally Posted by Topless

That car should sell for $12k in about an hour if you get it in front of the right people. It just depends on how much convenience is worth to you. Top dollar right now is probably $16-18k but that might take months of tire kickers. Anyone in PCA-GGR know the car and have the hots for it?

A bunch of track rats are at Laguna Seca today and tomorrow. Spend $100 on a detail job, make a nice sign listing all the go-fast parts, take the day off tomorrow and park it in the cold pits for everyone to see. SOLD!

Good point!!!

[Stroked & Blown]

With all those parts and being in CA, you should have good luck on the rennlist classifieds.

[WhipE350]

Chris - post it here first once you decide, I'm still keeping my eye open for a low priced 986. At 10k yours would be an awesome car (a steal!) to store at my Mom's in the Adirondacks and enjoy on my vacations.
How much stiffer is it with your setup?

[RandallNeighbour]

Trading it in also gives you a sales tax advantage. Don't forget to add this into your thinking.

What I do is hammer them on the new car sale price to compensate for the lowball trade amount, and when they balk, I say "Fine, then overpay me on my trade. You must do one or the other to get me to buy today."

Then I shut up. The next guy to speak just lost money.

Then, no matter what deal I negotiate in the sales area, I change my mind in the finance office, and demand free maintenance (oil changes, first 3 scheduled maintenance visits, etc.). It totally pisses off the finance guy, who will storm out and yell at the salesman, and give you something more to get you to sign the papers.

Screw with them until they're just about to throw your ass out of the dealership.

I sold cars for a while. The salespeople always comment, "buyers are liars". ... So I have no respect for them whatsoever and redo the deal well after they think the negotiation is over.

If I leave with my new car I hope that the staff never wants to see me again for the haggling I have done and their lack of control over me and my money. No matter how they moan about losing money, they are lying to you.