Crazy Trade In Auto Question

[Anonymous]

My question is: How do trade ins work when your car is worth more than the car you are buying? 

Just wondering because I took a friend to Toyota this past weeekend and they had a Porsche 911 for sale on the lot.

[clocktick]

You get money back in the form of a check.  Of course, they'll probably try to "even it out" a bit by attempting to sell rip-off warranties, aftermarket parts, etc.

[Zahnrosen]

Your really better off selling the Porsche on Criag's list or something like that.

[cabarkeep]

Zahnrosen, thats terrible advice lol  Better to buy off of craigslist than a Toyota dealer?  How?  I work for a major dealership and even though we arent a porsche dealer let me tell you we would not sell the car without standing behind the car.  Which when buying a porsche it could end up costing a lot of money to fix anything ...

But buying off of Craigslist lets see .. virtually no financing available ... no warranty of anykind....u sign u own it ....and no one to go after if any of the paperwork is wrong ...lol

not trying to bash ...but that was a terrible statement ...lol ....

I would say at least edit your statement to say ....something like ... "you might be better buying off of craigslist if you have the finances necessary to cover any expenses related to the car and you are willing to bite your tongue if you purchase something less than what you expected" (such as a salvaged car - can have a clean title if washed thru several different states) 

most dealers are more aware on how to spot these things etc ...and trust me before we took in a porsche that was worth anything we would have a local porsche dealer give us a "buy-bid" meaning what they would buy it from us for as we would not want the headache lol

Message Edited by cabarkeep on 02-22-2009 11:05 AM

[Anonymous]

I think Zahnrosen's point was that it's better to sell your trade than trade it in at the dealer. Generally you'll get a better price if you sell it yourself than whatever you can negotiate with the dealer - the dealer's in it to make money and will pinch every penny until it screams on the trade. As for financing, I'd much rather go into a dealership with a check in hand from my credit union than have to deal with the snake (*ahem* I mean F&I manager) in the Finance office. Of course, this scenario assumes you're not upside-down on your trade and there isn't some kick-butt finance deal available at the dealer if you're buying a new car.

[Zahnrosen]

Thanks Desi, that is what I was trying to say.

[203bravo]

My mom actually did that - traded a new Thunderbird for a Yukon.  They gave her the keys and a check.  I wish I could have seen the dealers face when that happened