Trade-in to dealer or sell to a car-buying company?

[sseiler]

That's a no Brainer who ever will give you the most Money

Yeah, I would think so. I just wasn’t sure if there’s any catches I’m missing. I always just traded in.

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[Sirk]

I sold a 2019 Honda CR-V to Carvana a few months ago. I got quotes from the usual suspects, and Carvana gave me the best offer. The process was very simple. The only hiccup was related to them picking up my vehicle. The guy showed up on schedule and we traded my title for a check. Surprisingly, he didn't do more than glance toward the vehicle. I would have thought he would have looked inside and under the hood, but he didn't. In any event, he took the keys and title and gave me my check. Then left without the car. I had to bug Carvana a couple of times to get them to come and collect their bloody car! Eventually, after a couple of days, it disappeared. I'd sell to them again.

 

[SkeeterB]

Bought from Ford, sold my MINI to the local MINI dealer. Much better than Kelly Blue Book listed mine for trade in.

 

[Jmsilver25]

When you sell to CARMAX you leave with a check. One thing to keep in mind with all of them is their first quote is their best, the offer goes down on following quotes.

That's is not entirely true. I got my first Carvana offer on my 2014 Ford Fusion Titanium w 60k miles at $13,500 in November. I am selling to buy maverick. As of today my current offer is $16,237. I've renewed it twice and will continue doing so until my maverick is ready for pickup. Really depends on your make, model, year, mpg, condition, and features.

 

[Jmsilver25]

That's is not entirely true. I got my first Carvana offer on my 2014 Ford Fusion Titanium w 60k miles at $13,500 in November. I am selling to buy maverick. As of today my current offer is $16,237. I've renewed it twice and will continue doing so until my maverick is ready for pickup. Really depends on your make, model, year, mpg, condition, and features.

Also keep in mind I paid $16,400 for it in 2017 after tax and title

 

[huunvubu]

In preparation for purchasing my truck, I’m trying to decide how to sell my current car. I could, of course, trade it at the dealer. However, they already gave me a low-ball offer. Since they don’t care if I walk, they have no incentive to give me any more on the trade.

I’m thinking about selling to Carvana, CarMax, or CarGuru once my truck arrives. I’ve never bought or sold from any of them. I was wondering if you all have had any experience with selling to these companies. The quotes I’ve received were around $3k-$4k more than what the Ford said they’d give me. What are your thoughts? Any advantages/disadvantages to selling this way? Any recommendations?

Check the many stories here:

Trading-In/Selling Outright/Selling to Online Companies - Tell Your Story

 

[sseiler]

I sold a 2019 Honda CR-V to Carvana a few months ago. I got quotes from the usual suspects, and Carvana gave me the best offer. The process was very simple. The only hiccup was related to them picking up my vehicle. The guy showed up on schedule and we traded my title for a check. Surprisingly, he didn't do more than glance toward the vehicle. I would have thought he would have looked inside and under the hood, but he didn't. In any event, he took the keys and title and gave me my check. Then left without the car. I had to bug Carvana a couple of times to get them to come and collect their bloody car! Eventually, after a couple of days, it disappeared. I'd sell to them again.

Awesome! Great to know!

 

[Doug Wildman]

I sold my 2005 F150 Lariat on Facebook Marketplace for $8K. The Carmax offer was $5800. I got 30 inquiries in 8 hrs and had it sold within 24 hrs. There is no cost to list on Facebook Marketplace.

 

[sseiler]

Bought from Ford, sold my MINI to the local MINI dealer. Much better than Kelly Blue Book listed mine for trade in.

I hadn’t thought about checking with the Mini dealer. The closest one to me is in Knoxville, about 108 miles away. It could be worth a drive out there - or at least a phone call.

 

[sseiler]

I sold my 2005 F150 Lariat on Facebook Marketplace for $8K. The Carmax offer was $5800. I got 30 inquiries in 8 hrs and had it sold within 24 hrs.

Good idea! I always forget about Facebook Marketplace. That’s where I sold my motorcycle a few years ago.

 

[huunvubu]

Not sure if you live in a place where you pay sales tax on new car minus trade in like Texas. So just make sure you are getting enough when you sell to make up for the sales tax you'd otherwise save with trade in.

I sold my 2015 Honda Fit Ex with 43,800 miles on it to Carvana last October.

Here are the details why:

In October 2021 I had just signed my "Buyers Order" at the AutoNation Ford Frisco TX dealership where my Maverick was being delivered to. They only offered $11,750 as a trade in.

So I then tried both Carvana and Vroom.

Vroom made the first offer of $15,483 and then Carvana came in with the wow offer of $16,523.

So I accepted the Carvana offer because, besides being the highest, it exceeded the highest KBB private party sale by $1,348 so no point in doing a private party sale with all the hassles that involves.

On October 26, 2021 I closed the deal with Carvana for the agreed upon $16,523 price. It took only about 15 minutes and went extremely smooth.

In selling to Carvana I made an additional $4083.62 above the ($11,750 trade-in + 734.38 sales tax saving) from the dealership where my Maverick is being delivered to.

 

[II Kings 9:20]

In preparation for purchasing my truck, I’m trying to decide how to sell my current car. I could, of course, trade it at the dealer. However, they already gave me a low-ball offer. Since they don’t care if I walk, they have no incentive to give me any more on the trade.

I’m thinking about selling to Carvana, CarMax, or CarGuru once my truck arrives. I’ve never bought or sold from any of them. I was wondering if you all have had any experience with selling to these companies. The quotes I’ve received were around $3k-$4k more than what the Ford said they’d give me. What are your thoughts? Any advantages/disadvantages to selling this way? Any recommendations?

I wasn't in the market for anything new but on a whim, I checked the value of my old cars and was shocked. These crazy used car prices aren't going to last so I struck while the iron is hot.
That's when I ordered a Mav.

In the last month I sold my 2017 Pacifica 59,232 miles to Carmax for $23K.
Carvana offered me $21.3.
Since I don't have a Mav to trade in on, I didn't look at Ford.
I did get a dealer quote when I looked at the Hyundai Santa Cruz and they offered $19K
I bought The Pacifica new 4 years and 8 months ago MSRP $32.5 with a $9K discount. Paid $23.5.
I lost $500.
My eventual Maverick is the van replacement.

A week later I sold my 2013 X5 86,700 miles to Carvana. for $17,466
Carmax offered $13K
Nissan dealer offered $11.3K on trade on a 2021 new Rogue.
I paid $20K for the BMW 3 years ago at 53,000 miles
I lost $2,500 in 3 years

In Ohio, if you trade on a new car, the equity is deducted off the purchase price and sales tax is reduced by that amount. A $30K car will have $2,100 in sales tax. If you have a $20K trade, you save $1400 in sales tax. It is simple arithmetic. The dealer offer can be lower and you can still be better off trading as long as the offer is $1,400 or higher in this hypothetical case.

I sold the van way before the Mav arrived because of the ridiculously good offer and same for the X5 which the Rogue has replaced already.

Both Carmax and Carvana are fantastic experiences. Go for the highest dollar.
I have sold many cars to Carmax and it is a smooth operation. They cut a check within 20 min and the offer is good for a week. They do an inspection and tell you not to put new tires on etc. Their offer includes the need for new tires and they can doo it way cheaper than you can.

This was my first Carvana and I had some concerns. Their offer was good for a month and based on my online answers. My concern was They didn;t ask for any pics of the car, tires, etc. I have heard of them changing the offer once they look at the car. I keep my cars so pristine, they might have offered more. I joke but my online Carmax Pacifica offer was $22.5 and the actual offer at the store was $23. Once I accepted, Carvana's offer, I had to provide a pic of the title, driver's license, I think insurance, registration, and odometer pic. Then schedule a pick up date online and in 4 days, they were at my office. The guy started it, did a walk around, and didn't even drive it. We took 5 minutes to sign papers. I gave them the title and he gave me a check for $17,466.

Dealer trade is usually so low, it can't cover the sales tax savings as you see the BMW numbers above.

I spoke to a sales lady at a dealership and told her my numbers and she said "we never beat Carvana". I said "I don't know how they make money" and she said she didn't either. The BMW sale defies language. My financial guru buddy said Carvana is not interested in making money right now. They are going for market share and establishing a place in pop culture. Amazon for many years lost money while building the business. If Carvna is paying that kind of coin for a 9 year old X5 with nearly 90K miles, they will definitely lose money or maybe they know something we don't know. Crazy like a fox.

Additionally, my wife's 2018 MDX hybrid is worth more today than we paid for it last April. I have a '22 on order due n March and will either trade or Carvana/Carmax.

 

[Mymaverick2021]

That's a no Brainer who ever will give you the most Money

Carvana will come and pick it up and hand you a check. No muss no fuss

 

[TSAINTS1115]

In preparation for purchasing my truck, I’m trying to decide how to sell my current car. I could, of course, trade it at the dealer. However, they already gave me a low-ball offer. Since they don’t care if I walk, they have no incentive to give me any more on the trade.

I’m thinking about selling to Carvana, CarMax, or CarGuru once my truck arrives. I’ve never bought or sold from any of them. I was wondering if you all have had any experience with selling to these companies. The quotes I’ve received were around $3k-$4k more than what the Ford said they’d give me. What are your thoughts? Any advantages/disadvantages to selling this way? Any recommendations?

I got a quote from Carmax that was $1k more than what I paid for my truck two years prior. I walked in, walked out with a check two hours later, painless.

 

[sseiler]

I got a quote from Carmax that was $1k more than what I paid for my truck two years prior. I walked in, walked out with a check two hours later, painless.

Dang, that’s awesome!

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