I've been trying to sell my A4 for some months now.<p>No takers. So I go to my local Nissan dealer to trade (I need a truck for work). I have to move the car! He offers me $23,500. Book on the car is $27,000. Retail is $31,000. i told him he was crazy!!!!!!<p>So I call the dealer where I purchased the car and it turns out he's the one that offered $23,500. An Audi dealer that won't even make book on a vehicle he sold? What doe's this say for Audi?<p>Damn life sucks!<p>I'm takin' bids! Do I here 24,000?<p>The car is a loaded 98 2.8 Quattro 5-speed. Purchased new by me in June of 1997. First 2.8 5v my dealer had.<p>Later,<p>Mack

They won't stay in business very long. 8^) You'll take a major hit in the wallet selling/trading a car within the first couple of years anyway. BTDT.<p>CraigB

since when does a dealer sell a car at book/wholesale?<p>Mack "still pissed!"

Try advertising it on www.yahoo.com. They have a huge classified section.<p>db

Actually that's about right. I know it hurts, but if you buy a car, and try to sell it one year later, you're going to take a loss. Your best option is to sell it in the paper directly to another person. If you trade it in, expect to get around $3000 less for the car than if you sold it. Also what book are you talking about? Kelly Blue Book? Depending on where you are, their values can be a little inflated. Good luck.<p>Brad Franklin

I tried to trade-in my '94 Integra GS-R sedan, and wasn't even offered loan value! My mistake was that I waited too long to try and sell it myself. A couple who are friends of mine bought it from me for slightly below book value. A somewhat happy ending: They got a great deal, plus I get to see the old rice-burner in the company lot everyday!<p>I guess all this begs the question: Where the hell do they get book values if NO ONE is willing to buy for book? Are these numbers kept handy for the insurance industry?

...from a business perspective.<br>You know "high book" is $31k, and your chances of getting that, no matter what condition your car is in, are slim. You know "wholesale book" is $27k, which is basically the lowest price you'd deem acceptable. So, if you were selling it in the pre-owned market you would set your price within that range, and somewhere between $27-31k would be good, right?<br>Now why would the dealer give you anywhere close to market valu, when *he* now has to sell the car in that same price range? That's why you almost always loose in a trade-in situation. He's got NO incentive to give you market value, regardless of whether it's a model he sells. It has nothing to do with how the dealer feels about his product. He'd probably love to have a low mileage preowned 2.8 on his lot, but he isn't going to do it at the expense of earning a buck.<p>Rob O<br>Again, I generally dislike dealer practices and think the entire automotive sales business model sucks.<br>

Why on the earth would you trade in a car? You can sell it privately and 9.9 times out of 10 get more money. Dealers are scumbags, don't deal with them if you don't have to. You know how cars depreciate such and such a percentage when you drive it off the lot. Buying new cars and selling them a year or two later is one of the best ways to throw money away. Sorry my friend, but it's a cold hard reality.<br>

Dealer offered me 8.5K on a trade, I sold the car in two days at 13.5K. (Interestingly enough, this made my Audi salesguy quite uncomfortable! I had exposed a raw nerve. All I'd thought I'd done was sell the car for around Blue Book.) <p>He'll offer you wholesale, at best, since he won't want to keep the car - he may try to skim some past that. Retail is a different story...as I found out. If you can afford it *don't* trade a car, unless you can use the trade as an incentive on the price - even then, I'd count on being taken for thousands.<p>The dealers don't give a whack about the "real" value of the trade - they just care how and when and for how much (in reverse order) they can sell the beast - to another dealer, usually.<p>--Greg<br>

Mack, just for you to feel better, the BMW dealer offered me $18k for 98 A4 1.8Tm with convenience, sport steering and Santorin, 4.5k miles on it (10 months old). That was only 1k more than I owed on the car. The "black" book value of the car, i.e., wholesale was 23k, and maybe I would think about it, because I believe that the car is worth 24.5K (it still looks new). Well, them being a**holes, they lost an opportunity to earn some money + money that I would be paying for service, etc.<p>Next time, I will lease.

Mack, where are you located?

The book dealers use is called Galves, in the NE, what is the milage on your car? Is it a quattro? If you look at NADA the relavant figure is average loan value, this will be closest to dealer wholesale, if the dealer can't borrow at least 80% of the sale price from a bank they will have trouble moving it and so will you.<br>The numbers from the dealer sound about right, and I know you will not believe me, but add 2000 to his niumber and thats what you should ask selling it on your own. I know all you basement car dealers out there will flame me again, but if you think this car is worth $27,000 to 31,000, then you write him a check! Mack,if you don't believe me then try selling at your numbers and after 6 or seven months of BS offers you'll know what the car is worth. 23,400, wholesale is a strong number for a two year old car, depending on miles and equip. Why would any one pay you $27,000 to 31,000 for a two year old car when for a little more they can get new, but I was only in the Automobile sales business for 11 years, what do I know?

Wholesale book values are based on actual sale prices at dealer car auctions. Most dealers view them as a guide and adjust up or down based on the cars condition, their local market, and bank loan value books. Bank loan values are based on similar values with the added factor of risk. If the bank will not loan at least 80% of the sale price a buyer will have to come up with a large down payment to cover the amount the bank will not. This will be seen by the dealer as a risk and they will offer less on a risky car, like an expensive convertable in fall, they only sell in the NE (for the most part), in spring.Other factors come into play but those are the main ones.

You are locked in for a fixed term; you still have a payout value to contend with... just seems like you're comparing apples & oranges by thinking a lease will make a difference. Remember, a lease is just another way of saying that you agree to pay, in monthly installments, to finance the difference between a purchase price [capitalized cost] and a set sale price (residual price) at the end of the lease. I have never analyzed an auto transaction, except for factory subsidized leases, where leasing was less expensive than paying cash (least total expense generally) or getting decent rate financing. I lucky enough to be able to always pay cash and "pay myself back" (put in my bank account each month what I would've paid in principal & interest if I had the car loan).

:(<br>

Mileage: 24,600<p>Options as listed on the original sticker are:<p>1. Leather upholstery/seats are similar to the 1.8 sports seats but<br>not exactly the same<br>2. All Weather package<br>3. Glass Sunroof / Remote Locking Package<br>4. Sports Package<br>5. Quattro<br>6. Trip Computer<p>The car is a 5-speed. Still has the balance of 3 year 50,000 mile<br>warranty and all scheduled maintenance paid.<p>One small paint imperfection on the front bumper. No dents or dings<br>anywhere.<p>The car is not equipped with the Bose sound system because I listened<br>to both at purchase and didn't feel it was worth the premium they were<br>asking. The standard concert radio sounds great to me. As far as I<br>know that's the only option the car doesn't have on it.<p>The car is a lease vehicle. Leased through my company HomeWerks,llc.<br>We are a construction company and I'm having a hard time getting those<br>2x4's and sheets of plywood in the back seat!!!!!!!!<p>In all seriousness ,the car has been well maintained (have all<br>records) and is in<br>great shape cosmetically, it just doesn't fill my needs any more. It<br>was actually the first 2.8 my dealer had in June of 1997. I'm a my<br>motivated seller. If you are seriously interested make me a reasonable<br>offer and the car is yours I just need to move it.<p><p>Thanks<p><br>Mack Fraser<br>HomeWerkes,<br>

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