Need a car valued?

[TexasHusker]

I used to have a car dealership, and still have my membership at Manheim Auto Auctions. Manheim has auctions throughout the country, and most franchise dealerships buy and sell at Manheim.

I can give you the going rate for your car or a car you are looking at.

Just post it on this thread.

Here are the rules:

- Only 2009 and newer (I can't get solid numbers on older cars)
- Need the color
- Need the miles
- Need HONEST condition of car - GOOD/FAIR/ROUGH
- Need the trim (SE, XLE, Limited, etc.)

[Budget Kitty]

We've always used Kelley Blue Book to get an idea of our car's trade-in value. Is Manheim significantly different?

[TexasHusker]

We've always used Kelley Blue Book to get an idea of our car's trade-in value. Is Manheim significantly different?

It is. KBB values are all over the place - I've never been able to make rhyme-or-reason of it.

Dealers use those type of publications when it is to their advantage. They will have KBB, Edmunds, and NADA in their drawer. When valuing your trade-in, and you insist on "the blue blook", they will pull out whichever book shows your car worth the least. And vice versa.

[phantom]

Do you have any suggestions on getting fair values on older cars? I recently traded in a 2004 and felt felt like I was probably ripped off. The dealer claimed that it payed the best offer between what their internal guy said and the Kelly Blue Book private sale value. But, when they entered the information into their KBB dealer portal, it came back saying that KBB couldn't give an estimate because the car was too old, so we were stuck with what their internal guy said. We briefly considered trying out luck with a private sale, but decided we'd rather just be rid of the car.

[disneysteve]

Do you also need to know where someone is? Don't prices vary by location?

[TexasHusker]

Do you also need to know where someone is? Don't prices vary by location?

Unless it's an exotic car i.e. Ferrari, location doesn't make much difference.

[TexasHusker]

Do you have any suggestions on getting fair values on older cars? I recently traded in a 2004 and felt felt like I was probably ripped off. The dealer claimed that it payed the best offer between what their internal guy said and the Kelly Blue Book private sale value. But, when they entered the information into their KBB dealer portal, it came back saying that KBB couldn't give an estimate because the car was too old, so we were stuck with what their internal guy said. We briefly considered trying out luck with a private sale, but decided we'd rather just be rid of the car.

With cars older than 10 years old, you are truly moving into a realm of "it's worth what someone will give you for it." That is because conditions of the vehicles can vary widely. Example: I sold my dad's 1994 Toyota SR5 pickup for $10,000 with 160K on the odometer. But it was kept in very good condition. Most 1994 pickups are scrap heaps and are worth a couple $ thousand.

I bought my son a 2005 Toyota Tacoma two years ago with around 150K on the odometer. The "books" all said I should be able to buy one for $5 or 6K. Good luck with that. I ended up buying one for $9K and I felt like that was an exceptional deal - good used Toyota pickups are just hard to find.

We will be selling it next summer when we buy him a nicer "college" car, but it will bring approximately what I gave for it.

The consumer books are better than nothing for these cars, but prices can vary widely due to condition and demand. Demand on older used cars - nice ones - goes up in the spring, at the end of summer, and at the first of the year.

[TexasHusker]

Funny story as a side note:

Everyone remember Obama's genius "Cash for clunkers" offer? This was where the gubmit would "give" you credit of anywhere from $3500 to $4000 if you traded in your "clunker" so you could buy a new, fuel efficient car.

This program was an unmitigated disaster for the working poor: It removed hundreds of thousands of inexpensive cars from car lots that folks could afford. If you will recall, the gubmit required dealers to take those clunkers and RUIN them. The gubmit would GIVE the auto dealer up to $4K cash from the treasury (real dollars) to trade for the car, and then take that WORKING car and DESTROY it.

So the net effect was, you couldn't buy a good used car for a couple $ thousand any more. A good used car now cost you $5-6K because there just weren't many cars available!

At our lot, we would try to buy affordable, low-end cars at auction to sell to folks making an hourly wage, and the prices at the auctions skyrocketed because so many cars vanished from inventory!

This is a pure example of an over-active gubmit interjecting itself into a free-market economy in an effort to "make things better." Rarely does that work. Politicians and utopian idealists using the country as their personal basement laboratory usually has profound consequences.

[Thrif-t]

I hate to be that person, but it worked for me. We had a 24 year old conversion van that was just getting unreliable to drive except for short distances. We actually got $4500 for it and put it towards a new Honda Odyssey. We would've never been able to buy a new minivan without that program.

But ya I get it, I'm only one person. It wasn't good for the greater good.

[TexasHusker]

I hate to be that person, but it worked for me. We had a 24 year old conversion van that was just getting unreliable to drive except for short distances. We actually got $4500 for it and put it towards a new Honda Odyssey. We would've never been able to buy a new minivan without that program.

But ya I get it, I'm only one person. It wasn't good for the greater good.

The program worked great for middle class folks, but it was crushing to the poor.

Just think, that 24 year old van...the gubmit BOUGHT IT and then turned around and DESTROYED IT. Why not DONATE THE THING to someone who really needs a car? Instead, the GUBMIT took hundreds of thousands of cheap cars off the market, driving the price of otherwise affordable cars through the roof for working class folk.

Unintended consequences.

[Thrif-t]

The program worked great for middle class folks, but it was crushing to the poor.

Just think, that 24 year old van...the gubmit BOUGHT IT and then turned around and DESTROYED IT. Why not DONATE THE THING to someone who really needs a car? Instead, the GUBMIT took hundreds of thousands of cheap cars off the market, driving the price of otherwise affordable cars through the roof for working class folk.

Unintended consequences.

Yes you are right, we were very sad to think our beloved van was going to be squashed. We took some good road trips in that thing, it was the best!

[TexasHusker]

Yes you are right, we were very sad to think our beloved van was going to be squashed. We took some good road trips in that thing, it was the best!

How Obama got a free pass on something so absurd, I'll never understand.

[greenskeeper]

The program worked great for middle class folks, but it was crushing to the poor.

Just think, that 24 year old van...the gubmit BOUGHT IT and then turned around and DESTROYED IT. Why not DONATE THE THING to someone who really needs a car? Instead, the GUBMIT took hundreds of thousands of cheap cars off the market, driving the price of otherwise affordable cars through the roof for working class folk.

Unintended consequences.

AND overpaid by about 10x what the van was actually worth!

[TexasHusker]

AND overpaid by about 10x what the van was actually worth!

Haha, exactly. And for more governmental/vehicle comedy, don't miss this beauty of a thread. Long live Obama!

https://www.savingadvice.com/forums/personal-finance-news-articles-blog-posts/86472-do-hybrid-cars-evs-really-save-you-money.html#post464525

[QuarterMillionMan]

can you run mines it's 2007;

Dodge Dakota automatic
120,000
Very good condition
Color: white
Club cab SLT
V-6, 2.6 L
Air condition