2010 Infiniti EX35 AWD Journey Trade-In Value

[lisafairfax]

Hi All -

I'm looking to trade in my 2010 Infiniti EX as I need something with more cargo space.

I'm hoping for a reality check on this board....

15,000 miles
2010
AWD Journey
Bose + Navigation/Rear Camera/Parking Sensors/Michelin Tires
Pristine paint & interior, not a ding or dent

The dealer I was looking to do the trade-in at offered $25K, which I flat out refused. Very soft demand for the EX, blah, blah. I was hoping to get around $30K but maybe I'm dreaming?

Both KBB and NADA had the car pegged around $31.5K.

If anyone can weigh in, that would be great. I'm in Northern CA.

Many thanks!

[sashki2]

I'd try CarMax for reality check

[XIS]

It might depend a bit on the dealer and the car you are trading it in on... high demand for the car they are selling or not? If they have had the car on the lot for more than a few weeks and it is the end of the month (today) - you are more likely to get KBB's low to mid trade-in value. The 31.5k you are referring to, is that private party, trade in or wholesale? If the car you want has a higher demand and it is the beginning of the month, you are more likely to get wholesale trade-in.

just for reference, I paid 24K for a 2008 journey with 30k miles, RWD with bose & bluetooth about 4 or 5 moths ago. But the real deal on my price was that they gave me about $2500 more for my trade in than another dealer offered. So in my mind, I actually paid 21.5 for my 2008 and got low trade-in for my RDX...

Ironic but I stayed away from the EX35 for 2 years because I thought the back was going to be too small... then I drove it. The driving experience and comfort up front for daily driving overshadowed that my kids might be a little tighter in the back-seat (but not as tight as I was lead to beleive) and the cargo space has not hindered me once. Actually it isn't bad back there at all! ,,, But I don't haul 10' 2x4's or 4x8 sheets of plywood either.

[Hono]

XIS covered well many of the salient points on trade-ins. IMO the dealer's $25K offer (a.k.a. trade-in price) is not unreasonable considering the car is three model-years old (2012's are on the lots) and 30 to 40% of depreciation occurs in the first three model years. Moreover, the dealer needs to make a profit on the resale, pay for carrying/finance costs, overhead, insurance, commissions and any work (detailing, etc.) needed. Your best bet money-wise would be to sell your EX privately, but there are some risks, costs and time involved in doing so...

BTW, it's been my experience that KBB, Edmunds, NADA and etc. estimated prices (trade-in, private party, dealer retail) are always on the high side unless the car is in real demand (which is not so with the EX). Would also be surprised if they could move your EX at retail for $31.5K within a reasonable amount of time since most used buyers do not pay used car dealer asking prices. Unless the dealer is planning on selling the car, what he is actually offering you is the price he would expect to get for it at auction. Remember reading somewhere that many cars traded-in at dealers are actually sold at auction...

BTW, don't want to rain on your parade, but to put things in perspective, a new 2012 EX journey AWD can probably be had (with a bit of haggling) for +/- $40K. So paying $8.5K less for a 3-year old one with 15K miles and a 1-2 year warranty is not exactly my idea of a deal and probably wouldn't appeal to too many others either...

You could probably get the dealer to bump their offer a couple of bucks. But beware that with a trade-in involved there are a lot more moving parts (so to speak) so any gain realized on trade-in may well be lost on what you pay for the replacement vehicle or other so-called "costs" added to the invoice (like possible financing, extended warranty, dealer prep, inspections, processing fees, etc.)...

Those car people fleece we sheep for a living so it stands to reason they are more adapt at manipulating the numbers than someone venturing into the dealership every couple of years. On the bright side, we now have computers with the WWW to provide data for analysis so we can walk in a lot better prepared than in days of yore when a six-month old copy of KBB on the magazine rack at the local drugstore was all one had...

[Jason Tucker]

+ one Hono....well said....couldn't add a thing.

[SilverMax01]

BTW, don't want to rain on your parade, but to put things in perspective, a new 2012 EX journey AWD can probably be had (with a bit of haggling) for +/- $40K. So paying $8.5K less for a 3-year old one with 15K miles and a 1-2 year warranty is not exactly my idea of a deal and probably wouldn't appeal to too many others either...

That's exactly what I was faced with last week when trying to decide whether to buy new or used. Almost pulled the trigger on a 2010 AWD Journey with 15k miles for $31675...then thought better of it, researched what it would cost to get into a new 2012, haggled with an out-of-state dealer and got them to drop $1500 off their Internet price, and picked it up for $38,500 out the door (including premium package, splash guards, roof rack crossbeams, and rear cargo protector). The extra $5-6k for the new one was a no-brainer over the used 2010...who knows if someone broke in the engine properly, how many oil changes it had in that time, etc. I realized I'm too meticulous and anal now to really buy a used car anymore, unless it's a classic that I'm going to restore.

That said, I couldn't really find ANY EX35s for sale by PP on craigslist, especially 2009s or 2010s. There are some 2008s on craigs but by far the most common year to find for sale used now is 2008. I even tried national searches on craigslist of every major US city, and didn't find much of anything for sale private party, so you don't have much competition if you do try to sell it yourself. FWIW, now that I know what I can get a new one for, I don't think I would pay you more than $27-28k for your 2010...