Help with trade decisions

[ZoomVT]

Hello everyone,
i have been a member for a while here but i have been away from this forum recently. It started with the World Cup and then i started doing work around the house and focusing on other stuff.
Let me state the i absolutely love my mazda 3. It has been an amazing car for me, lots of fun and i really like the community.
Right now i am at aninteresting crossroads and i would like to hear opinions.
According to NADA, the trade in value for my mazda 3 is 14,500. That is a lot of positive equity. (if someone around here has contacts in wholesale or tarde in values, please runa dn tell me if i am way off the realistic mark. details: 2004 Mazda 3 s 4dr. 40K miles on it. very clean except for the trunk lid was replaced due to a mailbox encounter. )
Right now i am conteplating a trade in because i would like to take advantage if the positive equity. it is rare that you actaully make money on a depreciating asset like a car. As of right now, i only owe 7,750 on this car and if i can get close to the 14k trade in value, i will be looking at around 6k in equity to put down for another vehicle.

What do you guys think? is it the right move? I still have 3 years to pay for this car and i am afraid it is going to lose a lot of value, especially because i drive about 20k miles a year.

My first option for trading is a 2007 mazda 3. Here is my main probelm, they are not here yet, and i have been told that they are in the states but are being held off until 2006 are sold out. I do not want a ms3 because i hate the hatch look (to each its own). i want a 2007 instead of a 2006 because the std options on the 07 are better and because the 06 is basically a year old already and is already depreciating.
Does anyone know of a dealer that has the 2007 mz3? any idea on when it will be available? any information highly appreciated.

My other options are:
-ms6 - drove it a zoomzoomlive. loved it. a little big for me but i can get used to it. None available in the new england area, at least not in a 150 miles around vermont.
- volvo s40 t5 awd - a sweet car. so far the front runner due to availability, and pricing.
-subaru legacy gt sedan - im not really excited about it, very bland look, but lots of power under the hood.

should i consider any other cars? the ceiling for my budget is about 30k.
and i would like to keep my payments reasonable. i have excellent credit and my current payments are extremely low ($250/mo)

Opinions, thoughts?
Thanks!

 

[ZoomVT]

quick update. finally found a dealer around here that has a couple of 2007 mz3 grand touring. is 21,725 a good price? they want to give me something like 12k for my trade in. im not sure about this so called deal. what do you guys think?

 

[J dragon]

12K sounds good to me ...I'd take it if I were you.

 

[dread]

They offered me 12,500 for my 3s that cost 19300 new and I only have 18k on it. You can get a speed 6 for 24,500 right now easily and I would go with that over another 3s for over 21k any day.

 

[tsunami]

yeah get teh ms6.... the speed dealership in auburn maine (not sure on milleage from you) had like 4 of em last time i checked.

 

[ZoomVT]

well look who decides to show up.
im going to jack my own thread. Derek, whats up man. send me a pm some time. didnt see you at zoomzoomlive...

 

[tsunami]

didn't make it to zzl because of the weather and the 3.5 hour drive each way as i had s*** to do (work) on saturday so sunday was the only day i could go the weather just kept me away... sucks to cause now i don't get another year of autoweek... lol

 

[ZoomVT]

lol. the weather actually held up most of the day except for about an hour when it poured and they had to stop running. but then they went on.
Anyway, i am still pondering about the 07 s40 or maybe a ms6 at the right price. the 07 mazda3 is selling so well i will be getting ***** by the dealer for one.
May end up trying to sell it on my own for a couple of weeks. if i can rip someone off and get 15k for my car then i would have to think about getting something nice but i would have a good 7+k for down payment.

 

[tsunami]

i would try pp for now and see what happens man worst case you loose the 2.50 it cost for the couple for sale signs.... not a big deal and worth the 6-7k reward cause i doubt you are going to get 14k for a trade in... 12.5 maybe 14 is a bit of a stretch

 

[jbiird317]

not much to lose selling it yourself except for time... Ive been trying to sell my car for a month now. Ive been through about 10 visits, test drives, "ooh we really like it," then call backs saying they just cant afford it right now. Ive ended up dropping my price several times all to no avail. Im only doing this b/c the dealer low-balled me majorly on the trade-in, so if youre getting a "reasonable" offer from the dealer I would jump all over it

 

[ZoomVT]

yeah i hear you there.
it is a paint to try to sell on your own, especially with finance rates so high. A lot of people will like the car but then their bank will be like "its going to be 29.99% b****" and then they have to back out. lol
my main issue with the trade in is that according to their own sources, NADA and KBB my car is worth quite a bit. NADA says (and i have a print out) its trade-in value is 14,500 (retail is 16k) and KBB says it is 12,250 (and this is only in fair condition, which you could argue it should be Good condition, which means a few hundred more).
But nobody so far has given me this number, not even split the difference.
Damn dealers.

 

[jbiird317]

yeah i hear you there.
it is a paint to try to sell on your own, especially with finance rates so high. A lot of people will like the car but then their bank will be like "its going to be 29.99% b****" and then they have to back out. lol
my main issue with the trade in is that according to their own sources, NADA and KBB my car is worth quite a bit. NADA says (and i have a print out) its trade-in value is 14,500 (retail is 16k) and KBB says it is 12,250 (and this is only in fair condition, which you could argue it should be Good condition, which means a few hundred more).
But nobody so far has given me this number, not even split the difference.
Damn dealers.

yeah they def play hardball... my car books at 5300 priv. and 4200 trade-in. Dealer won't budge over 2000. My inspection is up on the car at the end of the month and i need it gone by then since I wont pass with tint since I moved from PA to delaware...3 days to sell, dammit!

*end threadjack* Good luck with whatever u decide to do, i think that 21k might be a little bit high for just a 3, but I know my dealer here cant even get 2007 3's on the lot that arent sold already... high demand = higher prices

 

[ZoomVT]

ha im in the same boat again. my registration is due this month.
i have to fix my windshield (http://www.msprotege.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123644354) and find someone to ignore my tinted windows. Then pay for the damn inspection and very likely my brakes since i have the stockers and 40k+ miles.
I do have a few days, i shall know by end of the week what the hell im doing.

 

[CHICO2003]

yeah i hear you there.
it is a paint to try to sell on your own, especially with finance rates so high. A lot of people will like the car but then their bank will be like "its going to be 29.99% b****" and then they have to back out. lol
my main issue with the trade in is that according to their own sources, NADA and KBB my car is worth quite a bit. NADA says (and i have a print out) its trade-in value is 14,500 (retail is 16k) and KBB says it is 12,250 (and this is only in fair condition, which you could argue it should be Good condition, which means a few hundred more).
But nobody so far has given me this number, not even split the difference.
Damn dealers.

Until they either start buying cars for the prices they give you, or invest more money into actually providing true statistics like Gelves, KBB & NADA are worthless and shouldn't even be considered a factor. Trust me, I wish that wasn't the case. They have the trade-in for my car at $13k and the retail at $15k. Meanwhile, every dealer I bring it to offers me around 9k I've got a couple friends who sell cars and they both say the same thing... people come in expecting them to give them what KBB says their car is worth. what they don't realize is that those figures are grossly inflated.

 

[ZoomVT]

they are over inflated but then they should stop using it themselves.
I went to 2 dealerships and asked them both what they used for their appraisal.
One said he used NADA and their wholesale book. and the other said he used KBB and NADA. The second one (www.grappone.com) in NH is a large dealership and we actaully appraised the car on the phone together.
It still came to around 12,250 and i told him the nada came higher. Still when i talked to him he was offering me close to 12k.

 

[dread]

They use whatever gives them the lowest value on your car. They are going to turn around and sell it for at least 16k if not 17k. I hate dealerships and their BS. My dealer tried to tell me all the options I have do nothing to the trade in value.

 

[ZoomVT]

ha. yeah i hear you.
the other thing they tried to do is to add to your trade in by reducing the cost of the sticker on the car you want. which really means nothing because you could have talked him into lowering the sticker anyway. they are just playing with their margin.
i usually just asked them whats the trade in value and that i will decide on the car after i know the trade in. if i dont like the trade in I dont even bother with looking at the car.
But sometimes is good to tell him that between the trade in and price reduction you want to get to a number, and if they do it you drive the car today.... if they are desperate to seel right then (they are having a bad week or month) then they will make the numbers work.

 

[CHICO2003]

Car dealerships are amongst the shadiest places in the world... of course they're going to use every trick in the book to screw you as much as possible. Most of their profits are made through used-vehicles so it's no wonder. They have a couple things on their side... a) usually, the consumer doesn't want to deal with the hassle of selling their car privately b) they REALLY want a new car and will almost stop at nothing to get one, even if it means doing something financially retarded and c) the tax savings. C is really the only legitimate thing they can use since anyone with any sense can sell their car with little-to-no hassles. And unless the car they want is one that may not be around very long, they most likely can wait it out until they're financially ready.

Here's the bottom line... You're right, the dealer will use KBB and NADA... but only if it's to their advantage. (see selling their own used cars) Carmax is the biggest culprit of them all. Go to their website and most of their cars have the KBB value listed along with the so-called savings you'll receive by buying that car from them. Now here's the test... find a car you're familiar with and ask yourself if that car is really WORTH what they're asking for it. 9/10 the answer is no. Even their KBB value minus a grand is a joke!

You want to know how much your car is really worth? Free sites like KBB and NADA (unfortuneatly) aren't the answer. They're like psychics... telling you what they KNOW you want to hear. They make most of their money from advertising so... the more hits they get on their website, the more $$$ they make. Unfortuneatly, if you really want to know... you'll either have to pony up the dough for a more legitimate source (like Gelves) that actually tallies up true data in your region (from everything from auctions to what dealers are charging) on a weekly basis... short of that, ebay's a relatively decent barometer since it shows what the car actually sold for.

The reason mods don't positively affect the vaulue of a car is the same reason my car being bright orange doesn't. Those types of things attract a certain type of buyer that, despite this community, doesn't represent the majority. Niche may be a bit too strong a term but you get the idea. On top of that, even the types that would be interestd in a modded car are usually (rightfully so) cautious since it could imply a car that's been beaten on. You're in a better boat than most... in that your car is highly desireable on the open market. Despite the fact that you're selling it so soon, you should still be able to break even if you sell it privately. Selling a car privately is a piece of cake... (once you find the buyer of course)

 

[ZoomVT]

Hey its a good call about Galves. I had never heard of them.
I wonder if anyone has a Galves book, works for a delaership or has a membership that can check out my trade in value for me.
Anyone? anyone?

 

[Mazda3_2004]

what is an 04 Mazda 3 base model worth?? 49 000 kms