Only if you have money to throw away.

make sure the $3500 eco credit is factored in.

for perspective,

This strikes me as a *not bad* price...if the car was new.

So, perhaps deduct the appropriate depreciation and loss of 7000 miles warranty and use.

Also and FWIW, the car you describe maxes out at KBB with a tradin value of about $39K, so I think they are at least 6K too high.

You are getting raped. Please do the following:

- Get the invoice price of a new 335d on www.bmwconfig.com.
- Add $500 to that price for dealer profit
- Subtract all current incentives (eco credit, November drive credit, owner loyalty credit, etc.)
This will give you your target price on a NEW car.

Now subtract $0.20c per mile for depreciation...

This is what you should pay for the car.

Black 328xi said:

Recently had my 328xi at the dealer for a laundry list of service items. I was fortunate enough to be given a "d" as a loaner. Needless to say the car was awesome. I spoke with my CA and asked her to work up some numbers to trade for the service loaner which they just listed for sale. Here are the particulars:

My trade:
2008 CPO 328xi sdn, Premium, Cold Weather, Nav, Auto 42,000 miles (just off warranty, start CPO) - KBB trade in value- $22,000

"New"
2011 335d Premium, Cold Weather, Nav, 7k miles, service loaner

I only spoke briefly with my CA about the deal. Bottom line was my car plus $23,000 (out the door price, t/t and bs included).

What's your thoughts on the deal? A few of my reservations about the deal are losing the AWD for the winter which we are going into and I don't drive very many miles per year (should I even bother going with a "d")

Thanks

Click to expand...

I would double that depreciation figure. $1400 for a service loaner seems very low.

Matt_UKTX said:

You are getting raped. Please do the following:

Now subtract $0.20c per mile for depreciation...

Click to expand...

Thats à Nice car wow

Yes, you're right... Not sure what I was thinking. Use the IRS mileage rate. It's as good as any

TeddyBGame said:

I would double that depreciation figure. $1400 for a service loaner seems very low.

Click to expand...

7000 miles is about half a year's use. I'd say a new car depreciates about 20% the first year, so about half that, or 10% seems like a reasonable discount for this vehicle.

Just keep in mind that fuel savings based on MPG improvements will only be in the $100's per year, at best. So if you're considering the d based on torque, drivability and the fact that it's a newer car, then that's one thing and certainly an attractive option (as you've found out ). But based on economy, it's probably not the right move. If you're able to get away with all season tires on your xi now, you'll also need to factor in the cost of a set of snow tires (and probably wheels).

Graham

All. Thank you for the responses. Gave me some good information to look into to get a better deal. Dealer also has two more that are brand new.

If you want a better deal, sell your car yourself. DO NOT TRADE IT IN.

True this is, except check each state law. in Ohio, the trade in value is subtracted from the sale price for sales tax calculation, and this price advantage accrues to the benefit of doing business with the dealer. For example, in this case (if it were in Ohio) a $23,000 tradein would save over $1500 in tax, a not insignificant part of any expected gain from a private sale, with obviously a lot less hassle or risk.

cssnms said:

If you want a better deal, sell your car yourself. DO NOT TRADE IT IN.

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+1 ! When I did a trade-in recently, it didn't make sense to sell it on my own given a reasonable trade value, significant tax savings and the guarantee that I wouldn't be making two car payments concurrently.

SteveGu said:

True this is, except check each state law. in Ohio, the trade in value is subtracted from the sale price for sales tax calculation, and this price advantage accrues to the benefit of doing business with the dealer. For example, in this case (if it were in Ohio) a $23,000 tradein would save over $1500 in tax, a not insignificant part of any expected gain from a private sale, with obviously a lot less hassle or risk.

Click to expand...

Make no mistake, trade-in value will be just that, trade-in value, which more often than not is in the range of 10-15+% below what one could sell their car for to a private party. That % gain in sale price will more than off-set any tax benefit and depending on how much the seller owes the bank should have money left over to apply to a downpayment on the new vehicle.

If the dealer is giving you more than trade-in it's only because you are getting screwed on the sale price of the new car. The best thing anyone can do that is even considering trading in their car is to negotiate a sale price before you inform the dealer you have a trade. Start the negotiation at dealer invoice NOT MSRP and go from there. Once you agree to a sale price bring in the trade and see how good of deal they offer you.

This is good advice, too, although I might note that in conversation with dealers the last couple of years (& YMMV, of course), the common approach seems to be that however you negotiate the purchase price, they will offer the same price with or without a tradein, excepting very rare instances (such as a highly-desirable model of the brand they represent). Almost exclusively the bottom line on tradedin cars is the auction value, and the same amount will be offered by just about any dealer of any make.

cssnms said:

Make no mistake, trade-in value will be just that, trade-in value, which more often than not is in the range of 10-15+% below what one could sell their car for to a private party. That % gain in sale price will more than off-set any tax benefit and depending on how much the seller owes the bank should have money left over to apply to a downpayment on the new vehicle.

If the dealer is giving you more than trade-in it's only because you are getting screwed on the sale price of the new car. The best thing anyone can do that is even considering trading in their car is to negotiate a sale price before you inform the dealer you have a trade. Start the negotiation at dealer invoice NOT MSRP and go from there. Once you agree to a sale price bring in the trade and see how good of deal they offer you.

Click to expand...

My own example:

Traded in 2010 335d: received $35,500 towards purchase of 2012 328xiT.

MD 6% tax savings: $2100

I did the trade in early September and the car then appeared on the dealer's lot for $39,900. Some reconditioning was needed: small divot on rear bumper and replacement front windshield (chipped).

Edmunds TMV "Clean condition" is:

Trade-in $35,508
Private Party Sale $37,956
Dealer Retail $40,277

Those figures are almost to the dollar the same as my trade in credit and the current dealer retail price. So assuming I had instead tried to sell the car myself, I would have asked about $38,000. Lets also assume that eventually I sell the car for my asking price of $38,000 (a big assumption). The net increase to me is only $400. If I had paid to advertise the car, took off work to show the car, and/or paid insurance and possibly car payments for any length of time I would be quickly upside down compared to taking the dealer's trade in offer. And if I were to accept even a slightly lower offer, then I would have done worse then taking the trade offer.

Every situation is different of course, but this was a real eye-opener for me, as until now I've ALWAYS sold my cars myself after laughing at the dealer's trade offer. The used car market is a lot different now then it's been in the past, even at the (relatively) higher end of the scale.

Graham

Why would a dealer tell you otherwise? That's what they want you to believe. Dealers LOVE trade-ins because more often than not they make more money on the new car sale as well as a handsome profit on the trade-in.

SteveGu said:

This is good advice, too, although I might note that in conversation with dealers the last couple of years (& YMMV, of course), the common approach seems to be that however you negotiate the purchase price, they will offer the same price with or without a tradein, excepting very rare instances (such as a highly-desirable model of the brand they represent). Almost exclusively the bottom line on tradedin cars is the auction value, and the same amount will be offered by just about any dealer of any make.

Click to expand...

You're right of course, but in this case this was the conversation after I did exactly as you suggested. I negotiated a cash price, then presented my tradein. Plainly they told me that from their point of view (new-car salesman), they didn't care whether I traded in a car or not, and that the net difference would be identical either way. Perhaps the used car department "cared", but they would offer the same amount even if I wasn't trading in (I did this too, and the dealer had no problem with it, just wrote me a check).

cssnms said:

Why would a dealer tell you otherwise? That's what they want you to believe. Dealers LOVE trade-ins because more often than not they make more money on the new car sale as well as a handsome profit on the trade-in.

Click to expand...

When I looked into trading in my car a month or two ago I was offered $28.6k once the tax savings was factored in. At the time I figured I'd been lucky to sell it for $30k. Perhaps I just have a low opinion of my cars worth but at those numbers I sure was not motivated to deal with trying to sell a car over trading in. But I kind of dread selling cars and dealing with everyone trying to talk me down.