USED TACOMA PRICING

Stop using carvana as a used price source. Their trade in values change based on their volume of units.

Look at what local dealers are selling used trucks for to see where the values are at.

1-3 year old used Tacomas are still selling for close to new price. At that point your better off buying new and getting the better interest rate. I shopped months for a decent used 3rd gen. Finally just ended up buying new for a few thousand more.

 

Used to be... any trade in with close to 100k miles went straight to the auction, does this hold true today ?

 

Speak with any used car manager lol. 1-3 months of no sale and they typically get sent to auction regardless of profit margin. They don't want to keep their money tied up in a non-selling depreciating asset.

 

Depends on the dealer and the type of car.

 

That isn't how the car market works. It would be nice, but it doesn't work that way. They don't dump cars because they have been sitting. It sets a bad precedent. In Virginia it is easy to tell how long a car has been there because they do safety inspections and has the month it was inspected so you can tell. There is absolutely no negotiations by saying "that one has been here 4 months longer than this one." What they will do when something won't sell is take it to the auction. Sadly they would rather sell it at a discount at auction than sell it to your or me. This keeps them from having to lower their prices. Dealers are not your friend. They are in business to make money.

 

Exactly. They don't have fire sales because a car won't sell.

 

Don’t tell me how car dealers work, I worked I dealers for 21 years!!! How long have you worked at a dealer? Zero? I thought so.
Your perception is surely polluted with misinformation about retail car sales and possibly bad experiences. When you walk on a lot acting like an asshole that’s how you get treated.
There are more ways to make money off a car than just the price.
I bought my truck 5000.00 UNDER BOOK VALUE because it had been on the lot almost a hundred days. I walked out when they wouldn’t budge on price, a month later I walked in and it was at the price I wanted.
As far as auctions, you do realize it costs money to sell a car at the auction? It’s called a sellers and buyers fee.
Not trying to harp on you but you seem to have a bad taste in your mouth (which is not uncommon in the car market, I don’t blame you). You just need to be able to “walk away” from a car lot.
Cash flow is the name of the game. Successful dealers realize they won’t hit a home run on every deal, and if they think they can those are the ones to avoid.
Best of luck on your next purchase, if you would like some guidance on your next purchase I’d sincerely be glad to help.

 

yea but sending a car to auction assumes the car is going to fetch much less money.

 

I love an internet expert that answers their own questions. If you really did spend 21 years in the business, you learned nothing. Of course there are auction fees, but that is part of the cost of doing business. When you are wholesaling hundreds of cars, it is part of the business.

You need to separate the concept of getting a good deal from them lowering the price. Dealers will tell you anything they think you want to hear about getting a good deal. They work off margin. There is a minimum price they will sell a vehicle for. If they can't hit that number off to the auction it goes. If they worked by discounting as if it is a perishable product, everyone would wait and they would rotate their stock.

 

Yes and no. It depends on what they are into if for and what they can get. You probably don't have access to Manheim, but you would be surprised at what some cars go for. There is very little margin in used cars. Volume is the key. In the old days you had to physically go to the auctions. Now everything is online and you can sit in your office and bid on anything, anywhere. It is amazing the level of info they provide on the cars. They document every scratch and imperfection. This takes a lot of the risk out of cars so people are willing to pay more because you know what you are getting. Manheim also assigns a MMR price based off what has recently sold that includes condition, options, etc. It is pretty accurate. When you go to trade a vehicle in, that is what the dealer is looking at, not KBB or NADA.

 

Dealer has a 2022 TRD OR with 8k miles & the sticker price is 43k, more than the same equipped 2023 parked next to it with a MSRP of 41,200
The sales guy said they needed to move it 2 doors down to the used lot & it will sell there.

 

Ok so you never worked for a dealer but you’re the expert?
For your information over 20 years in the business does not make me an internet expert……..I am an expert through experience. Keyboard warriors like you spewing stupidity make me laugh, good luck on your cluelessness on something you have NO, NONE, NADA experience with.

So, sell a car at a discount to a customer make just a little in the finance office or take it to the auction and loose everything? You make perfect sense. You should own your own dealership.
You must be one of those customers every sales person runs from.
Done with you good luck.

 

Inflation is massively cushioning the used prices from falling. Our money lost 8.5% of its prior year purchasing power just last year, and it has lost yet another 5% already this year.

 

I love salty car dogs, I put in 15 years before jumping ship to have a life. Auction isn't going to pay you a flat in finance for your get-me-done credit criminal rolling him in a Dodge Journey. Some people probably still think dealers make a fake invoice on a new vehicle.

 

You better believe it’s dropping, and momentum is picking up rapidly…. Those still in La la land (prisoners of the moment) always react too late.

 

Even though Carvana and all these other companies are claiming prices have fell, they definitely haven't for people that are trying to buy.

 

Because the inventory they’re stuck with right now they paid much higher for… eventually their pricing will drop as well … dealers are dropping rapidly in areas as well you’re just looking in the wrong spots

i can show you proof of a vehicle a family member traded in , the dealer is listing it for a $500 loss than what they gave him 2 weeks ago(they started at $1500 higher than trade) dropped it by $2000 over the last 2 weeks

 

I completely believe you lol they screwed themselves thinking that market would stay in their favor. I also think it depends on the market you're in as well. In SoCal, Tacomas are extremely popular and most dealers won't work deals because they know the truck will sell.

 

Yes, the smart ones take a flight to X part of the country and drive it back home. (Ask me how many different states I’ve flown/drive to, to pick up vehicles lol). People would rather be lazy and spend $5,000-$15,000 more to have what they want right there locally.

As long as their monthly payment is fine- they can brag about their truck on social media to their friends who cares how bad they got ripped off

 

20 years as a lot attendant, I am guessing at most sales? Could be wrong, but yes, they don't give cars away. That is a hard and fast rule of the business. A good inventory manager isn't going to get into the position you are thinking. Even an average one wouldn't. What you are missing is they are not looking at 1 or 2 units. They are turning hundreds even at smaller dealerships. It is about volume. Get them in, get them out. They are not sending 1 unit to the auction or selling to a wholesaler. That would be inefficient.

Sales slimes don't run from me, they sprint. A real sales rep loves me because I know the business and not there trying to get something I know will never happen. Your logic reminds me of a guy that kept filling out credit applications. The guy came in about once a week. Got turned down every time. I didn't care because we had a $20 spiff on credit apps. I was happy to do it. The spiff ended and he still came in so being irritated I said "you get turned down every time. Your credit is bad, why do you keep doing this?" His response in all seriousness "They will see that I am very serious about getting a loan and eventually they will approve me". I shook my head and gave him the form...