Do I trade in my car?

[ATL96Steeler]

Yeah, the more I've looked into it that's around the price I am getting quoted.

Yep...I've sold a car twice and only because the buyer knew me and came to me an offer...every other one I've traded and you know you're leaving money on the table, but convenience makes it worth it I guess.

We had nice long stretch without a car payment and little more than $1000 a yr in maintenance with 2 vehicles...in '12 we double dipped for two '09 cars...hoping to get 200k mi from the Infiniti (70k now) and the wife will probably trade/sell trade the Altima once she funds this useless pc of furniture she wants. I'm looking forward to no car payment again.

 

[redseat]

Yep...I've sold a car twice and only because the buyer knew me and came to me an offer...every other one I've traded and you know you're leaving money on the table, but convenience makes it worth it I guess.

We had nice long stretch without a car payment and little more than $1000 a yr in maintenance with 2 vehicles...in '12 we double dipped for two '09 cars...hoping to get 200k mi from the Infiniti (70k now) and the wife will probably trade/sell trade the Altima once she funds this useless pc of furniture she wants. I'm looking forward to no car payment again.

When I got this car the dealership gave me 10,000 for my Nissan Pathfinder without even looking at it. The driver's seat power chair didn't work (battery was dead and I wasn't spending $600 to replace it) and the driver's side window stuck a little but they didn't care... How cool is that. It is very nice not to have a car payment though

 

[poprocksncoke]

When I got this car the dealership gave me 10,000 for my Nissan Pathfinder without even looking at it. The driver's seat power chair didn't work (battery was dead and I wasn't spending $600 to replace it) and the driver's side window stuck a little but they didn't care... How cool is that. It is very nice not to have a car payment though

Wait............... $600 for a car battery?

 

[Sportsdude101]

Is it a 2.5L engine? They have head gasket problems around 125,000 miles and tend to take out an injector or two..

 

[Bayou Tiger]

Almost at 100,000 miles
2008 Nissan Altima SE

It's starting to show it's wear but not bad.....

Is it time to trade it in and get a new one? Only problem money is SUUUUUUUUPER tight right now. Just did a "trade in" appraisal online and it stated the most I could get for it would be around $9,965

Trading in your used vehicle may seem like a silly idea when you get the appraisal from the dealership as opposed to what Kelly Blue Book may say your vehicle is worth. But you can bargain against the price of the trade in and the price of the new vehicle when you bring it to the negotiation table. One thing to keep in mind is that the taxes on the new vehicle will be offset with the trade-in value. So you get a little something there. Another thing to do is learn about "hold back" money and what it means in regards to new vehicles. Google that. What it is is a time period for dealerships to have inventory on their lot without having to pay for it. If a dealership sells a new vehicle as soon as it hits the lot they actually get this money. If the vehicle sits for a long time on their lot they have to start paying more and more to keep the inventory.

 

[redseat]

Is it a 2.5L engine? They have head gasket problems around 125,000 miles and tend to take out an injector or two..

3.5 SE

 

[Sportsdude101]

3.5 SE

Better engine.. No worries

 

[redseat]

Better engine.. No worries

You got that right! Sucker is FAAAAAAAAAAAST!

 

[redseat]

except for the fact that now 3 out of 4 rims are bent thanks to the freaking roads I have to drive on going to work! They are somewhat fixed but I might need them replaced soon.

 

[Edonidd]

Trying to decide if I should trade in my car right now too.

It's been leaking oil for a while now, doesn't leave even a drop in my driveway, but after about 3k miles it would be about 3 quarts down. Couple weeks ago the check engine light came on, I checked and it had list 3-4 quarts in 1000 miles (about 2 weeks) after an oil change. Took it in to the shop, and the guy couldn't find anything wrong with it. Took it to a subaru specialist shop and they said the head gasket definitely is leaking and needs replacement, and that they should do the timing belt at the same time. They quoted me $3900. So I took it home and told them I had to think about it.

I paid $6500 for the car about 18 months ago, and have put 19,000 miles on it.

2006 Saab 92x aero, which is exactly the same car as an Subaru impreza WRX, except a tiny bit of bodywork difference on the front. I have it up to 58,000 mIles on it now, and supposedly the timing belt doesn't need changing until 100k anyways.

I drove it directly from the shop to a dealership. The guy said he could offer me $8k cash for it straight up, probably more like 8500-9000 off as a trade in. But that his sister dealership does more with foreign cars, so if I wanted to get more for it, go there. That they would test drive it and look under the hood and stuff but would almost definitely offer more, maybe a lot more if it was in good condition.

Subaru dealership called me back with a second opinion on the price while I was test driving, and he said can't give anything for sure without looking at it, but those model Subarus and my Saabaru had that head gasket leak very very commonly, and they do the work all the time. He said once they do look at it, if that is what's wrong (and it probably is) it would be $15-1700 with no other problems.

So do I trade in my car and hope the grass is greener on another car? I don't want any payments, and I like cars that are pretty much at the end of their depreciation, so it would be at most the extra $2k that I have to spend either way. I just don't know if I'll get so lucky on another used car.

 

[outofyourmind]

It's been leaking oil for a while now, doesn't leave even a drop in my driveway, but after about 3k miles it would be about 3 quarts down. Couple weeks ago the check engine light came on, I checked and it had list 3-4 quarts in 1000 miles (about 2 weeks) after an oil change. Took it in to the shop, and the guy couldn't find anything wrong with it. Took it to a subaru specialist shop and they said the head gasket definitely is leaking and needs replacement, and that they should do the timing belt at the same time. They quoted me $3900. So I took it home and told them I had to think about it.

I paid $6500 for the car about 18 months ago, and have put 19,000 miles on it.

2006 Saab 92x aero, which is exactly the same car as an Subaru impreza WRX, except a tiny bit of bodywork difference on the front. I have it up to 58,000 mIles on it now, and supposedly the timing belt doesn't need changing until 100k anyways.

I'm not clear on this.
You currently drive the 2006 Saab that is having problems????.
If not, what is it that you drive, make year miles.

Second, I wouldn't ever tell a dealer what the problems are with the car, ever. They are the professionals, let them figure it out. If you want to know what the car is worth in trade in, ask them for a "buy bid" which means what they will give you on the spot.

If it is a head gasket, then that problem only gets worse, if in fact that is what it is.
Second, if your motor is an "Interference" engine and your timing belt breaks, you are in big trouble with bent valves and/or pistons.

 

[Edonidd]

I'm not clear on this.
You currently drive the 2006 Saab that is having problems????.
If not, what is it that you drive, make year miles.

Second, I wouldn't ever tell a dealer what the problems are with the car, ever. They are the professionals, let them figure it out. If you want to know what the car is worth in trade in, ask them for a "buy bid" which means what they will give you on the spot.

If it is a head gasket, then that problem only gets worse, if in fact that is what it is.
Second, if your motor is an "Interference" engine and your timing belt breaks, you are in big trouble with bent valves and/or pistons.

Yeah, I drive the 2006 Saab(aru) right now. And I wouldn't even think of telling the dealer anything. As far as he's concerned it's the best car god himself ever made. I told them I was trading in for something bigger for my 3 kids.

The one place I went to just get a ballpark of what I would get on trade in, gave me a buy bid of 8k, but seemed like he was aware he was low balling me. His offer was still more than what I paid for it. (Which I obviously also did not tell him.)

The head gasket is most likely what's wrong with it. They said to change that you have to take the timing belt off, so he said it makes sense to just replace it now. But they originally recommend changing it at 100k miles, so to me changing it at 60k seems unnecessary. However the Subaru service department says they deal with this on literally a weekly basis, so they have gotten to the point of changing the head gasket and timing belt for 15-1700.

I have no idea what an interference engine is. The Subarus are all 4 cylinder "boxer" engines. Mine is the turbo version.

Are you saying the gasket leaking problem will continue getting worse even if I have it replaced? I don't really want to have to keep doing the same repair every couple of years. I'm also worried that my car doesn't smoke, and leaves zero spots on the driveway. Usually that would be good, but in my case that means 4+ quarts of oil went someplace else. I'm worried my coolant system or something is just full of oil.

 

[outofyourmind]

I have no idea what an interference engine is. The Subarus are all 4 cylinder "boxer" engines. Mine is the turbo version.

Are you saying the gasket leaking problem will continue getting worse even if I have it replaced?

If you only have 60k, dont worry about the timing belt unless you are going to have the work done and drive for years and years, then I would have the belt changed while they are in there already.

Head gasket. I mean currently, it will only get worse. However, it sounds like a design problem and even if you get it changed, it will happen a few years again anyway.

Sounds like the best thing to do is dump it on a dealer and go get a new/different car.

 

[redseat]

Wait............... $600 for a car battery?

Naw, that $600 was for the power for the chair

 

[Taz]

Turbo Saab engine I would get rid of that car as fast as I can. I had a 2005 9-3 turbo and the turbo went at 55k on it and it started to go again around 85k on it. Service guy told me they go all the time on these engine. I took it over to the Nissan dealer and traded it in on a used Altima. I got high blue Kelly Blue book value for the Saab so I was happy with that, especially since I was staring at another 2k for a new turbo.
Sad thing was I didn't like the Altima that much, great commuter car but on longer trips it was brutal on comfort. I sold that car 2 years later for 1k less than I bought it for. They hold their value really well.

 

[redseat]

Every Day I wait the value of my car goes down doesn't it? Granted it is still the 3.5 SE so that might help