Hadn't realized it had dropped this much. But I had been expecting a more rapid drop with the big drop in new car sales putting pressure on older cars.

I guess it is a good thing I'm planning to keep my car for yet another 4 years so even if it dropped to almost zero value, the cost will be amortized over 9 years.

Still drives well, just dings in the paint.

 

i have an 04 with 34k and it was worth 13,250 4 months ago wen i checked

 

The web sites like nada and kbb tend to give 2 or 3 different prices. What you could expect to pay at a dealer, what you could expect to get offered as a trade in from a dealer, and a private party deal. What does this value match to?

Mine was under $12,000 tradein, but I have navi (plus), but more miles (minus).

 

Bought my 05x, 40K minus Nav for 15k last October. Still the best money I've spent in awhile...

 

All automotive sale/resale markets have dropped dramatically since the Recession. What you loose on trade, you make for in sales price.

 

Whether you have a trade it or not the current economy and lack of cars sales give the buyer a lot of leverage to work a good deal. Selling the car privately won’t negatively affect that.

The only benefit to a trade-in is convenience. No dealer is going to give you the same price for a used car that you would get selling private, useless they recouped the loss from the sales price of the new car.

Always sell privately and negotiate the hell out of the new car price. That will always be your best savings.

 

The issue for me is that I bought the car 6 months ago for 15K plus 10% WA tax. That was a great price at the time and the car is in near-perfect shape. I owe $4000 more than the car is worth, so I'll be keeping it for a while. Like you say, it's not a beater.

I really wanted that C55, though. Maybe next year when there are a few more on the market and I am not upside-down on my car...

 

You car is worth more on resale without the mods.

 

depends on who's buying... as with most things, value is based on what someone is willing to pay... granted you lower the number of potential buyers with mods - but there could be someone willing to pay a decent price for a nicely (well thought out) modded car that they fall in love with when they drive it.

I can guarantee anyone interested in performance is going to be disappointed in driving a stock 03-06 sedan after driving (and seeing) my car. However, maybe the current market only is open to moms that want a grocery getter – in that case, stock will sell faster – and possibly a better strategy is de-mod, sell parts and rid of car stock (or close to stock).

To me the best bet is price reasonable based on mods and see if there is a taker… if not, time to pull parts off... this is why its always a good idea to keep your stock parts! Even if selling fully modded, the potential buyer would (should) love the idea that all OEM parts come with the car. (sux to have them taking up space though )

 

The G35 resale value sucks. I say take the trade in offer, yo!