Car Max: Are They Crazy? My Truck Is Worth That Low?

[bb123]

Man, they are crazy. I went to car max for kicks and giggles and had them appraise my truck.

 

Those idiots offered me $15000! Are they serious? Has the value dropped that significantly on an 08 with 15K miles in terms of trade in value?

 

I know you need to make money as a dealer but damn.....

 

 

Looks like I'm getting my money out of it and keep it for quite some time to come...

 

 

 

 

.

[az'03Silverado]

That's their low-ball estimate of what they would give you as a trade-in value. It's low because of all of the administrative costs involved in re-selling your truck after they trade it. If you sold it privately, you can ask far more than that. Go to www.kbb.com and fill out all of the information and it will give you both 'private party' and 'trade-in' values on your truck.

Also, if they feel that any of your 'mods' have decreased the value, that will be reflected in their estimate.

[music]

Just curious, why would you expect Carmax to make you a fair offer... and why would anyone sell a used car that way? That's like taking your tools to the local pawn shop. The only reason (for me) to consider selling to a dealer is during a trade-in, and only then if the tax benefit makes up some of the lost $$.

[C. Charles Hahn]

Also, if they feel that any of your 'mods' have decreased the value, that will be reflected in their estimate.

 

That would be my bet. Most people don't like buying pre-modified vehicles when they don't know the quality of the aftermarket parts or the quality of the workmanship of the person that installed said parts.

[sonjaab]

KBB trade in value is only $17,900...................

 

ANY dealer is only gonna give you wholesale anyway on a straight trade for cash deal.

Or they gave you the low figure to give you the blowoff................

 

Possibly they saw your truck as a resale headache because of the mods......................

 

The possibilities are endless!

[pm26]

Dealers in general make a lot more money on used vehicles than on new ones, so naturally they will try to steal your truck. I found that you typically get better trade in value from smaller dealers who do not have much overhead. Huge chain dealerships are typically ones that rip you off the worst. At least here in Florida.

[cbr9rider]

I checked on trading in my 2010 with only 1500 miles the other day on a ltz. So they offered 27,000 from which I gave 33000 and some change for it less than a month ago. I was like no thanks, I'll just add a few more things to make it more of an LTZ.

[mdauwald]

CarMax in general does not like modified vehicles. I'm actually suprised you got an offer at all from them because I have heard of them turning down vehicles with fewer mods. I sold them a car once because they offered me 3K more than I was getting for trade in and it was so convenient. However, what I didn't know is that their check would take a full 7 business days to clear because it wasn't a real certified check even though they swear it is. As a result, you have to able to float the amount for a week or be able to wait if you are selling them a car and going to another dealer to buy one. That was my lesson learned

[Wingnut]

My experience with them is that they pretty much offer in the ballpark of what you'll get from a dealer on trade-in. But without having to fight for it.

 

My sister has bought a couple of cars from them...They seem to be pretty legit and straightforward with what they do (which I can't come close to saying about ANY other dealer I've ever set foot in). She's gotten great results from their warranty and service as well.

[nitrohorse]

My friend is a Service Manager at our local Chevy dealer. Problem with lifted trucks is that it limits the market for buyers. Most "older" guys will not look at a lifted truck. Thought is that the truck was used off road and possibly beat on by the prior owner. So the lift limits the market. Factor in debadging, etc., and the truck has limited appeal. It's all based on perception and personal taste, but for resale value, the vehicle is usually better off being left in it's stock configuration.

[zcs626]

youre better off parting it out, returning it to stock form and taking the profits from your parts and applying that along with your stock truck to a new vehicle.

[sppingel]

I have not heard of one fair offer from CarMax. I think here they offer 1/2 of private party value .

They offered me $4000 for a 2003 Explorer and I sold it for $7900. They offered me $6000 for a 2005 Volvo and I sold it for $11,500. The Volvo was a 6-speed and they said nobody wants a manual shift car so they would have to send it to the auction. IDIOTS.

 

You can almost always get more for your car by selling it yourself.

[OH1]

My friend is a Service Manager at our local Chevy dealer. Problem with lifted trucks is that it limits the market for buyers. Most "older" guys will not look at a lifted truck. Thought is that the truck was used off road and possibly beat on by the prior owner. So the lift limits the market. Factor in debadging, etc., and the truck has limited appeal. It's all based on perception and personal taste, but for resale value, the vehicle is usually better off being left in it's stock configuration.

 

This.... I like the way lifted trucks look but.... I makes it harder to get stuff in and out of the bed. It can be hard enough to load/unload around/over a ton of gravel, dirt, etc... with a shovel. Add a lift, makes it twice as hard.

 

 

I have thought about lifting my truck but I have not for my reasons above.

[dogzapper]

My friend is a Service Manager at our local Chevy dealer. Problem with lifted trucks is that it limits the market for buyers. Most "older" guys will not look at a lifted truck. Thought is that the truck was used off road and possibly beat on by the prior owner. So the lift limits the market. Factor in debadging, etc., and the truck has limited appeal. It's all based on perception and personal taste, but for resale value, the vehicle is usually better off being left in it's stock configuration.

 

This.... I like the way lifted trucks look but.... I makes it harder to get stuff in and out of the bed. It can be hard enough to load/unload around/over a ton of gravel, dirt, etc... with a shovel. Add a lift, makes it twice as hard.

 

 

I have thought about lifting my truck but I have not for my reasons above.

 

 

 

I'm 67 years old and recently sold a perfectly good 2006 Chevy 2500HD Duramax/Allison CC/SB LT-3 truck for exactly the reasons you state. It was simply too high for this old fart to get into, to get out of and to manuver stuff in the bed.

 

I hated the 2500HD and put a whopping 6,000 miles on it in four years.

 

Now, I have a half-ton truck and totally LOVE it. I can easily get into and out of it and messing with stuff in the bed is a snap.

 

Lifted trucks are for young folks ... but never forget that older folks have more expendable income.

 

Hey, you pay the fiddler if you want to dance.

 

Steve

[Reject]

Back in 01, my friend and I took my two week old 2001 WS6 TransAm (sticker price on the car was 33,xxx) to CarMax because we were bored. They offered me 14,xxx for it and it only had 1000 miles on it.