Hi Scotty, love the advice and entertainment you provide.
My question is in regards to a letter from a local dealership in East Tennessee who needs my car for stock. It’s a 2019 Chevy Suburban with about 80,000 miles. They included an offer for $52,000 and asked me to call or come down to the dealership. I’d consider selling it to them if they put cash in my hand. Am I right to be skeptical, or should I pull the title from the safe and go get their money?
Thanks,
Tidybowl
One thing you might want to research - you're getting a great price for your used car because of the crazy market. But how crazy is the market for something to replace it, if you could find a large SUV in stock?
Why not to trust a dealer? They spend literally thousands of hours each year figuring out how to take a few more bucks from their customers. That puts most folks at a significant disadvantage, as they have different kinds of jobs.
Sounds like a typical come-on/scam. I'd steer clear. If you want to get rid of that vehicle see what someplace like Carvana will offer you.
What exactly does the letter say? $53k trade-in, or cash? What are the conditions in the fine print?
What is your vehicle worth on the private market?
As soon as you get to the dealership, they'll tell you that they thought it would be in much better shape and they'll run some phony tests on it and tell you the compression is low, etc, etc. I would not bother taking that bait.
Huge scam. They would never pay that much.
Personally, I would go down there to see what really happens. But don’t take the offer no matter what it is.
Then report back here and let us know the truth!
If it's not too long a drive, I'd go down and see what they say. Especially if you don't need the vehicle. If they then offer you 20k after you bothered to go down there, give them the finger and leave.
As rightly pointed out by others, the more relevant question is -
1. What will you replace it with, and for how much? And
2. If you don’t need it replaced, do you need the cash?
negotiate a out the door price for a replacement vehicle
when they ask are you trading anything in = no
when youve settled on a price tell them youve decided to trade in your 2019
and would like the 52k put towards the new vehicle
at that moment the scam will become crystal clear
It sounds like BS. No dealership needs a 2019 model for stock. They are just casting their net to see what it brings in. I'm sure there is an elaborate strategy in play designed to entice & deceive anyone who is willing. It's what car dealers do.
Do you have a Carmax near you? See what they would give you for it for a comparison.
Don't they usually say don't bring the car when you go to negotiate. Once negotiations are done then turn over the keys.
