I went to check out a FX and see what they'd give me for my 2003 sedan (non X) w/53K miles and got quoted $13,500.

 

who did that? was it in an accident? that sounds real low to me

 

http://www.nadaguides.com/default.as...052&da=-1&nx=1

Looks like $18K is closer to the mark. Print this and dangle it in front of the sales guys face.

 

Try looking at CarMax as well. Not saying that you should ultimately use them to unload your car, but they do provide you with a vehicle/market appraisal that's good for up to 30 days. Another good thing to dangle in front of the sales guy's face.

 

yea...that's low-ballin u pretty bad. I've gotten my car appraised at 3 different places the past 2 weeks. CarMax gave me $12000. Lexus gave me $14000. But I have a 2003 g35 Sport sedan w/ 92k miles.

 

Off topic to original poster but, I don't think Lexus low balled you at all. You have high mileage, the dealer needs to make money, and with the new G coming out, prices for previous years are going down.

But I do agree about the first post, that's too low. Should be around 15k.

 

i got mine appraised at carmax in june 06 for 18500 or 18000 ill have to check, it had 50k on it. g35 sedan 03. They were selling their 03's for 23-24k on the lot.

 

You talk like this # is written in stone. It's ALL NEGOTIABLE. Just depends how good you are. They lowball in hopes people like you don't know any better. Let's say you agree to that. They just made a good $3,500-$4,500 on you because they will sell it for like $19,000 or so.

It's VERY simple to negotiate. Just go around the lot and note what they are SELLING their used G35 sedans for. Then ask "if my car is only worth $13,500, how come you are selling similar cars for $19,000?"

Watch the squirming commence

 

Even if your car has high mileage what was suggested above about seeing what they retail for
would be a good idea. Shop around..........that's
why we refer to them as Stealerships....LOL

 

at one point i tryed selling my G and honestly CarMax was the one to give me the best trade in value since they go by the blue book, Another dealer wanted to give me 18K when the value at that time of my G was 29K, even as i explained to them what i was noticing they didnt give a F***, so i very politely wrote a nice letter stating that no one in my family would be buying from their dealer again (since we had bought 8 vehicles from them, and were about to purchase 5 more)

 

Exactly. Trading in a car is like buying a new one, you have to negotiate a price.

 

on the last five trades i've made on my cars, from a '98 nissan altima to an '03 G35 sedan, they always hit you way low on the trade value. most advice i've seen about trading in your older car is this: never tell them you have a trade until AFTER you negotiate the price of the car you are buying.

stay tough! once they have a deal on a new car sale, they won't want you walking away because of a trade in value price. they're gonna make money on two vehicles for god's sake! look at several prices for what dealers are selling your type trade in vehicle(retail), an use the NET. edmunds,kelly blue book, consumer reports, etc. are good starting places to value your trade.

i have found that they start anywhere from 2k -5k less than what the true value of your trade is worth, so don't let them BS you into a low trade value.

walk away if you have to. if you go in knowing what your car is worth, and you aren't an a**hole about it, you should be able to negotiate a fair dollar amount.

**when i traded the '98 altima in, there was a couple trading the exact same car. the trade value at the time was about 8k. they finally offered me around 7800 and i was ok with that. i overhead the other couple being offered 5500 for the car. they obviously hadn't done their homework and were considering the deal. being the a** that i am, i walked over and dropped the sheets i had printed from various places, showing the 8k value and told them "good luck". yeah, that salesman probably would have liked to kick my a*s, but oh well, you gotta help where you can......

 

infiniti of manhattan, i was looking at a 04' fx w/30k miles for $28K, i have a couple of friends that work for used dealers and most of them go by the auction price. i guess that's why it's so low?

 

Jeff is right on with what he said. Of cousre they'll try to hose you.....they like to take advantage of people. Do your homework & stick to your guns when you're there. Both times when I've gone to buy a new car & trade my old one in, I walk in & they offer me 1-2K lower than KBB.com trade-in value....and in the end, I always walk away with them offering me MORE than KBB.com trade-in value....either way, they make profit...the question comes down to, how much.

Good luck!