Crazy good resale!

[TomJ]

Not that I am thinking about selling my 2010 Corolla S or anything, but I wanted to see how "upside down" I am on it. I made too frequent trades before buying the Corolla and carried a lot of debt from previous cars over to the Corolla loan.

The sticker on my Rolla was $20,705. It has the auto tranny, JBL stereo, and moon roof. I got the car for $19,312. It now has 16,000 miles on it.

According to Kelly Blue Book, my car should bring $18,975 on a private party sale. That is FANTASTIC!

Tom

[Jdm_Ego]

Good luck trying to get someone to pay you that amount, or get that specific trade in value if you plan on selling the car.

[roberto1187]

good luck getting $18k out of the car..my car currently has 15k miles and the dealer was offering $14k for my car as buyout and i owe $19k..so upside down it is

[SuperchargedMR2]

My 09 Corolla S is almost paid for, I only owe $2500 on it. It will be paid for before the end of the year!

[Jeff Lange]

I was quite happy with what the 10th gens were selling for when I sold mine.

I ended up selling it to a family member for quite a bit less than I could have gotten, but still, I was very happy with the resale.

Jeff

[TomJ]

I ran my car through Edmunds.com's appraiser and it came out $18,432. That's a "second opinion" that pretty much confirms the KBB value.

I realize a car is only worth what the buyer is willing to pay for it. I'm not planning on selling my Corolla anyway.

I hear used cars in general are selling for much higher prices these days than they typically would sell for in the past.

Tom

Edit:

Edmunds trade-in value for my car is $16,559. That is 79.8% of sticker price, which I think is good. Most cars lose about one third of their value the minute you drive them off the lot.

[FlawedLegacy]

yeah, KBB and actual purchase seems to be a nice gap lately. When I bought my car with 16k miles, I paid $14,000 for it. Now at 45,000 miles on it and and over a year later, KBB is showing $17,180.
what does that tell you?

[TFCommanderBob]

I'm excited to have mine paid off, although I still have some time to go. 23rd of 36 is next month!

I agree that KBB always seems to be an overestimate of value. They say my fiance's 99 civic is worth 2,250 as a trade in, edmunds says about 1,000. We are going to get rid of it for a 2011 Honda Fit if it fails inspection this month.

[blb]

That's the one good thing about these cars.

The perception of high quality that these cars earned in the 80s asd 90s hasn't yet caught up with the reality that these cars aren't what they used to be in terms of quality in 2010 and 2011. So at least if you want to unload one, you can without loosing too much money, especially if you were able to buy one at 20% or more under sticker. I know that the one I bought in February is still showing a value in kbb, edmunds and nada significantly higher than what I paid for it new.

[EWyatt]

Since we're discussing Corolla values, what is the best, most financially beneficial year-after-purchase to trade one for a new Toyota? My Corolla is brand new, but I expect to get a replacemnt every few years -- since I'm at the point of not keeping my vehicles for 15+ years any more! I'm thinking that the 4 year point would bring the most trade-in value at a Toyota dealership. Is that about right?

[arabianobsession]

Originally Posted by TFCommanderBob

I'm excited to have mine paid off, although I still have some time to go. 23rd of 36 is next month!

I agree that KBB always seems to be an overestimate of value. They say my fiance's 99 civic is worth 2,250 as a trade in, edmunds says about 1,000. We are going to get rid of it for a 2011 Honda Fit if it fails inspection this month.

At the dealership when we appraise a used car, we look at KBB, NADA, and auction values before we decide what it's worth. KBB is always higher than NADA.

Also, the price of fuel efficient used cars has skyrocketed because of the increase in gas prices. High demand=high resale value. This is across the board, not just Toyotas.

[thestone11]

Originally Posted by EWyatt

Since we're discussing Corolla values, what is the best, most financially beneficial year-after-purchase to trade one for a new Toyota? My Corolla is brand new, but I expect to get a replacemnt every few years -- since I'm at the point of not keeping my vehicles for 15+ years any more! I'm thinking that the 4 year point would bring the most trade-in value at a Toyota dealership. Is that about right?

Then you should look into leasing, not buying and trade it in later.

[lucasarg]

I work in a Toyota Dealer as a salesman and I seen people get very upset that we dont give them what # "they work thinking of", They always say KBB, EDmunds give them xyz, but the customer has to realize that KBB or EDmunds does NOT sell car nor do they buy cars.


(If they were, I would make sure KBB buy MY car, because they are (most of the time) higher that they are suppose to be.)

And of course i am not saying that we low ball customers, actually in the dealer i work we don't negotiate. So the first number we give you it is the last. With that said, we give you a market value for the car, not what we "think" of it.

So when it comes to KBB etc, just used them as a guide. Not as a market values #. Also if you are looking to sell a car to the dealer or trade it in, make sure you understand the market value of the car, and also if you have a payoff.

Also, the Corolla and Camry are amazing in holding their resale value. Specially the Corolla now that the gas prices are a little high here in the US.

Good luck!

[TomJ]

Originally Posted by lucasarg

I work in a Toyota Dealer as a salesman and I seen people get very upset that we dont give them what # "they work thinking of", They always say KBB, EDmunds give them xyz, but the customer has to realize that KBB or EDmunds does NOT sell car nor do they buy cars.


(If they were, I would make sure KBB buy MY car, because they are (most of the time) higher that they are suppose to be.)

And of course i am not saying that we low ball customers, actually in the dealer i work we don't negotiate. So the first number we give you it is the last. With that said, we give you a market value for the car, not what we "think" of it.

So when it comes to KBB etc, just used them as a guide. Not as a market values #. Also if you are looking to sell a car to the dealer or trade it in, make sure you understand the market value of the car, and also if you have a payoff.

Also, the Corolla and Camry are amazing in holding their resale value. Specially the Corolla now that the gas prices are a little high here in the US.

Good luck!

I always try to be reasonable in my expectations when I trade-in a vehicle. The dealer is in business to make a profit. He cannot sell the new car at invoice and give retail price for the trade-in, even though that is what many people expect him to do. If the dealer wants a car like the one you are trading in on his lot, he can go to the auction and pay wholesale price for it. People just can't seem to get that in their heads.

I am one who does not think a car dealer is there to rip you off, even though there are some dealerships where that happens. I believe most dealers are honest businessmen.

Tom

[blb]

Originally Posted by EWyatt

Since we're discussing Corolla values, what is the best, most financially beneficial year-after-purchase to trade one for a new Toyota? My Corolla is brand new, but I expect to get a replacemnt every few years -- since I'm at the point of not keeping my vehicles for 15+ years any more! I'm thinking that the 4 year point would bring the most trade-in value at a Toyota dealership. Is that about right?

Generally speaking, each year from new, the depreciation is a little less each subsequent year, than the year before. There is no magical formula. Variables are mileage, condition, and market demand for a particular model of car. The only thing that is just about guaranteed is that you will get less trading it in than you would get selling it directly to the new owner.

I always think it's funny when the dealers say things like "Your trade will never be worth more than it is today". And when I reply with, "Right..and that new car you are trying to sell me will depreciate a whole lot more in a year than my trade will." At which point they usually stare with a glazed look, and then go get their manager to try to bail them out.