Dealership Offering to Buy Car?

[OverX]

Hey guys,

Since this is my first new car, I have been hearing from people that when you buy a new car it is common for the dealership to call you in 1-3 years and making an offer to buy your car from you. I have also heard from a friend who's a car salesman that a "bad salesman" will not make this call.

Has anybody experienced this before? If so did they make a decent offer?

(Not that i want to sell my Si, but i'm definitely curious as to how common it actually is)

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[solar]

Never heard of a dealer doing that, but if they did I can tell you that I am 100% sure they will give you a much much lower offer than market value. They’re just trying to get you to trade in your car for a new one. Anything a Dealership does is to make a profit period, they’re some of the most scrupulous businesses out there.

 

[OverX]

Never heard of a dealer doing that, but if they did I can tell you that I am 100% sure they will give you a much much lower offer than market value. They’re just trying to get you to trade in your car for a new one. Anything a Dealership does is to make a profit period, they’re some of the most scrupulous businesses out there.

That has always been my assumption to... Thanks for the response!

 

[freddy finance]

Many dealerships do this in order to boost their sales and acquire a good trade in for their used car lot. Dealers rely on special software platforms that analyse their customer data in order to zero in on customers who might be willing to trade in, criteria includes equity position, km driven and current trade value. These parameters are used to determine if a new similar model can be had for the same payment or less. Customers that are flagged are invited to bring their vehicle to the dealership for evaluation and quite a few people go for it especially now with new safety and connectivity features are being added more frequently.

I know this because I work in the car business, and dealers and manufacturers are always looking for ways to shorten the trade cycle, that's why short term leases are favoured by car makers.

I personally like to keep my cars at least 10 years; being a finance guy I know that math, most of the depreciation occurs within the first 2 to 3 years so if you repeat that cycle at least 3 times in 10 years immagine how much you waste. Remember freight,PDI and all the up front costs are gone the moment you sign.

 

[PhilF]

Sales tactic, salespeople trolling existing customers, lots of people trade between 3-5 years from boredom or desire for newer technology, trying to shuffle the deck, move new cars & get saleable used cars. It's a pushy technique, I don't find it appealing, most really good salespeople get repeat customers by working at a dealership that has excellent levels of service that build a strong customer base and by dealing honestly & fairly. A more honest approach would be a call asking if you are still enjoying your car. All that being a given, I know a lot of Honda owners who are loyal to the brand, and regularly trade in or up. We have 3 large Honda dealers within 15 miles, it's a pretty competitive market, 2 have excellent service, one is kinda "meh". The only calls I've had from mine have been to ask if I was satisfied with the service.

 

[civicdabest-foo]

They're very good at screwing you on trade-ins. On 2-3 yr old CivicX's they're looking to make between $2k-$4k profit depending on trim so you can imagine how much they're interested in pulling you in for a trade-in and refreshing their used inventory.

Never heard of a dealer doing that, but if they did I can tell you that I am 100% sure they will give you a much much lower offer than market value. They’re just trying to get you to trade in your car for a new one. Anything a Dealership does is to make a profit period, they’re some of the most scrupulous businesses out there.

They're both scrupulous and unscrupulous

 

[civicdabest-foo]

To give you an idea of how a stealership is looking to profit on a trade-in on a 2-3 yr old CivicX that's almost new and is closing in on the end of the 3 yr warranty, depending on trim, between $2k-4k CDN, and a refreshment to their lot. In Canada, the Civic is probably the easiest used car to sell privately and you can get better than trade-in from your private sale.

Dealers love to bullshit you when they try to pull you in for a quick sale:
1. "We only make $500 on selling each car"
2. "On your current vehicle, tyre tread life is about 30%"
3. "The MSRP listed on the Honda website is just an estimate, for our customers we add a block heater, all weather mats, and a full inspection on used inventory"
4. "What number do you want to write on the check for us to have a deal today?"

I've traded in lots of times and bought lots of cars in the last 10 years from all sorts of dealerships. Rest assured, every move a dealership makes is to boost its revenue, as sure as the sun will shine tomorrow.

 

[vikz99]

Yes I have had my dealership that I bought my Pilot EXL from, called me multiple times by multiple salesperson and offer me to buy my vehicle back..Time to time dealerships get people that want a specific color and year of the vehicle and they look at what was sold through their dealership. My pilot is a rare color for that year and I only had 20K at the time, and they offered me 34K. I laughed and told them thats a joke and don't call me back again unless your going to give me something decent.

Second time, a girl called and left a message saying oh we have an interested buyer for your Pilot. So i call back and ask her so your going to cut me a cheque for 42K? the girl was stumped and didn't know what to say..lol. she like ohh I thought you wanted to stay with Honda. I'm like no, cut me a cheque for 42K and I can take my money and buy whatever I want. She was speechless, so I told her call me back when you guys are serious. No one has called me back since.

I still get paper mail from them to trade in the car and my payments would be lower with the newer model. But they don't know that I paid my car off the day after I bought it.

 

[Axatax]

My mother, trying to do well, took my 2000 Coupe into the dealership when I was away overseas.

All the mechanics wanted to buy it. I don't think the people wearing the ties gave a hoot.

 

[kg4fxg]

Evertime I take the Mini Cooper in I get letters asking me to trade. Same song and dance. If I am going to trade (for convenience) look at KBB and Car Max then consider a dealer offer. Yes, you get more if you sell to a private party. I just have a bad feeling having strangers drive my car and definitely will not trust a check as payment.

 

[Billy4202]

lol I had the dealership try to convince me to trade in at my first oil change. Who TF actually goes through with that.

 

[Justinus]

The local Chevy dealership always has a whiteboard up in the service department where they have the list of "hot cars" for that period.

They offer full KBB retail value as trade in credit for those cars. I figure its because its Chevy, and they can barely give away the new cars.

 

[Baime]

I typically get "official looking" mail, like the government is trying to contact me.
The letter inside says they are desperate for high quality used vehicles, and they are willing to pay top price for trade ins right now.
It is silly, and a win-win for them.
They do get a high quality trade in, at a rip off price for you, and they sell another new car.
Can't blame them for trying. Some people trade in every 3 years, and these letters remind them that it is time, and they march right in there for a new car.
JP

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