I have an old Infinti G35 (2004; 110K miles) that I was keeping for one of my nephews to have when he got his crap together. It has now become apparent that he will never get his crap together, so I want to sell it. How much off Kelly Blue Book do they offer. Its rear bumper on the left side was crunched in at our parking lot (and the douche didn't leave a note), thus prompting me to get a new car rather than repair it. Other than that, probably needs struts soon and interior wear and tear. For fair condition KBH listed it at 4,600.
Selling Car to CarMax
- Thread starter Fijimn
- Start date
They go under Blue Book everytime.
I was there back in May about to buy. They tell me my car is in great shape, low miles, etc. They come back with an estimate that was 10% lower than lowest trade in value that KBB said my car would be worth.
So I told CarMax the same thing I stated above. Even pulled it up on my phone. The guy then tells me that KBB is always off and not to lean so heavly on what it says.
Now this is the funny part, this same guy an hour earlier was bragging to be how the cars on their lot are priced lower than the KBB suggested price.
I thought that was funny...it's worth comparing KBB to their price when buying from them for perspective, but not when trading in...riiiight!
Anyone know how the sales associates actually get paid?
I was there back in May about to buy. They tell me my car is in great shape, low miles, etc. They come back with an estimate that was 10% lower than lowest trade in value that KBB said my car would be worth.
So I told CarMax the same thing I stated above. Even pulled it up on my phone. The guy then tells me that KBB is always off and not to lean so heavly on what it says.
Now this is the funny part, this same guy an hour earlier was bragging to be how the cars on their lot are priced lower than the KBB suggested price.
I thought that was funny...it's worth comparing KBB to their price when buying from them for perspective, but not when trading in...riiiight!
Anyone know how the sales associates actually get paid?
No. They don't have to pay sales tax as a dealer (this applies to FL so take it FWIW in other states).
What you get if they buy your car is you can 'trade' to another car and it saves you money on tax on the next purchase.
I've only had one experience with CarMax, about 10 years ago. Car was in great shape, low miles, KBB trade in value was about $8,500. I expected perhaps $8k, CarMax offered $5,900. I said they had to be joking. They weren't, so I went and sold it myself. I got the asking price of $9,500 with no problem.
This was pretty much the same experience I had....they were way off. Had to sell myself.
I sold an 8 year old Acura SUV with 150K on autotrader for 8300 in 2 or 3 weeks; carmax offered 4000. ymmv.
used an ad on autotrader and paid for the package run til it sells. autotrader generates legit people.
also ran it on CL and got a bunch of idiots who were trying to buy it for 6000 so they could flip it for 7000. waste of time.
used an ad on autotrader and paid for the package run til it sells. autotrader generates legit people.
also ran it on CL and got a bunch of idiots who were trying to buy it for 6000 so they could flip it for 7000. waste of time.
Yep, really the only benefit is convenience. If you need to sell quickly and not concerned with getting top dollar, take it to CarMax.
I've used their estimates in negotiating trade ins, this was for my recently widowed mother who wanted to get rid of two cars and get into a new one.
All my vehicles I've sold privately after purchasing another vehicle. Time and cash flow are your best leverage!
I've used their estimates in negotiating trade ins, this was for my recently widowed mother who wanted to get rid of two cars and get into a new one.
All my vehicles I've sold privately after purchasing another vehicle. Time and cash flow are your best leverage!
Somewhat related. Anyone use Autotrader website for trade-ins/sales? I used them recently to try and get a feel for what we'd get for my wife's car. Theirs was right in line with what another dealer ended up offering us (which we also didn't take). Noticed both were about $1k less than the "low" KBB value as well.
if you have some common sense and patience, you can get more selling it yourself. its just a question of how much is your time worth.
any dealer taking a trade in has to cut the price so they have a profit when they sell it. the cut is twice as big if you trade in an off brand (e.g. toyota at a nissan dealer) because no one comes to nissan looking for a toyota, and they just take those to auction (where someone else takes a cut).
any dealer taking a trade in has to cut the price so they have a profit when they sell it. the cut is twice as big if you trade in an off brand (e.g. toyota at a nissan dealer) because no one comes to nissan looking for a toyota, and they just take those to auction (where someone else takes a cut).
I sold a 1998 Camry to Carmax in 2012. I could have made a few hundred more had I done it myself private party, but wasn't worth the hassle.
I took my car to Carmax just to see what they would give me. Their offer was less than stellar and is probably about $3500-$4500 less than what I could get it for selling it privately.
I got the offer from Carmax and pulled it out at the dealer when they lowballed on the trade in.
I don't have the patience or home to try to sell myself for an extra $1,500 or so.
I don't have the patience or home to try to sell myself for an extra $1,500 or so.
