Trade In Time: When should you?

[DodgeDude99]

Good to know. My trucks been having problems left and right. I'm wondering what the hell the previous owners did. I mean, I totally get it. It's got a 5.7 Hemi in it, someones going to hotrod it around damn, I've gotten more errors this week, and from the looks of it, it'll be about $2,000 is Warranty doesn't cover it.

I've been looking at 3500s for awhile, I've had to use my down payment money to fix my current truck, and the last $3,000 I've been saving is going towards this new TCC Circuit/ Open Error, if warranty doesn't cover it.

What about buying vehicles in other states? I've lost faith in the dealerships in my area. This is the second vehicle I've been "screwed" on. Not to mention, the price difference in trucks is insane. Standard 3500 with 50k miles on it in WA State is still 55k - 66k for it, but East coast, it's around 40k for it. Guess I don't know enough and need to deep-dive it.

The best time to trade it in was before you spent $3000 on repairs.

 

[bchap05]

My 17 is paid off an only has 26k miles. So whenever I decide I want to pay for a truck again which I don't see happening anytime soon.

 

[2015RAMGUY777]

I just traded my 2012 Ram ST Hemi 4x4 quad cab with 101,000 miles on it for a newer 2015 Laramie 1500 because I needed the crew cab for a growing family. I trade when my personal needs demand it. I hope to keep this 2015 for 100,000s of miles!!! As for trading vs selling. I have always traded in because it is much less stress to go through a selling process when many people are so critical about your vehicle and the way you maintained it. Just my thoughts.

 

[BWL]

I can't afford down time so whenever my truck starts becoming unreliable or the kilometers get over 250k it has to go. Trying to hold off at the moment because my truck is too new and I'd lose a pile of money, but it's currently under consideration.

 

[jack67]

Hey Guys,

To the point;

Here's my question; At what point is it time to trade in?

Never do Trade ins !!! Anyway you slice it, you lose a lot of money.

Have patience and sell it yourself. You'll get far more that what the dealer will give you.

I learned this lesson the hard way many years ago.
People that do trade ins are just too lazy to sell it themselves.

 

[Random_Walk]

...anyone mention http://www.usedfirst.com ?

It does a pretty good job of showing best values for cars, depending on make and model. The below is from a few minutes ago...

 

[avantiguy]

Never do Trade ins !!! Anyway you slice it, you lose a lot of money.

Have patience and sell it yourself. You'll get far more that what the dealer will give you.

I learned this lesson the hard way many years ago.
People that do trade ins are just too lazy to sell it themselves.

Just traded in my 14 Sport for $23,600 three weeks ago. Dealer just sold it for something under $25,600 as that is what it was listed for on his lot. In Michigan I can get back 6% on the value of the trade when I buy a new vehicle $1416. So I got $24,716.

Considering I would have possibly had to take less than the dealer advertised it for as he probably did also, There's not enough difference to pay for the hassle of selling it myself as well as maintaining insurance and licensing both vehicles.

I'm not arguing with you but pointing out that there is no answer that covers all situations.

 

[Casper]

I have no interest in selling my used vehicles. Meeting strange folks (not at my house) and haggling over price is not my thing.

My 2012 just turned 90K. Running strong. I don't want a 2019, so I will probably trade for a 2020 a year from October when the 2021s need places to park on the lot . I wait 'til near the end of the month when the sales staff is worrying about commissions. Then I haggle in a nice climate controlled show room with my pre-approved USAA sight-draft in hand.

 

[JoeCo]

Just traded in my 14 Sport for $23,600 three weeks ago. Dealer just sold it for something under $25,600 as that is what it was listed for on his lot. In Michigan I can get back 6% on the value of the trade when I buy a new vehicle $1416. So I got $24,716.

Considering I would have possibly had to take less than the dealer advertised it for as he probably did also, There's not enough difference to pay for the hassle of selling it myself as well as maintaining insurance and licensing both vehicles.

I'm not arguing with you but pointing out that there is no answer that covers all situations.

Yeah that's a pretty broad statement he made. It works for some but for a lot of us trading in makes a lot more sense. And if you fight to do good on your trade in you can still do just fine. I got 22k for my last trade in, I was hoping to get around 19-20k (I don't even think private party value was 22k). Factor in the trade in sales tax credit, and I would have had to sold my truck privately for around 24k or up to make it "worth it" to sell privately. No thanks, don't want to deal with any of that like most of you guys, not to mention I don't think I could have sold it for even 22k privately. No down time between vehicles, or paying for 2 at once for who knows how long (that dealer still has my old truck for sale, 5 months later), or dealing with endless low-ballers. Made the deal before I traveled for the truck, was out of there within an hour or so including a good test drive.

 

[Scott Nugent]

Traded my 2013 with 70k on it as soon as the first rust bubble appeared. This was after $3500 plus in non warranty repairs.Thanks FCA.

 

[slag009]

Traded in my 2013 after the Hemi tick started getting louder to avoid the $3500- 4500 repair bill for new cam and lifters.

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[slag009]

It only had 50k on it.

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[QwikKota]

If your truck has a lot of issues that will cost more than it's worth to fix it's not a bad idea to at least see what you can get for it but typically you want to to work the new deal first and tell them you aren't sure what you want to do with your old truck. Make something up if they push the issue. You should be able to get at least $1500 for it.

The thing that people are missing is that you can have a clear conscience selling a truck with problems to the dealer whereas if you sell it to an individual you need to make damn sure you tell them about all of the issues unless they are purely cosmetic or something. Once the dealership takes possession it's their problem and liability to re-sell it. It will go to auction anyway.