In the past I usually relied on some web site like Kelly Blue Book, or Edmunds to give me the trade-in value of my car. Those figures are never accurate, so I tried something different on buying a new car yesterday. I went to CarMax and used their online questions to describe my car honestly. A friend had sold his Mercedes earlier and CarMax did not quibble over the online figure as to how much they would give to buy his car.
I had picked a new, end of model year 2024 that was equipped as I wanted, and it had a great price, $42,500 marked down to $35,500. I called the dealer to confirm it was still on their lot. Before I went to the dealer to make a trade yesterday, I went online to see what CarMax would pay for my 2017 Ford Escape. CarMax came up with $11,000 that they would give me for my car.
When the car salesman first came back with the figures showing what they would give me on a trade-in, they were going to give me $8000. I showed the salesman what CarMax was going to pay me for my car, and after going back to the office, he returned giving me the $11,000 for my Escape. I had two options, the dealer gives me the $11,000, or I'd go sell my Escape and buy the car outright for cash.
Ford currently has a 36-month finance deal, for 0%; so I returned my cash to my interest paying account and will earn money as I pay the interest free monthly payment. This is the first time in my life that I felt like I had bought a car for a price fair to both dealer and myself. Others may already know this approach to buying a car, but for those who've never thought of it, good luck.
I had picked a new, end of model year 2024 that was equipped as I wanted, and it had a great price, $42,500 marked down to $35,500. I called the dealer to confirm it was still on their lot. Before I went to the dealer to make a trade yesterday, I went online to see what CarMax would pay for my 2017 Ford Escape. CarMax came up with $11,000 that they would give me for my car.
When the car salesman first came back with the figures showing what they would give me on a trade-in, they were going to give me $8000. I showed the salesman what CarMax was going to pay me for my car, and after going back to the office, he returned giving me the $11,000 for my Escape. I had two options, the dealer gives me the $11,000, or I'd go sell my Escape and buy the car outright for cash.
Ford currently has a 36-month finance deal, for 0%; so I returned my cash to my interest paying account and will earn money as I pay the interest free monthly payment. This is the first time in my life that I felt like I had bought a car for a price fair to both dealer and myself. Others may already know this approach to buying a car, but for those who've never thought of it, good luck.
