Trade in or pay off

[Anonymous]

I'm looking to get a newer used truck in April my current car is a 2009 nissan murano sl with 169000 miles on it I owe $9700 it's worth $10100 and nada says trade in is $6700 what would be best I will have bout $5000 to go with the trade in or pay it down then trade it in

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
I'm looking to get a newer used truck in April my current car is a 2009 nissan murano sl with 169000 miles on it I owe $9700 it's worth $10100 and nada says trade in is $6700 what would be best I will have bout $5000 to go with the trade in or pay it down then trade it in

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I'm in similar situation..

I have a 2014 Hyundai Accent only 8,954 miles. I owe 10K and dealerships want it for 7K. I'm currently accelerating payments right now to meet the value of my car so when I trade in I don't have to be Upsidedown. I'm willing to break even, as long as no negative equity transfer to my new loan.

[Appleman]

Consider taking the time to go to CarMax and get a free buy offer, good for 7 days. Also check out CarGurus.com and see what similar vehicles are being sold for in your area. Remember this will be above trade-in value.

This information (buy offer and on-line research) is a good bargining point for what you car is likely worth for trade in. In many states you get a sales tax credit if you do the trade and buy from a dealer.

This price from CarMax may help you decide which option to take:

1. If the offer seems reasonable with CarMax take their deal and sell it to them. If you have negative equity they will gladly take your money to get to pay off.

2. Pay down the negative equity and hope the dealer will give you a fair trade value when you buy. You may save some sales tax by trading and buying at the same dealer.

3. Don't pay down the negative equity and use that as a negotiating ploy.  In this situation I would just see what kind of deal you can make before you tell them the CarMax offer. Then, let them know that CarMax will offer XX,XXX and see if they can they beat it. Once talks have started to wind down offer some cash downpayment (getting rid of the negative equity) and see if that helps your position negotiating.

Regardless, having pre-arranged financing will help take another variable out of the equation when negotiating. If you are trading, financing and buying be aware of the many ways the dealer will attempt to gain maximum profit from the deal.

Good luck and please share the ending to your stories.

[StartingOver10]

Great advice from Appleman^^^.

The only issue I have with trading is that the finance person frequently "forgets" to credit you the right (negotiated) amount on the contract for your trade - if recent posts are any indication.  The best way to avoid this mixup is to separate the transactions so the dealer can't mess with your numbers. And to read the contract before signing JMO.

[StartingOver10]

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@StartingOver10 wrote:

Great advice from Appleman^^^.

The only issue I have with trading is that the finance person frequently "forgets" to credit you the right (negotiated) amount on the contract for your trade - if recent posts are any indication.  The best way to avoid this mixup is to separate the transactions so the dealer can't mess with your numbers. And to read the contract before signing JMO.

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One more point:  you get more money from selling it outright than you do if you trade- even if you sell to Carmax or some similar dealership. So you end up in a much better position financially, typically, than by trading. The cost to trade your vehicle can be thousands for the convenience of trading - or whatever the dealership can get away with at the time. You do save sales tax on the deal, but IME that savings pales in comparison with the extra $$ you get by selling the vehicle. Remember, the dealerships goal is to get your trade for as little as possible so they have another revenue stream. 

[Appleman]

StartingOver10 makes a great point. Selling privately will often yield the highest amount. 

[Anonymous]

I think you will be lucky to get your payoff amount by private sale but that is your only shot. We traded in our Murano which was a 04 three years ago with the same miles and got 5k on the trade.  It was paid off and I didnt want to deal with selling on my own but I suspect had I done so I would have gotten 7k.  I hate rolling negative equity into a deal, it opens the dealer up to play games and puts you upside down further right off the bat.  Even if you have to take some cash out of your pocket to pay the car off between what you sell it for and what the pay off is you still better off selling it on your own.  Carmax isnt likely to do much for you, this isnt a very desirable car given its age and mileage so they will want to pay about what the trade in value is.

[EddieK]

If you have a little time, sell it private party.  An example, my dad recently gave me the task of selling his '07 Camry with 45K miles, one owner, no accidents.  I took it to Carmax first, they offered $6000.  I knew that was low compared to what KBB and nadaguides said so I put an ad up on autotrader for $50 which will run the ad for 8 weeks and you can add 9 photos(I put up 5) and listed it at $8500 which was still below book value, but he wanted it sold before he had to renew tags in January.  It sold in less than a week for $7900.  Good luck on whatever you decide.