QuestionQUESTION: My husband and I have a paidin full 2005 kia sportage with 32,000.00 miles;it is in excellent conditon,with leather interior,sunroof,pwer windows,but not seats,and and we are currently thinking of trading it in for a new 2009 sorento if we can find one.Do you have any tips on getting the best trade in for our sportage that we love,and how tho get the best deal on a the new sorento.We want one with all the bells and whistles,and will be paying cash.
ANSWER: This is always a good question about the TRADE VALUE. You can give the dealer alot of gross profit if your not careful. NEVER tell the dealer you have a trade and NEVER tell them your paying cash (tell them you have not decided). Always get the best price first on what your buying and don't except there best price the first day, make sure you leave the dealership. The dealership almost always will call you within a couple of days and offer you a better discount to get you back in. This is especially true if you wait until the last week of the month. All dealers will jump through hoops to make quotas at month end. If you trust the dealer, still don't tell them you have a trade, see if they will sell you the car for invoice or a couple of % points over what there invoice price is, it's always fair to let them make a little profit. Don't forget they have some back end money that you don't see (Dealer Holdback).
Research your trade value, its easy, do a search for a car like yours thats for sale on AutoTrader, also look at Edmunds.com. and take it by a Carmax they will tell you what they will buy your car for outright,no obligation,it's free. From what I could see your trade is selling for 15k to 16k. Its done by zipcode so you need to look. I have found so many times after someone has traded there car in and people in the office or family finds out, someone will always say " I wish I knew your were trading,I would of loved to have bought it" Autos that are clean and are great on gas mileage are bringing a premium price right now. Yours being one, I think if I were you I might want to try and sell it outright first. If you don't sell your trade, after you get your best price then tell them you have a trade but you need to know the TRADE VALUE in your area, tell them thats what you expect for your car. If their close,within a couple of hundred dollars, YOU WON. Feel free to ask more, Thanks Danny
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QUESTION: Hi again Danny,
You are so very helpful with your information.I do have another question. Do you have any knowledge as when the 2009 models would be available?;and can yu ask to see the dealerships invoice on the vehicle?
ANSWER: I just called a dealer here in Houston, he said they are still building 2008 models. He also said there will be no difference between a 08 vs 09, that means they won't have to re-tool the factory, which means you should see the 09's in November.
Yes you can ask to see the invoice but you need to give them a reason, like you want to see the invoice so you can see cost and see how much the dealer holdback is, then tell them you don't want to play the game, you just want to see all the numbers so you can offer " A Fair Profit", which is usually around 1 1/2 to 3% of invoice. Let me say, most dealers like a smart buyer, they appreciate the fact you know what your talking about.
Remember, Do not talk about your trade and Do not tell them your paying cash.
Here's something else, sometimes Mfg will give you extra incentives (in rebates)if you finance with them, all contracts are simple interest now, if there is some extra discount for financing, you do it and then pay it in full in 90 days. With simple interest there are no penalties for early payoff and your not charged interest for what you didn't use. You would just be charged interest for the 90 days. You can cut back a little on the profit you were going to give them on the car because now you have given them a little bit on the financing. The term in the car business is front end and back end gross, that's what all the mgr's get paid on. Hope this helps.
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QUESTION: Ok,sorry this is my last question Danny. What do you think of trying to make a deal over the internet/vs/in person?...Thanks again for all your help!.!.Susie
AnswerHello Susie,
Pls ask as many questions as needed, that's what I'm here for.
You should try the Internet. The Internet will give you a very low price because they know your shopping several dealers and if they aren't the lowest price your not going to come in. First make sure how many miles you would drive for a great deal, all sights are by distance, then go to Edmunds.com, Autotrader.com, Cars.com, etc... and go to the free quote page area. Fill out what your looking for but try leaving out as much personal information that you can, you don't want to be hounded. The first response is an automatic response so you think they saw your e-mail, don't respond , wait for the second one. After everyone has given you a quote, no matter what prices you are given, take the lowest one and tell them they have been beaten by $500 or more.
We need to still keep quite about our trade and financing until we have our best price and when we tell them about the trade we need to know what its worth in your area. If you tell them about the trade online alot of dealers will give you an estimated value and most likely they will try to pick it apart and justify why they cant give you what they told you online. Who ever you choose when it come to your trade tell them the min you will take for it and when they commit make sure its in writing and print everything out when you go to the dealer. That way if there is a problem you go straight to the GSM (general sales mgr) not the sales mgr and show them the dealerships commitment. If you need more let me know
