Dealership called to buy my car

[mustang02]

My Dealership has signs all over the building and in the service area. Take your vehicle in for service and see "Talk to us about our vehicle buy back program".

 

[Ampire]

Relative with a 2006 Honda keeps getting calls from the stealership, "please sell us your Honda and then buy a new one from us".

 

[Sky Render]

I got a call a few weeks ago by my local Phord dealership offering to buy my car, and it's not even for sale. It's just a marketing ploy.

 

[Wingspan]

I too get letters from my local dealer. They NEED my car...TOP DOLLAR...RIGHT NOW!!!

The funny part is these letters aren't asking for my Mustang. I get these for my 15 year old, 100k mile, rusted out beater Focus wagon. LOL!

 

[eighty6gt]

I vaguely remember getting a letter when my Mustang was about 3 years old.

The used car market is a funky thing. I'm happy with what I've figured out - buy new, maintain fanatically, drive for a long time.

 

[mavisky]

I have it listed for 22.5k on Craigslist to weed out the tire kickers. When the dealership called they said over the phone thats what theyd give me and they are serious buyers with cash. Rick hendrick chevrolet is the dealership.

Sounds like Rick Hendrick pushing the hard sale. They didn't get to be as big as they are by just waiting for people to drive onto their lots.

 

[WJBertrand]

While not a scam, remember that any time you sell a car to a dealer or trade it in, you will get less than market value for it. After all they're just going to turn around and re-sell it to net the difference between what they talked you down to and what the true market value of the car is.

I've had people claim to get market or over value on a trade in but you can bet your ass if that's true, the dealer made up the difference overcharging for the new one.

Every car I've ever bought I've had either the local dealer or the dealer I bought it from send me letters about how my model is in short supply and they want to buy it back. Be very careful here.

 

[Sky Render]

While not a scam, remember that any time you sell a car to a dealer or trade it in, you will get less than market value for it. After all they're just going to turn around and re-sell it to net the difference between what they talked you down to and what the true market value of the car is.

I've had people claim to get market or over value on a trade in but you can bet your ass if that's true, the dealer made up the difference overcharging for the new one.

Every car I've ever bought I've had either the local dealer or the dealer I bought it from send me letters about how my model is in short supply and they want to buy it back. Be very careful here.

Very true, but when I buy a new car, I'd rather trade my old one in and "pay" the dealer to sell it than dick around with listing the vehicle for sale myself.

 

[mustang02]

Very true, but when I buy a new car, I'd rather trade my old one in and "pay" the dealer to sell it than dick around with listing the vehicle for sale myself.

Exactly! I don't have time to list it, deal with tire kickers, etc.

 

[mavisky]

It all depends on what you've done to your car and what it's worth in the private market vs. how easy it is to sell.

Before I bought my shelby I sold my 95 GT outright for $6500 vs about $2000 trade in offered. Then I proceded to trade in my 2010 Honda CR-Z hybrid. That car would have taken me ages to sell on my own and it wasn't worth the hassle and would have certainly led to me missing out on the Shelby as I got rid of both my old cars and brought my new one home all on the same day.

 

[Boaisy]

I like it when they fake cringe and say.. "well, I have to go ask my manager if they can do that". Lol.. BS.. they know from the minute you ask what their bottom dollar is

That "have to go talk to the manager" means he is going for a smoke break and going to try to make you think they are going to bat for YOU.. Lol..

Not always. Some dealers limit the sales people from seeing actual cost (both used and new) because they think it is giving the sales person too much information.

Each time a sales person goes to the manager, the price of the deal is cut, and so is that sales person's pay. If it gets down to invoice pricing, then the sales person walks home with a "mini" deal. In most places, you have to sell 3-4 of those a week to make a living, and depending on the area, may not be easy. That is why the sales person has to hold as much as he can. It is the money that will help him put food on the table. The managers, on the other hand, whether it is a mini or not, can still walk home with close to 6 figures a year without much effort because they take a slice of overall sales.

 

[WJBertrand]

Very true, but when I buy a new car, I'd rather trade my old one in and "pay" the dealer to sell it than dick around with listing the vehicle for sale myself.

Yeah, that's an individual choice but sometimes the difference between trading and selling yourself can be a thousand $$ or more. I'm too cheap to let that go! I don't find selling a car all that burdensome. The last one I sold ('02 Lexus IS300), I didn't even take out an add, just posted it on an IS forum and ended up with buyers lined up 5 deep. Got $1500 more for it than I would have trading it in.

That was enough to pay for my Brembo brake package!

 

[Pentalab]

Here in british columbia, if you sell privately, the buyer has to pay 12% sales tax...
(and the seller has to collect that tax..and forward to the gov, 7% to the provincial govt..and 5% to the fed govt). If you instead trade the car in on a new one, the dealer does not pay the gov the 12% sales tax. (the govt collects 12% tax on the new car, from the dealer, the govt will also collect 12% tax on the eventual re-sold used car).

On a $20K used car, that 12% amounts to $2400 of wiggle room.

If selling privately, go along as the passenger on any test drive. An old beater is one thing, but the tire kicker's will come out in droves... just to "test drive" a high performance car. "hey I got to finally take a GT-500 for a spin"

 

[MassMustang]

Doesn't surprise me. Used cars are a hot item as many people aren't willing to spend much more for new. I get ads all the time for my wife's 2011 Sienna and a 2007 Pilot we don't even own anymore! LOL

I can tell you this. I'm currently looking for a good deal on a preowned SUV and the pickins are fairly slim.

 

[MassMustang]

Yeah, that's an individual choice but sometimes the difference between trading and selling yourself can be a thousand $$ or more. I'm too cheap to let that go! I don't find selling a car all that burdensome. The last one I sold ('02 Lexus IS300), I didn't even take out an add, just posted it on an IS forum and ended up with buyers lined up 5 deep. Got $1500 more for it than I would have trading it in.

That was enough to pay for my Brembo brake package!

Something to bear in mind. If you sell your car, you make more $$$, but if you trade it in through the dealer, it cuts down the sales tax on the new car. If the taxable purchase drops from $30K down to $15K, you could save close to $1K in taxes. Just an example. Actual results may vary.

 

[01yellerCobra]

I got a letter from the dealership where I bought my Expedition. It was made to look like a print out of an email. They worded it like they knew me personally and needed to get me in to buy my SUV back. It went straight to the trash.

Misspelling brought to you by tapatalk

 

[WJBertrand]

Something to bear in mind. If you sell your car, you make more $$$, but if you trade it in through the dealer, it cuts down the sales tax on the new car. If the taxable purchase drops from $30K down to $15K, you could save close to $1K in taxes. Just an example. Actual results may vary.

Doesn't work that way in the peoples republic of Kalifornia. You pay sales tax on the total price, regardless of what the purchase is composed of; i.e. trade in, down payment, loan money. Also, any rebates apply to the down payment, not to reduce the price of the car so you don't get a tax break that way either.

With respect to private party selling of a used car, the seller just files a change of ownership liability form with the DMV containing the buyer's information and a bill of sale showing price paid and odometer mileage. When the buyer re-registers the car in his/her name, the DMV collects any sales tax from the buyer.

Other than what I view as a very small convenience (laziness perhaps?) there's no real incentive to trade a car vs. selling it yourself. At least in this state.

 

[ZPounds09GT]

It's not always a ploy. My sister was selling a vehicle for us in Va (an '07 F150 that was paid off) and had it posted on Craigslist as well. The local Ford dealer called and said they would be interested in buying it for $15,000 because they had a buyer willing to take it. My sister took the truck to the dealer and they provided a check. No hitting them up for a trade in or another vehicle.

 

[Renesis07]

9/10 Times this is a method of cold calling to bring you in for a free appraisal for two reasons:

1) Create an opportunity for a sale
2) Make you a 'low' offer and potentially pick up a nice used vehicle for cheap.

However I will say some dealers do 'locate' used cars and will call around to find cars to sell someone looking for a specific vehicle. My gf's Dealership does this and helped one of my friends find their Tahoe. However, her Dealership only calls other dealerships and not private party ads. Any calls stores I've worked at have made for this kind of thing was simply to create an opportunity to either pick up a car for cheap or sell someone a new vehicle.

 

[Renesis07]

You guys would be surprised though. Those BS ads you're talking about that you get in the mail pull a TON of showroom traffic in. Our store doesn't do the gimmick bullshit where it looks like a handwritten note or whatever, it just has average black book value and blower prices on new cars.