[Challenger SXT]

I was wondering if its better to trade a car to the dealer exemple my sxt plus vs a srt8 or sell my sxt plus and buy one?
it has some mods like solo exhaust,airaid,caliper paint,badge i know the caliper paint will not increase value but

 

[CAMMIN HEMI]

Sell it yourself then search for the best buy with the cash for a down payment. A dealer will give you wholesale for your car and sell it for full retail price. Most dealers make the biggest profit margin on used vehicles.

 

[Go Goody]

Sell it yourself then search for the best buy with the cash for a down payment. A dealer will give you wholesale for your car and sell it for full retail price. Most dealers make the biggest profit margin on used vehicles.

While I agree with this statement, most states only charge tax on the difference. The tax difference can make up the difference.

 

[Karpsta]

Personally I find selling cars that are worth more then a couple grand too much hassle.
There's no return on investment with mods, if anything they usually take away money as many people don't want the headache of dealing with something they have no idea how was installed. The more performance mods, the more the thought of "it was beat on for a couple years and now they want to dump it"

They key to trading in is knowing the value of your car - NADA and KBB values which the dealers will use. And know where you want to be on the cost of the new car. The dealer can shift money either direction to make it look better to you, with the cost of the car not really changing.

 

[tdkkart]

Look up "4 square car sales", its a car dealers version of a shell game. If you see it, get up and walk out, they are trying to screw you.

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[shootdownthestars]

Trade it in if you know what you're doing and you are confident you are getting the best deal. That said, do your research.


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[5wndwcpe]

It's a poor time to trade right now as the more the current rebates go up, the less your trade is worth. KBB will give you a wide margin and you can bet your bottom dollar the dealer will price your trade on the low side of that scale. Unfortunately, so will all of the private buyers.

If a dealer has a 2014 SXT on his lot he can't move, he sure as hell doesn't want an older one too.

 

[rghoskins]

Mods only hurt you on trade. To a private party they still don't add value but if the buyer likes what you did it might make your car more desirable than others.

 

[14SiXTy]

Generally speaking you are always better off to sell yourself. You are pretty sure to get more money this way compared to just trading in.

CarMax is a good option to try. They generally offer more than the dealers, and at least you have another offer to compare to whatever the dealer offers you in trade. I sold my last vehicle to them, and I'm so glad I did. They beat the dealers best offer by almost 2 grand. And almost no hassle involved, very easy process.

Selling yourself has a few headaches involved, which are well known. Low ball offers, meeting strangers, tire kickers, and just the general hassle of the paperwork and stress of receiving payment. Again, these should all come with a payoff of a higher selling price.

As someone else mentioned, find out if your state deducts the trade in from the sale price before calculating sales tax. California does not, but some states do. That could be thousands of dollars in taxes saved, so it makes a big difference in the decision.

 

[Rainmaker1984]

As noted above, the savings in sales tax in some states makes the trade option preferable. When I traded in my SE Rallye for a used SRT here in NY, it significantly cut down the amount of sales tax (you only pay tax on the difference). For me, this was much easier than the hassle of selling privately.

Good luck!

 

[JustRandy]

Mods def. devalue the car. I would take off for anything not stock.

 

[Old Busted Hotness]

Hello! I am much interesting in your car. I will send cashier's check for $5,000 more than your price and pick up car tomorrow. You will please to put cash in car so I am picking up both?

Hey, I got a old Datsun and a washing machine. Wanna trade?

What's the least you'll take for it?

If you want to put up with all that crap for a couple thousand bucks, go for it. Me, I'd trade it in and haggle with the dealer. With them you know they'll buy it, it's only a matter of price.

 

[19johned53]

Good points already made.


If you want to feel like a car salesman feels at the end of the day, sell your car privately. The big difference is that your inventory is only one, and it's a Challenger. You'll meet every type of so called buyer around.


Best of luck.