Selling used car vs.trading it in.

Estimate on how much you will get on a trade versus how much in a private sale? That's really the determining factor.

I agree with you that for me it's not worth the hassle if I'm only getting a couple hundred more trying to advertise and sell it myself. Now if I can get thousand+ more then the hassle starts to become worth it.

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My wife wants to sell it as individual as we could likely get higher price for it.

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sure. KBB from what i have seen always will give you more for a private party sale than trade in that is just how it is. just like u cannot go to a dealer and say i am not paying you anymore than the trade in value of that car. that dog won't hunt. as long as you are NOT paying over KBB and it is somewhere in that range OR lower from a dealer that is all you can expect for used. they usually try to keep used cars in the KBB used range. new is a different ballgame. use true car and get down to dealer invoice.

but yes, i have bought and sold cars through private party sales. i had one crap out on me maybe lasted a year or less. was cheap. i sold one that crapped out on a guy in same timeframe. that is just how it goes. was a long time ago and were not favorable brandnames anymore (they were not honda, toyota or nissan). go do the trade in. less headache.

"I don’t want to deal with hassle"

Then you're talking convience. You pay more at a convience store. I've always sold them myself.

The dealerships make more on used cars than new. I like your wife's thinking.

I’ve done it both ways but at this point in my life the little bit extra to private sale just isn’t worth it. By the time you factor in the discount on taxes and all it just usually isn’t much. I still would work out the numbers both ways though.

Example for you: Sold a Volvo last year. Dealer offered me 7k, listed for 13k private sale (KBB private value), sold the first person that offered me 11.5k for it. Took about a month and maybe 7-8 test drives and 20-something phone calls. It was worth the difference to me, but I wouldn't do it again for less than $1,000 - and you have to figure in taxes in your net. What's your number? Or rather, what's your wife's number?

Regarding lemon issue, like FB said, that's just how it goes. There is no recourse for the buyer, you'd be doing an as-is sale.

Look into a dealership that does consignment sales. I’m getting ready to sell a car and I also don’t have the time or desire to deal with window shoppers or kids looking to get a test drive. The fee I’m paying is $250 for a 90 day listing, and if the dealership can get more than the agreed upon list price, they also get 50% of that.

Just something for you to think about. I’ve never traded a car in.

The dealer will screw you on the trade. But you were screwed when you bought the Prius. Its not hard to sell privately.

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Tell her the lower sales tax from the trade-in offset will make up some of the difference in price.

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Not every state has a trade offset. For instance, residents of Oklahoma don't but residents of Texas (30 miles away do). Oklahoma has much lower taxes on a vehicle purchase to make up for it. The dealership lobbies in certain states have pushed the tax break in order to encourage trade-ins because they make money on them.