I could use some car trade in and buying advice

"Baskingshark" (Baskingsharks) 10/15/2013 at 15:38 • Filed to: None

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So we have a base model 2008 Honda CR-V LX with about 70k on the clock. There is nothing wrong with it mechanically, drives great, and meets our needs 350 days a year. The thing is that the cargo space is small, and whenever we take a trip we will stuff the car, (with more than we need, but that's a fight I will never win) and occasionally have to break out the roof top bag, which is a pain in the ass. Plus my wife has been wanting a giant SUV forever. I'm serious; I tried to sell her on a wagon! She was not having it and it not like we could afford any of the "cool" ones anyway. So we have decided on the Honda Pilot as out next vehicle.

We have not really thought about going through with replacing the CR-V in the near term but, the dealership has called me twice this week about"special offers" they have regarding the car. I didn't have time to listen to the nice salesperson because it was in the middle of my work day both times but from looking at their website their used car inventory is pretty low. Now, I financed this vehicle for 60 months when the lease was up originally a few years ago. Looking back it doesn't seem like that great a call but thankfully the car has held its value. Going by the KBB value in "good" condition we would break even on the trade in value and be up a couple k if we sold it privately.

I'm thinking about getting all my facts and numbers together and calling the dealership. If they can get us in a new Pilot lease with little or no money out of pocket and keep the monthly payments nearly the same. Does this sound like an alright idea or a waste of time and money?

William Byrd > Baskingshark 10/15/2013 at 15:43

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Sounds good to me. Although I trade frequently so my idea of a "good idea" may be skewed. Basically go in with a fairly unrealistic goal as far as #s goes (payment, rate, etc.) and then make them work to get as close to it as possible. Go with the tried and true "ok, thanks for your time" and start to leave. There is usually some more room to make a deal and they'll keep going back to the finance manager. This applies to your trade too, they can break even or even lose a little on the trade if they really want to move a new car. Good luck!

SkarTisu > Baskingshark 10/15/2013 at 15:48

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It's hard to justify the "15 days a year I need something bigger argument" logically. I do the same thing with 4x4 drivetrain vehicles where I live.

For a thought exercise, do a quick check on how much your fuel costs would be per year with a Pilot versus your CR-V. Also, it might be worth putting a hitch on the back of the CR-V and either buying or renting a small trailer for those 15 days a year of road tripping.

CAR_IS_MI > Baskingshark 10/15/2013 at 15:50

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I dont know how it is in your area, but generally, dealers aren't coming close to KBB values. Most play the "well this isn't something we will keep on the lot due to (insert lame excuse) and this is the number our wholesaler will give us for your trade.

Basically, just don't get fed a line of shit, hold your ground, and if the numbers make sense do it. I recently held out on a deal over $500. The manager said were $500 apart, you are not going to walk away from this deal over $500.

I said watch me and held out my hand for my keys back. a minute later there was an extra $500 in the deal.

davedave1111 > Baskingshark 10/15/2013 at 15:52

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To me, it sounds like a waste of money. You have a car that does what you want, apart from occasionally having to break out the roof bag. How many thousands of dollars are you planning to spend over the course of a lease just to avoid doing that? If you look at it that way, effectively you're paying yourself a thousand bucks a time (or something) to use the roof-bag, which ought to ease the pain a bit.

jsmizira > Baskingshark 10/15/2013 at 15:56

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"Automatch! where are you?"

Baskingshark > jsmizira 10/15/2013 at 15:57

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I'm in the Monterey, CA area. I can't say I'm familiar with Automatch. I see Automatch is a user on here; thanks Google.

Baskingshark > SkarTisu 10/15/2013 at 15:58

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Yeah that's been basically my argument to the Mrs. about replacing the car the whole time. Then I get the sad puppy dog eyes from her.

jsmizira > Baskingshark 10/15/2013 at 16:01

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I'm sorry, this was actually a cry for another opponaut, he kinda helps people buy cars for a living. if you can search for him you will be doing yourself a favor.

Steve Zissou > Baskingshark 10/15/2013 at 16:01

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3 years from now: Would you rather have a car that needs a roof bag 15 days a year but has no car payments, OR no car at all because you've been leasing. As a general rule, I'd go with option one.

SkarTisu > Baskingshark 10/15/2013 at 16:03

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Do the fuel math and then present her the bill for the difference. :D

Baskingshark > SkarTisu 10/15/2013 at 16:15

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Well it probably would be about $332 a year if I figure it's a 4mpg difference over 14k miles at $4 a gallon, 21 mpg combined for the Pilot per the website and 24 mpg for my CR-V per the readout on the dash. I'm not sure how much leverage that buys me ha ha

SkarTisu > Baskingshark 10/15/2013 at 16:21

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Not a big difference when spread out over a year. But, it's a place to start. :)

Sn210 > jsmizira 10/15/2013 at 20:21

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You need one of these to get his attention:

Dunnik > Baskingshark 10/15/2013 at 21:54

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Just remember, always agree to the trade in price BEFORE negotiating the price of the new vehicle.

Tom McParland > Baskingshark 10/22/2013 at 19:11

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Hi there! I am Automatch (as if you didn't figure that out from my screen-name) as jsmizira mentioned. Basically I help people buy cars and save them money, time, and hassle. Feel free to read some of my "car buying" stuff here. Anyway, I'd like to give you some guidance as to your situation. First, it really seems the Mrs. is set on getting a new set of wheels. I'm going to be honest with you, if that is the case and you can stomach the payments it might be the best bet, regardless of what the "logical" math says.

But let's look at the math...KBB is on the high end of what you can expect from a trade. Like others have said on a 2008 Honda you are unlikely to get that figure (you might, but I want you to have realistic expectations). I have found that Edmunds TMV is fairly spot on with dealer trade values. So this is what you are looking at for a trade.

That 10,660 is the number you should be working with in terms of your pay-off. Also, you mentioned you want to lease if you have 70k on your car now, you averaged about 14k a year. Here is a current lease special for an LX Pilot 4wd

Hopefully your payoff is about $2600 less than the trade. Now this is for a 12k a year lease. If you are going to be over by 6k miles at the end of the lease that is going to cost you an extra $1200. But you might be able to keep your miles in check, so we won't worry about that. Of course all of these numbers are before negotiations take place so things could tip in your favor.

The other thing to consider is are you a "drive it till it dies" type of buyer or a "I'd like something new every few years" type of buyer. If the later than maybe leasing is for you, if the former it might be worth either keeping your car, or seeing if the budget will afford maybe a lightly used or CPO car to drive until it is paid off and not have to worry about miles.

Anyway, I will be happy to help you out. You can either find me here on Oppo or drop me a line- automatchconsulting@gmail.com

Baskingshark > Tom McParland 10/23/2013 at 11:09

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Thanks for taking the time and the great reply. Unfortunately, that valuation is about $1000 shy of the needed $2500, due at signing for one of the offers that I have seen on my local dealership's site. I am really not opposed to leasing, especially for our big kid carrier, so I may look into the $0 due at lease signing offers. My biggest concern is the mileage so I am hoping there will be some room to negotiate on that.

Tom McParland > Baskingshark 10/23/2013 at 11:15

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Here are some tips...wait till Thanksgiving weekend, or the week before New Years. These are big times for dealers to move inventory, so they are likely to get you a deal. Also consider some other options other than the Pilot there may be different incentives for you. Here is a piece I wrote awhile back that you might find informative.

Baskingshark > Tom McParland 10/23/2013 at 11:49

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Thanks, I have considered the Mazda and may still look into it, the Highlander doesn't seem to have quite the cargo capacity of the others.