What is a fair trade-in?

[zarar]

Okay, so sadly I need to give up my lovely car for a cheaper car so I can use the remainder of the equity to put toward med school expenses. I was thinking of trading in for a lower model car with cheaper monthly payments. I'm usually the type of person to get low balled and toyed around with dealers and was wondering what should I realistically be expecting for my EX (Ofcourse location and everything varies)?

Location: New York
Mileage: 12,800
Year, Model: 2010 EX35 AWD Journey (No Nav, No Tech) w/ 17in wheels
Condition: Excellent, no accidents or scratches. I tread my car like a new born baby. All maintenance done by the dealer and on time of course.
Loan Owed to Bank: 21,936 (So I'm guessing an equity of at least 10,000 is too much to ask?)
Reference for BlueBook Values: http://www.kbb.com/used-cars/infiniti/e ... eage=12800 (KBB)

http://www.nadaguides.com/Cars/2010/Inf ... -Equipment (NADA Guides)

So I call bigbucksauto.com (located in New York) and just to see what kind of low ball price they would offer as they usually would, I believe they sell all their cars back to auctions or dealers. With my mileage and features I was offered anywhere between $26,000 to $28,000 being the most in mint condition which no one gives. Does that seem about right? The Window sticker on my car shows $38,000 (and change, not including taxes and dealer fees) and I paid $34,000 (and change). So if I'm correct, the car in 1 year has dropped $10-12,000 according to their offer? I plan on trading it in, for a newer and cheaper car. But I always expected dealer trade-in's to be the lowest. What do you guys think? Any help and feedback would be appreciated!

[dale512]

I used Autotrader.com and they said $27,216 for a 2010. These are just auction prices so you may be able to negotiate a few dollars more when trading it. As we all know, car values drop the most during the first three years.

[glayfan40]

I just traded in my 2010 EX35 Journey AWD w/Nav and Bose with 13.5K miles on it for $30,000 on Feb, 21th. (I live in MA). Since our vehicles have similar miles on it and are both in excellent condition I'd assume you would get somewhere around $28,500 to $29,000 for it (because yours doesn't have the Navigation and Bose Sound). One thing to keep in mind too is that color combinations do matter, so if you have a more popular (AKA common) color combo they're likely going to pay a little bit more for it.

[bjnelson1234]

I don't know if this helps, but MMR value (auction value) is 30500 for your car, and during this last month there were 4 sold with similar millage ranging in price from 30,000 to 31,250, so it seems to me that 30,000 should be a fair price.

[zarar]

I don't know if this helps, but MMR value (auction value) is 30500 for your car, and during this last month there were 4 sold with similar millage ranging in price from 30,000 to 31,250, so it seems to me that 30,000 should be a fair price.

Helps more than you can imagine, thank you!

[Reefrf]

I recently traded in my 2010 EX journey with Nav & Bose with 15,500 mileage. They gave me 32,700. This car had front damage that was fixed too. I live in San Diego. One thing to note is the dealer is currently selling this car for 35,998. Still on there website too.
However,I think some of these dollars were shifted to the purchase of my 2011 EX. The new one is fully loaded with the delux touring package, 19" wheels roof rack, kick plates etc,.... For 42k