How does selling a car work?
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How does selling a car work?
i'm debating on selling my 2k2 si coupe auto. i want a stick. i bought my car for 26,200 CAD with some accessories including tax.
question is if i were to sell it private, do i just get the value of the car minus tax? like say msrp was 23,500 i think and i sold it with 25k km on it would i get like $20k for a loss of 6200?
if i were to trade it to a dealer, would it be the dealer pay me $20k then i pay the difference for a new car then plus tax?
example: $20k(trade) + $3500(difference) + tax for a loss of $9k?
please explain for both if can. thanks.
btw how much is my car with. auto civic si-g coupe (g=abs+a/c), spoiler, moonroof visor, 25,000km. CAD or US dollars fine, i'll do the conversion. thanks.
question is if i were to sell it private, do i just get the value of the car minus tax? like say msrp was 23,500 i think and i sold it with 25k km on it would i get like $20k for a loss of 6200?
if i were to trade it to a dealer, would it be the dealer pay me $20k then i pay the difference for a new car then plus tax?
example: $20k(trade) + $3500(difference) + tax for a loss of $9k?
please explain for both if can. thanks.
btw how much is my car with. auto civic si-g coupe (g=abs+a/c), spoiler, moonroof visor, 25,000km. CAD or US dollars fine, i'll do the conversion. thanks.
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Rep Power: 0 i believe u suggest a price and the price should include tax and everything...
same as going to a dealer... u make them an offer that includes tax and all the bs... only final number matters to buyers...
i think..
same as going to a dealer... u make them an offer that includes tax and all the bs... only final number matters to buyers...
i think..
Joined: Feb 2002
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From: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Rep Power: 0 yo man, i went thru the same thing...i had a 2002 civic auto lx, and i wanted an si stick, so i traded it in for a used si stick...the most you'll get from the dealer is 16-18 (18 if your really lucky)...first year it depreciates the most. my lx had 14k on it when i traded it in and the si had 20k, so it was pretty close. Yes your going to lose out on the tax anything you put as a downpayment...i took a hit, but i'm alot happier with a manual.
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From: Burlington, Ontario, Canada
Rep Power: 0 I dont quite understand your math, or can I guess at what your car is worth on the resale market.
Trading it in at the dealership may be advantageous depending on the price they are willing to give you. The trade-in value is subtracted from the subtotal of the new car sale before tax is added. eg:
New car $25000 before tax - $20000 (trade in value of old car) = $5000 <- this is the amount you pay taxes on.
However, if you can sell the car privately for more than what the dealer is offering on a trade in you may be better off, but not necessarily. Selling the car privately for $21,000 means you got $1000 extra for the old car, but you pay 15% of the 20,000 difference in taxes ($3000!) more, net difference of -$2000 vs. trading it in. This example is probably not realistic however, the difference between the amount a dealer will give you for trade-in vs. selling the car privately will probably never be this small. Think about it, the dealer has to turn around and resell your used car at a markup to the same market of used car buyers who are looking at private sales, they can't be that far off in price from what private sellers are selling similar choices for (although they usually get away with charging a bit more because some people trust buying a used car from a dealership more than joe blow autotrader). They want to make money (no matter what BS they tell you about not making money on selling used cars)
Keep in mind as well that the salesperson will play tricks with the numbers; inflate the 'trade in value' giving you warm-fuzzies, by losing a bit of margin but keeping the price to you the same. I would recommend negotiating the cash sale price of the new car before ever even mentioning your trade! They will try all sorts of tricks to find out as much as possible about the vict..err customer so keep your mouth shut, don't give away any information even if it seems innocent 'So what kind of car do you drive now?' the salesperson is not your friend.
Personally I think trading in an almost new car for your reason is pretty stupid. You should live with what you chose for a couple years to balance out the loss in value. The value of the car will probably not decline much more in 2-3 years from what it is now, so now is the worst possible time to sell it. Next time you know to choose more carefully and make sure you get what you want.
However, if you insist.... to find out what your car private sale is worth look for similar models on autotrader both private sale and dealerships. Maybe stop into a few dealerships (not just Honda) to ask what they would offer you on a trade in, however I've tried this before and most won't give you this until you are commiting to buy something, which sucks.
good luck
Trading it in at the dealership may be advantageous depending on the price they are willing to give you. The trade-in value is subtracted from the subtotal of the new car sale before tax is added. eg:
New car $25000 before tax - $20000 (trade in value of old car) = $5000 <- this is the amount you pay taxes on.
However, if you can sell the car privately for more than what the dealer is offering on a trade in you may be better off, but not necessarily. Selling the car privately for $21,000 means you got $1000 extra for the old car, but you pay 15% of the 20,000 difference in taxes ($3000!) more, net difference of -$2000 vs. trading it in. This example is probably not realistic however, the difference between the amount a dealer will give you for trade-in vs. selling the car privately will probably never be this small. Think about it, the dealer has to turn around and resell your used car at a markup to the same market of used car buyers who are looking at private sales, they can't be that far off in price from what private sellers are selling similar choices for (although they usually get away with charging a bit more because some people trust buying a used car from a dealership more than joe blow autotrader). They want to make money (no matter what BS they tell you about not making money on selling used cars)
Keep in mind as well that the salesperson will play tricks with the numbers; inflate the 'trade in value' giving you warm-fuzzies, by losing a bit of margin but keeping the price to you the same. I would recommend negotiating the cash sale price of the new car before ever even mentioning your trade! They will try all sorts of tricks to find out as much as possible about the vict..err customer so keep your mouth shut, don't give away any information even if it seems innocent 'So what kind of car do you drive now?' the salesperson is not your friend.
Personally I think trading in an almost new car for your reason is pretty stupid. You should live with what you chose for a couple years to balance out the loss in value. The value of the car will probably not decline much more in 2-3 years from what it is now, so now is the worst possible time to sell it. Next time you know to choose more carefully and make sure you get what you want.
However, if you insist.... to find out what your car private sale is worth look for similar models on autotrader both private sale and dealerships. Maybe stop into a few dealerships (not just Honda) to ask what they would offer you on a trade in, however I've tried this before and most won't give you this until you are commiting to buy something, which sucks.
good luck
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Rep Power: 0 comes down to how badly you want something, for me i couldn't stop thinking about "damn i should've got a 5-speed" but thats just me...i was willing to take a hit, BUT i have piece of mind now...lol...now i just think "damn i wish i had a skyline" 
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Rep Power: 0 pluto: nice explanation man. i totally get what your saying man. at first i thought if i trade it in, i would have to pay the difference of the car plus the entire tax for the value of the car. but now i know its only tax on the difference. thanks for clearing that up.
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From: Burlington, Ontario, Canada
Rep Power: 0 You could also look at it this way
Dealer will give me $18,000 for trade-in. Because I'm going to save 15% on that amount as a result of it being deducted from the pretax total, it is equvilent to 18,000+15% (20,700) net. Meaning you would need to get at least $20,700 on a private sale to end up the same or better off than trading in at the dealer.
For me I looked at trading in my '92 Accord, the dealers were giving me quotes at like $3000 MAX and in auto-trader cars like mine were going for $5000-7000. $3000+15% is still only $3450. I sold my car privately for $6500. [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/IMG]
Dealer will give me $18,000 for trade-in. Because I'm going to save 15% on that amount as a result of it being deducted from the pretax total, it is equvilent to 18,000+15% (20,700) net. Meaning you would need to get at least $20,700 on a private sale to end up the same or better off than trading in at the dealer.
For me I looked at trading in my '92 Accord, the dealers were giving me quotes at like $3000 MAX and in auto-trader cars like mine were going for $5000-7000. $3000+15% is still only $3450. I sold my car privately for $6500. [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/IMG]
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