I want to trade in my 06 Malibu on a 98 Jeep. I have about 4-5k in equity in my Malibu. When I get to the dealer is it better to negotiate the trade in price of my Malibu first or the purchase price of the jeep? If you think it is better to negotiate the price first, should I even mention that I’m thinking of trading in until negotiations are completed?
I’m interested in saving time at the dealer as well as money. I don’t want to get caught in the endless loop of “Let me check with my manager” situation as they try to wear me down that I could avoid if I can flat out tell them no off the bat if the numbers on either won’t work.
I’m thinking that it is probably better to negotiate the trade in first since I already know how much I am willing to pay for a particular jeep.
I don’t want to private sell to avoid the hassle and loose the sales tax advantage. I now take mass transit or my motorcycke to work so the jeep would only be used for fun stuff on the weekends.
Okay the problem with doing a private party sale is huge when selling a later model car. First of all I haven’t paid it off so I have to deal with the purchasers bank and my bank, take time off from work to do that, loose my vacation time, deal with the time on the weekends showing it. Making appts for people who never show up and ruin my weekends, etc. LOTS OF HASSLES, my time is worth something after all. Plus when you trade in a car that is worth more than the car you are buying you save SALES TAX, this is 10%, so on a $8000.00 vehicle that is $800.00, so yes my time is worth $700.00 not to deal with the hassles.