Selling or Trading Vehicles

I'm curious as to whether people think it is worth the time and effort to privately sell a vehicle or to just take it into a dealership and trade it.

 

i just trade it in. no waiting, since usually when im ready to buy a vehicle, i want it that day... impulsive i guess.

 

My last two trucks I traded. Everything else sold outright. They were Toyota trucks w/ high miles that I had driven for 6-10 years.

 

I trade as long as I get the overall deal I want. When you trade it comes off the value of the truck towards your sales tax less bullshit of people saying they will show up to look and never do and less bullshit of tire kickers that just want to knock your price in half

 

P I A $$ to "private sales"......

We have always traded BUT I had a chance to purchase the Ridgeline outright and then sold my wifes Camry privately...NEVER AGAIN....

Craigslist and Autotrader have good people BUT the other 90% will "drive you NUTS"....

 

You'll generally get the most $ by selling it yourself, but the hassle factor makes trading in attractive. I traded my last two trucks, and I'm sure I left $ on the table - but I was OK with it.

Too many cons and thieves out there these days.....

 

Sold about 20 plus times, traded once.

Plus to selling..you get more $$.

Minus to selling..more time and waiting on people, dickering price more.

Plus to trading..one stop shopping.

Minus to trading..get less.

My background is most of the cars I've sold were $1000 or less, so no need for me to warranty the vehicle in MA. Some people are a pain in the ass..I had one kid bring the car back 2 weeks later and complain about it stalling out which it wasn't on the 30 minute test drive. Told him his car now, get it looked at...and that what he paid for it was less than I spent doing repairs on the vehicle in the year I had it much less that I had to buy it as well.

Also, my Tacoma is only the 2nd time I've bought from a dealer. The other was my 2006 Chevy Colorado..my 10 year old Oldsmobile was worth very little so I didn't bother trying to trade it, plus I thought my niece was going to take it as her first car. I gladly traded the Colorado after having to deal with engine issues on it (which I had repaired and was honest about), did not want to see that truck ever again.

 

The whole reason I'm asking is because I have a 99 F-250 Super Duty diesel, and I'm a full time student. With that being said, that truck does not make a great commuter and I am really debating on either just taking it down to toyota and trading it if for a 4 banger 4x4 yota or holding out and trying to sell it outright.

 

Your time, your $$$$....

Check with a private dealer that buys used with ca$H, then try Toyota dealer....With that information you will have an "IDEA" of how much more you can make privately ...and if it is worth your time!!

If that FORD has the 7.3 you should be in a good place for trading or selling...

Good luck !!!!

 

Why give the dealer $1500? I haven't bought or sold a vehicle ever, but I would rather buy something for my new vehicle with that $1500..

 

HUH ????? Where did that number come from...???

I have been comfortable with my "dealers" and if not I moved onto another....
Left Mack for Peterbilt over $13,000 and still paid more for that 1st truck than We did for our 1st house....

Toyota has been good to me since 1981( only dealer that would finance NEW for a 20-something without a co-signor )...

 

I've had a lot of vehicles. Mostly I've traded. As long as you get the deal you want it's much easier, especially with all of the paperwork. Titles, registrations, etc.

 

This. When we bought my wife 4Runner, we had the time to private sell our old Scion and I feel a bit better about it than I do about trading in the other cars I have...but trading was so easy and just moved the deal along...so I have no regrets about either method.

 

Yep she has the 7.3L in her!

 

Like if you give a dealer a vehicle to sell. Not a trade in necessarily, they would typically make $1500 from the sale.

 

Time is money. If you have the time to deal with private people trying to low ball you all the time then the private way would be best for you. If that hassle isn't worth 1000-1500 bucks then trade it in. The dealer has to make money and we all know that.

 

Private sale.. Worth all the hassle and dealing with idiots. I was offered 1500 bucks for my 2003 pathfinder as a trade in. Been sitting on it a few months but got a deposit this weekend and its sold for 7500... I'd say its worth the small amt of effort. I make money buying and selling on kijiji all the time.

 

Made an extra $2k by selling privately. Sold in a week on Craigslist.

 

A year ago I might have said it is worth it to sell private party, but the last 2 things I've sold have really annoyed me. Both of those said times I have had an entire family of Mexicans show up in my driveway to buy despite my attempts to ask them who will be coming. They have always been nice but I never know what is going to happen. I realize its not safe to bring people to my house, but at my house I'm always armed and ready if needed. It's a pain in the butt to meet in parking lots to make a sale for some of the things I have sold anyways. I'm just getting to the point that dealing with people sucks when selling something.

 

It depends...... on logistics and value of the vehicle.

Generally - in most cases - you can get more money for selling privately. However, there are the logistics involved in getting rid of the old (cash flow, paperwork, time, not having a vehicle, etc) before you can get a new one.
Or...the overall condition of the vehicle.

I owned a Dodge Ram that I tried to sell privately. The market was sooooo overloaded with these trucks that I never got any bites. I kept lowering the price. After 30+ days of not getting any offers...I traded it in for the Tacoma. The awesome thing about it.... The Toyota dealer gave me my asking price that I had it listed for privately!! The truck still had factory warranty on it.

On the other end of the spectrum.... My mother-in-law owned a 12 year old Grand Cherokee and that thing was a piece of shit. I gladly traded the damn thing for whatever they would give me for it. With vehicles of that age & reputation, there's a FEAR of selling it privately due to the someone coming back and bitching (so to speak).