Crazy car inflation! Boats Too!

[Midniteoyl]

They only give you what they think they can recoop at auction... If they can sale it for more, cool, but if they cant, they are still not out money.

 

[sld]

My Ford dealer lets me sell mine outright and for 100 bucks they run it through as a trade in for the selling price. Saves quite a bit of tax money sometimes and they do all the title and tag work on the spot.

 

[Midniteoyl]

My Ford dealer lets me sell mine outright and for 100 bucks they run it through as a trade in for the selling price. Saves quite a bit of tax money sometimes and they do all the title and tag work on the spot.

So.. how do they deal with the fact that they have a 'ghost car' in inventory that they need to pay taxes on?

 

[westcliffe01]

People, gas prices have been back close to the all time highs here. We have seen $4.20/gal for diesel in the last few weeks in MI. This week it is down below $4 again. But lets face it, gas is a major expense today. Even with the new "gas saving" cars introduced the last few years, they were all expensive, many over the $20k mark. So the fact is that the only "cheap" economical used cars you can find today are the Korean Imports (Kia and Hyundai). I got a 2008 Kia Rio with 140k miles on it for $3800 last year. The thing was well maintained by the first owner who did over 150 miles per day commuting into Detroit, then another 1 year being driven by an absolute pig teenager (key scratches all over, pop etc spilt over everything, never cleaned etc etc.

But it gets 35mpg easy, and runs like a top and I am cleaning it up bit by bit. The previous one I had was a 2002 Kia Spectra that I paid $2700 for and then immediately paid another $300 to replace the chipped and cracked windshield. That was sold for just less than what I psid for it, 100k later. Common denominator in both cars - STICK SHIFT. Most buyers don't want one. Accept that and you can find a few bargains if you hold out a bit.

KBB and other publications cannot and does not react to economic changes like gas doubling in price which is what it did from 2008 to now.

 

[Larro Darro]

Once in a while you can still find a deal. I just wired $17.7K for a Camry LE with 3900 miles on it. Thanks to Kevin [no trespassing] for the tip. It was a leased car that had got rear ended, bought at auction and repaired. It is in Indiana, so it has to be shipped to Florida. But even with shipping and paying a local dealer to handle all paperwork, it is only $21K after taxes.

I hope this is the last car I have to buy for fifteen or twenty years.

 

[sld]

So.. how do they deal with the fact that they have a 'ghost car' in inventory that they need to pay taxes on?

They give me my selling price for trade in and the new buyer buys it from them for 100 bucks more than I sold it for. They are basically breaking even on the trade but selling a new vehicle at the same time.

The buyers receipt shows the sale is from the dealer. This buyer, who has been a buddy the only times I have done it, is there at the same time and drives away with my old truck while I'm in the new one.

 

[ultrarunner]

We never inflated sales figures... would not even know how to do it and the family car business has been in the same location since 1942

Most of the figures in KBB are derived from auctions.

Also, many do not take the time to understand the nuances.

Then there are regional variations... some cars would be at book... some several hundred back of book, etc.

Every so often odd cars would come in like Rovers, Renaults, Peugeots, etc and we simply were not interested regardless of book... just didn't have a viable market.

Cash for clunkers eliminated a tremendous amount of inventory and the value of the dollar has fallen... just look at interest rates.

 

[ultrarunner]

The Kid, I agree 100%! I have never traded a vehicle in. I sell all my vehicles myself. I used to use the newspaper, then Autotrader, and for the last 5 years or so I have used Craigslist. I never understood people that trade in vehicles, you can easily make thousands of dollars by selling it yourself. Even if you need it gone quick, price it that way and you will still make more then what a dealer will give for a trade.
Dave

In some states only the difference between trade in and purchase price is taxable.

Convenience is the number one reason for most... and Dealers make mistakes... just happened to a friend when she traded in her F150 on a new Jeep...

The trade in allowance was unbelievable... I checked and her new car was not inflated.

The Dealer screwed up and discovered the problem two days later and she was on vacation with her new car...

The long and short is they wanted to rewrite the deal and her reply was you can have your jeep back when I get my truck back plus costs... they no longer had her truck...

Fear of dealing with strangers is a big factor here in the Bay Area... too many shady deals that make the news.

 

[JDgreen227]

In some states only the difference between trade in and purchase price is taxable.

Convenience is the number one reason for most... and Dealers make mistakes... just happened to a friend when she traded in her F150 on a new Jeep...

The trade in allowance was unbelievable... I checked and her new car was not inflated.

The Dealer screwed up and discovered the problem two days later and she was on vacation with her new car...

The long and short is they wanted to rewrite the deal and her reply was you can have your jeep back when I get my truck back plus costs... they no longer had her truck...

Fear of dealing with strangers is a big factor here in the Bay Area... too many shady deals that make the news.

Here in Michigan the policy has ALWAYS been that you pay FULL SALES TAX on the new vehicle regardless of a trade in until very recently...meaning if your new one cost $40,000 and your trade in was valued at $39,999 YOU STILL PAID the full 6% sales tax on the new vehicle. What a farce.

 

[bdeboer]

Here in Michigan the policy has ALWAYS been that you pay FULL SALES TAX on the new vehicle regardless of a trade in until very recently...meaning if your new one cost $40,000 and your trade in was valued at $39,999 YOU STILL PAID the full 6% sales tax on the new vehicle. What a farce.

In Ohio you only pay the tax on the balance left after the trade for new vehicles. Usually that difference makes up my mind up over purchasing slightly used or selling myself.