Am I letting my FE GTS go for too low?

[FinalEd357]

After reading much valuable input from all of you, I'm very close to switching from my Viper to another. The dealer I would be trading with is willing to give me $55k for mine ('02 FE GTS 6,600 miles, excellent condition, prev. owned by Joe Perry of Aerosmith) and I need to pay about $1,500 to ship it back to him upon receipt of his car to me. Living in MI, our economy is awful and I'm not confident that I could get much more - unsure if I'd have more luck selling for more anywhere else.

In your humble opinions, would you take the $ and run or hold out to sell personally? Unfortunately, time is short and I'll need to decide tomorrow. I would sincerely appreciate any input. Thanks, as always! John

 

[agentf1]

Sounds like a pretty good price from a dealer. Don't forget you need to add the tax credit to that if you are buying another car, its 6% in Pa which would make it worth 58,300 towards whatever you are buying. You would need to sell it outright for more than 58.3 to make it worth your while. If you are not buying another car I guess it is not as good a deal since you would not get that tax break.

Not sure how being owned by Joe Perry (Aerosmith) would effect its value. I guess if you are an Aerosmith fan it could be positive.

 

[C O D Y]

Try to run your car through a dealer as a trade in. Most states do not require you to pay sales tax on the trade in value of the car. Could save you over $3,000 on the new car. Did you find a car?

 

[DrDJ]

I think that 55K from a dealer is fair. The dealer must think that he can get 59K for it. 99% of sane people could care less if it was formerly owned by Joe Perry of Aerosmith.

DrDJ

 

[rich v.]

55k from a dealer is a lot on that car i would say. more than fair. especially with the tax credit. good luck with the deal!!

 

[FinalEd357]

Living in MI, I do not receive a tax credit - we pay tax on the entire price of the new vehicle. I really thought it has been interesting owning the car based on previous owner (mag. articles w/ him and the car, signed photos, concert tkts, etc.) but I wouldn't expect any additional value, other than conversational value...

 

[Shelby3]

It's hard to know what the dealer is really giving you on a trade in. The best way to get a good estimate is to get the best cash deal on tha car you want to buy and then announce you want to do the trade in. That's why most dealers ask you up front if you are trading a car in, so they can jack up the price on the car you want and make it look like you are getting a good price for your trade.

 

[DrDJ]

Very good point made by Shelby3. The whole trade-in situation muddies the water. You would have to have the dealer buy your car outright (not uncommon with Vipers,) have cash in hand, and then talk about your purchase.

DrDJ

 

[Toby]

So basically you would be trading it in for 53,500 (55-1.5 shipping)

What really matters is your time. Is it worth the extra effort to squeeze out a few extra thousand dollars vs. just letting have the dealer take it ?

 

[FinalEd357]

Our first MCVO event is this Sunday so I'm going to bring my car to the event with a for sale sign to see if any members might know of someone with interest. If I can be in the upper $50's it will mean $5k more which is worth the wait for me. Thank you all for the suggestions/feedback.

 

[KepRght]

IF they are not taking you for a ride on the new cars price(making up the difference), 55k is a crazy good trade in value from a dealer, considering they use KellyBlueBook.com for their values. which in this case happens to be:

Condition Value Excellent $46,975
Good $44,750
Fair $40,795


http://www.kbb.com/KBB/UsedCars/Pri...607|0|0|&Condition=Excellent&QuizConditions=0

 

[Paul Hawker]

Take the $$$

 

[Lawrenzo]

Sounds like a good number to me as well. When I wanted to sell my car to a dealer last year (Original owner 2002 Bumblebee GTS with 12k miles) I had a few of the better known dealers on these boards only offer me in the $47k range.

Unless they are screwing you on the buy, I'd say take the money and run.

 

[Mopar488]

A lot depends on what you are trading for. As mentioned earlier, it would be interesting to see what you could buy the other car for straight out. Then you could judge what you are really getting out of your car. If it is another Viper, sometimes there are some pretty deep discounts available depending on what it is. I usually try to buy straight out so I can tell in real money what I am selling for and buying for. Good luck with your decision.