[mjposner]

I am thinking of returning to an M, and I am trying to judge the value of a 6k miles Melbourne Red Metallic M235i with HK system, six speed manual, premium and tech package. Warranty until 5/18; $49,900 out the door.

Extras include full tint; black gloss grills, sport pedals, laser jammer.

Thanks


P.S. Two dealers have offered 40k (plu sin Florida I save $2,400 in sales tax)

[jeremicium]

I'd at least try selling it private party. What does KBB, Edmunds, and Nada say it's worth? $9k in depreciation seems like a lot to me.

[Lucky13]

That's not really $9k in depreciation, that's wholesale vs retail.

[jeremicium]

OK, so not $9k in depreciation. How about you offer up something that helps the OP?

[Diver]

I think $40k on a trade in is a good deal, provided the dealer isn't trying to make it back up by charging to much on the new car side of the deal.

[Delnari]

Sounds right for a dealer trade who needs to markup the resale 15% for overhead and profit margin. You could get some of you money back on the new sale of a new BMW by going ED.

[Alpine F31]

Your car is hot right now, I wouldn't trade it in. If you sell it yourself, obviously you wont get $49K for it but you should easily get more than $40. If the dealer is offering you $40 then the retail should be somewhere between $43K and $45K. That would be my target sales price.

Good luck.

[Diver]

Originally Posted by Alpine F31

Your car is hot right now, I wouldn't trade it in. If you sell it yourself, obviously you wont get $49K for it but you should easily get more than $40. If the dealer is offering you $40 then the retail should be somewhere between $43K and $45K. That would be my target sales price.

Good luck.

But the OP said he would save $2400 in sales tax, so a private sale doesn't look so much better unless it comes in at the high end and for that much money you better be real careful about where and how you close.

[IM2C]

$7,500 for 6 months is the price you pay if you want a new car after 6 months.

I've been there. It's a nut kicker but obviously it's bugging you and it's all about intangibles. Enjoy your new M!

[Vervain]

That seems like a steep drop to me

[Lucky13]

Originally Posted by jeremicium

OK, so not $9k in depreciation. How about you offer up something that helps the OP?

Didn't have to since everyone agreed with me. The OP knows the difference between retail and wholesale. $40K wholesale is probably $43-44K for the dealer. How does telling the OP it's $9K in depreciation help? I'm pretty sure he can do math if he can afford a $50K car.

[mjposner]

Edmunds says:

Trade-In Private Party Dealer Retail

$37,559 $39,725 $41,803

Nada does not have the M235i listed as used

KBB nothing either

I figured best I could get would be 43-44, but if ot takes two months I eat $1,200 in payments, so, $42,240 with tax isn't too bad.

[DanG]

Originally Posted by mjposner

Edmunds says:

Trade-In Private Party Dealer Retail

$37,559 $39,725 $41,803

Nada does not have the M235i listed as used

KBB nothing either

I figured best I could get would be 43-44, but if ot takes two months I eat $1,200 in payments, so, $42,240 with tax isn't too bad.

I agree. You won't make enough on private sale to offset the sales tax savings.

[Jason29]

I think the dealer is lowballing you a bit. I get the tax credit deal and that is hard to beat when trading for a new car. Believe me, I have been there. However, if you look at the Manheim auto auction transactions on these cars right now (see attached picture), they are generally selling for around $44k. These are wholesale auction sales. They should be giving you closer to that in trade, in my opinion.

If nothing else, maybe you can use this info to get your trade value up a bit. As with most deals, there is the new car price and trade value side of the equation. Hopefully, they are giving you a good deal on the new M if they are stealing the trade. Otherwise, you may want to continue to shop around.

[mjposner]

Thanks Jason, wish I had that info before. The started at 38k, I countered at 41k, they refused to go over 40k. Another dealer had same offer.

[Cripple]

I'm in the same boat, as much as I wanted this car to feel like a true M as months go on I find myself asking why did I purchase this vehicle.

A lot of hype, I suppose.

Dealers are giving me about 15% less than what I paid.

[WWM]

When you trade-in a car like this to the dealer they will always lowball you and rarely will they improve their offer to be more in-line with what the retail market looks like. If a car is retailing for $45k, you would think a trade-in offer of 42-43k would be reasonable, but no. They will offer 40k and then sell it for 43k undercutting the market to try and sell the car quickly. I've traded in many cars and this exact thing has happened every time. Also, selling privately is a waste of time as the tax savings when trading it in are too large to ignore. 13% is hard to make up on the private market and it never seems to be worth the time and effort.

[GMe90]

Your best bet is to buy another car from the same dealer. Then you can make them give you $43-$44k. Granted you will probably get taken a bit more on the new M that you buy, but you will probably not want to sell that for a while, so t doesn't matter. When they know you are serious about making the transaction, they will give you a couple grand more to close the gap. Also, first negotiate the price of the car you want, then tell them you want to trade yours in after you get the price down on the new one.

[TAY TAY]

The dealer most likely looked at Manheim auctions before offering you a price.

[Steven1077]

I just lost the best part of $18k on my 435i trading it in, bought it April and it's done less than 2k miles, the dealer showed me a BMW app on his computer thats gives the value BMW are willing to pay and that was it, he said his hands were tied, maybe things are different over there?

[w3rkn]

Originally Posted by mjposner

Thanks Jason, wish I had that info before. The started at 38k, I countered at 41k, they refused to go over 40k. Another dealer had same offer.

M235i are going to have a price reduction in the spring... these dealer know this and are hedging themselves.