Trade in or private sell when getting new truck

[LookinforDirt]

I would at least get quotes for your truck from places like CarMax, etc. before you head to the dealer table so you know what to expect. Wasn’t happy with the offer the dealer was giving me on my truck and told them I would leave, sell my truck to CarMax, then come back to finish the deal. They matched CarMax’s offer (which was 5k higher) so I didn’t leave the table.

That worked for me in 2023 when I traded in a cargo van for a new Ford F-150. I had quotes from CarMax well above what the dealer was offering. The dealer started at $20k and we ended up at $26.5k. At or a little above what CarMax quoted.

 

[Ajsomp]

Depends on how old your vehicle is. I will always do a quote from carvana, carmax, autotrader etc. before going to a dealer. IMO those are the bare minimum I’d accept for a trade.

I’ve been able to get the dealer to beat the carmax or carvana offer simply by not wanting to leave the table. I’ve also walked away and gone down the road and sold it to comparing dealers. During the post COVID height I sold a Silverado trail boss with a 6.2 for 3 grand more than I paid for it several months before. I sold my tundra in a similar manner.

That being said - cars/trucks in the 2-7k worth - private party all day. I have a commuter that is 19 years old with only 110k miles (bought it off an older couple) and I won’t get anything for it from a dealer. If the time comes, I’ll sell that via FB marketplace, Craigslist or elsewhere.

 

[nam1975]

I sell mine to the brand dealer. Most dealerships will buy anything today.
Even clunkers they flip to the wholesale auction for a few bucks.
Then I go buy the new vehicle only and I don’t have to mess with all the trade in games.

 

[go_deep]

Just did this process. Bought my wife a newer used car at the dealership, they offered about half of its value on trade in of the KBB private party value, I said no thanks.
Paid my 15 year old daughter to clean the vehicle up nice, took a pile of pictures, the more the better, listed it on about 10 groups and Facebook marketplace, paid the extra $6 for 3 days of additional exposure, my listing appeared like an ad to other people. It showed that around 1,200 people clicked on and viewed my ad, worth it. In the end I talked to about 12 people over 2 weeks via messenger, first person that did show up paid cash and I sold it for $340 under top KBB value.
That was worth every minute of my time and effort to get several thousand dollars more out of it.

If you don't have Facebook, ask someone who does to list it for you and put your contact information on there.
If your talking about a vehicle around $10k or less, kept up and clean for is age, they sell fast.

 

[COJoe]

I just sold my truck on Craigslist to the first buyer who had cash. I've sold a number of vehicles and campers on Criagslist. It's not as terrible as marketplace, which is awful trying to deal with low offers. It's not enjoyable selling anything anymore. I'll probably trade in my wife's Forestor when it comes time for a newer vehicle to avoid the headaches.

 

[Laelkhunter]

Givemethevin.com John Clay Wolf is Nationwide and has a radio show on Saturdays. Co Worker sold a truck to him, they beat the Car Max price by over $500 (in his ad he says he will give you a$100 if he doesn't beat Carmax). They picked up his truck the next day and paid him on the spot. Depending where you are, they have outlets almost everywhere across the U.S. and you can drive to them if you wish.
A good thing about trading in (at least here in Louisiana), the price of the trade in is deducted from your bottomline price and you don't pay sales tax on that amount, but if you sell your vehicle and don't trade in you pay full amount of tax. If your trade in is worth 10 or 15 K, that could be a lot of $$ you save on the tax. Selling to the public is a PITA, strangers calling you all hours, wanting you to meet them wherever, or worse come to your house, and the head ache of them possibly coming back the next day trying to void the deal for whatever reason.

 

[Maverick1]

Tried to sell a couple of older, inexpensive vehicles on FB marketplace but the number of scammers that reached out was ridiculous.

 

[saskhunter]

Trade in: low hassle but lower re-sale.

Private sale: more hassle and higher re-sale.

Take whichever you're more comfortable with.

 

[Elkbelch]

I don't know about other states but in MO we can deduct any vehicle sold, private or not (just need a bill of sale) from the sales tax, we pay tax at the DMV when you do the registration/license not the dealer

 

[MuleyFever]

Traded in last fall partly because it was spur of the moment as I was driving through SLC and partly because the trade in value was in the $50k range so there was value in the tax difference. Truck before that I sold myself because it was a low milage diesel and I knew it would sell fast. Only took 2 days to sell but I still had to deal with scammers contacting me. In some cases I've traded in because the vehicle was having issues and I didn't want to deal with someone local that may have issues with it and come back pissed off. It's all a trade off and you just have to decide what you want to deal with

 

[Idaboy]

Great advice on this thread, appreciate it all, truck is probably in the 25K range so have to decide dealer tax savings vs pita prvt sale. Never meet at my place, meet by court house, fire station, police dept etc

 

[Weldor]

I'd recommend looking at selling to someplace like Carvana, or at least getting a quote. I did that with my last car. Got an instant offer based off real time market value. ZERO hassles. The tow truck driver did the half assed inspection. No aggressive sales person trying to nickel and dime you on every tiny nuance so they can give you the smallest price. Once it's on the flatbed, you get paid the price they quoted.

What was their offer like? Low-ball like the Stealers? or wholesale?

 

[brca005]

I always do trade in because I don't want to deal with the giant pita private party can be. I'll take the hit on trade in for the convenience factor of it all. I always have a good idea on what my vehicle is worth before going in, I look at carvana, carmax, what other dealers are selling the same vehicle for in my area and nationwide so I've got my ducks in a row when I go in. I'm also not afraid to walk away over $500-1000 difference, so unless I'm in a pinch, I'm not in "need" to get rid of my vehicle, it's more because I got a wild hair and want a different one. My last vehicle I went to a few different places before I got the deal I wanted, I also enjoyed telling the previous dealers to pound sand, that they weren't going to make that much money off my vehicle from me and I wasn't going to just give my vehicle away. This was also one of those instances where I got a wild hair for a new vehicle, so I didn't need a vehicle by any stretch, I was looking for a more family friendly vehicle.

 

[Ucsdryder]

Trade in for all the reasons mentioned. Most people aren’t writing a check for 25000 and dealing with a PP sale and financing is a mess.

Go to carmax, carvana, autonation, Lithia, kbb.com, etc. Most will do an online appraisal. Get the highest bid, feel free to tell lower bids about your current offer to see if they’ll beat it. Then take it to the dealer you plan to trade to and tell them you want them to beat it, negotiate down to a match.

 

[HuntHarder]

Be willing to walk away... I bought a new pickup in 2024. I never told them about my trade in until all the negotiating was done on the new pickup price. Then I said I needed to trade in my pickup. Let him quote it, told him the deal is likely off as that was far too low of price. The look on the salesmanship face was priceless.

Thats when all the other guys get involved and all the haggling really starts. Just told them, I don't care how you get there, I just need to be OTD at this price. Which was the negotiated lower price - what I wanted for my trade in. Low and behold, they got there. Took a little bit and they "made no money" on the deal. Gtfo with that nonsense talk. They made money, trust me. They aren't in the business to give me deals. They hate cash deals, so don't use that, thinking it helps you. Finance thru them for the incentives, ensure no pre payment penalties and pay it off when you leave the stealership.

 

[Skerhunter]

Best method (not the easiest) I have found to buy and sell used vehicles is through the dealer. Find the vehicle you want, find a buyer for your used vehicle and have the dealership do the paperwork. They usually only charge a few hundred dollars.

This saves you from paying extra on taxes, because you are still trading in a vehicle!

Selling private treaty usually isn’t worth the hassle, unless you have something everyone wants or you already have a buyer lined up willing to pay a decent price.

 

[bucksnbirds]

Good rule of thumb, anything that requires a dealer, you're going to get screwed. If its an easy sell to a private party, always go that route.

 

[Mtslackcountry]

tag

 

[Silveroddo]

Depends what it is. If its something that's desirable and not going to be a pain to move, FB market place (I hate them, but its everyone's go to these days) I'm getting ready to sell my wife's Edge and I'm not looking forward to it. Its a good rig but its going to be in the category of "the people that want it cant afford it, and the people than can afford it are probably going to be looking for lower miles" You have to have a pretty good idea of what its worth and how to sell things, seems like when I'm buying half the sellers that are trying to sell themselves aren't cut out for it and should just be trading in to a dealer.