16k for trade-in - Really???

Was interested in a 2003 911TT until the dealer offered me 16k for my 99 911 coupe. Is that insane, or is it me? I was offered 19k just 2 months ago when I was looking at a Maserati Gran Turismo. Both cars were the same price. I understand that some dealers may have more invested in some of their cars and have less room to play, but 16k! Wow. Anybody interested in a 99 911?

Depends on condition and miles, but that is probably low black book on a '99. Offer makes sense if the price on the TT was particularly good. The dealer is going to make their money one way or another...

What was TT price?

I just sold my 04 40th for almost 30k in a quick sale.

The tt was a 2003 for $39,990 with 77k miles. Near Chicago.

Throw it on RL for sale, you may get some offers. But you may lose out on the TT if the sale takes a while. I have been told Carmax offers better than trade in, does not hurt to try. And, depends how much u can get the 03 TT price down.

There are lots of '99s for sale in the low 20s, and the dealer will make sure that they make a profit too. I'm not really that surprised. How many miles are on your '99?

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I own a MY99 C2 also. What do you think your car is worth? You'll always do better by selling the Porsche yourself as opposed to trading it, but there will be work for you to do to 'earn' the additional private sale dollars.Why not put the word out on the Rennlist forum...always somebody looking. GL

The only thing that can work for you in on a trade is the taxes. Most states will give you the tax credit for your trade against the sale of the new car. Can't do that with a private sale.

I wouldn't mind that for my 2000 cabrio to put down on a nice 997 cabrio.

It really depends....location...miles...what kind of dealer..condition etc... As mentioned above...try carmax also Last year, I was thinking of trading in my 2001 Boxster S with 90kish miles...not excellent but good condition/running well....I got offered 5k-7k at 3 nonporsche dealers...all said they can't sell it...carmax at least offered 9k hahaha so...try a couple other places to see what they offer

Without pictures and a thorough description, it is impossible to tell whether that was a low-ball, average or high offer.

Sounds about right if the car has average miles.

In a trade in situation you will never get what the car is worth. They will sell it for what it is worth. It would be on their lot the next day if the don't wholesale it for 24 and maight sell for 20. They just made 4K. it has to be win-win for the dealer or no go...

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+1 The dealer isn't looking to do you a favor..they're looking to move cars. If you want top dollar, sell it private party. Have fun with the tire kickers.

I realize that the dealer has to make money. I was just expecting a bit more since the other dealer offered me 19 with the Maserati. He must have had some room to play with that car. I tried selling last fall with zero calls, and there are a few like mine in the area that aren't selling. Figured I'd have to result to trading it in. But now maybe I'll post it again. I'd be pretty happy with 22. That seems in-line with other similar cars online. 99 C2, Black on Black, no pumpkins, aluminum trim 69k miles Sport seats FabSpeed exhaust GT3 Suspension components - lowered 18" Rims with brand new center crests 3-spoke steering wheel Extra set of Blizzaks that I only used 1 winter. Now I store it. Maybe I'll officially post it here soon. I'll let everybody know when I do! I'll post pictures once I find them. They're here somewhere.

The september issue of excellence magazine has a 996 & 997 buyers guide article. As for price they list 1999 C2 values with a low of $14,200 and a high of $19,100. Ths is for a buyer so the $16k trade seems in range. The bad news here - and don't shoot the messenger - is that the article states "Porsche had enough problems with early, water cooled 911s that we would skip 1999 cars" They also look for cars that average 7k to 9k miles per year, so yours would be considered low mileage. But yet again, the press continues to say that low mileage cars are better candidates for IMS failures. You might want to consider if your deal on the TT as a buyer also has you benefiting from the somewhat soft Porsche resale market and if so make the trade and be done with it. I don't think we can expect to get a great deal as a buyer and a great deal as a seller at the same time. Unfortunately the article does not cover TT values. I hope you are driving and enjoying your 996 in the meantime. Beautiful morning here, it's going to be another fun daily drive to work today.

I think the Maseratis are extremely soft, ones been here on a lot for over 2 years. I looked at it, it was awsome, I did some research and ran away. I sold my '99 Cab 13 months ago. Did a seats out, wheels off detail, service and new tires, all service records, books, etc. Sold for $30k. Saw new owner last week, very happy with my previous car and think he got a great deal. Make the most of what you have before selling it.

I am surprised a dealer offered you $19k two months ago. They may have miscalculated or something. Just look at the asking prices on Autotrader, etc... and I would think a retail sales price for your car of around $20k and thus a trade in around $16k makes sense. Of course you might get $21k or $22k depending on what service work has been done recently, what records you have (or don't have), etc....

Unfortunately, the dealer's offer is within range. I thought about selling my 996 (for the second time) or maybe trading it in on a newer 911; but as long as it's running well, it falls under the biggest-bang-for-the-buck car. Unless I need a bigger car as my DD, I would tend to just keep mine until PDKs have been proven to be reliable and values have stabilized at the bottom. Meanwhile, I keep driving my 99 996 (>130K miles now on original engine and clutch), my $ per mile keeps going down, and my smiles per mile keeps going up.

Trade in value is just another part of the negotiation process. Read this quote from the excellent "Confessions of a Car Salesman" series at Edmunds.com ( linky ): "At times Michael became very excited as he thought of new things to teach me. At one point he said, "Oh! This is a good one! This is how you steal the trade-in." He looked around quickly to make sure no one overheard him. "When you're getting the numbers from the desk, they'll ask if the customer has a trade-in. Say it's a '95 Ford Taurus. And say you took it to the used car manager and he evaluated it and said he would pay four grand for it. If you can get the trade for only three, that's a grand extra in profit. "So what you do is this," Michael pretended to pick up the phone again, "you ask the desk, 'What did we get for the last three Tauruses at auction?' Then they'll give you some figures — they'll say, $1,923, $2,197 and $1,309. You don't have to say anything to the customer. But he sees you writing this down! And he's going, 'Holy crap! I thought my trade was worth $6,000.' Now it's easy to get it for $3,000. That's a grand extra in profit. And it's front-end money too!" (I later learned that front-end money was what our commissions were based on. Back-end money was made on interest, holdbacks and other elements of the deal.) " " He explained that the way they handled the trade-in is a judgment call for the sales consultant . Say the used car manager appraises the car at $4,500. The sales consultant could then tell the customer that we would give them $4,000 for their trade — thus adding $500 profit to the deal."

Excellence mag buyers-guide: http://www.excellence-mag.com/resour...ide/1041874889

When somebody goes by the book others might not like it

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You are not insane, but you were unprepared when you walked in to the dealer to talk trade in and a car purchace. As a trade in buyer you are actually selling your car to the dealer at the same time you are buying a car from the dealer. Would you sell your car at any other time without knowing its market value? If you are thinking of trading in your car you need to determine the market's price for you car and when the dealer (and he will, always) offers you less than market you have a comeback. Either you can push for more trade in allowance or offer less for the car you are thinking of buying. Sincerely, Macster.

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Thanks for sharing the success story. Mine is an '04 996 and it is also my DD. After folks kept telling me that it will never have a decent resale value because of the hype and the fear created around the model, I figured the best thing I could do was drive it, and I do. I and also have plenty of smiles per mile.

Lessons on this thread are on target....basically, we buy at retail, and trade them in at wholesale. If you want retail for your car, you have to sell it yourself.

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And we all know how much of a hassle that is and the types of weirdos you'll encounter. I've only sold one car on my own and that was a winter beater for $1500. All others have been traded in on the purchase of another. Yeah I know I take a loss but the convenience more than makes up for it.

I have chosen to just drive mine into the ground. When the engine pops a fuse. I will either, rebuild, buy used n rebuild or call jake. I bought my 99 because it was cheap. Its a nice aero but just turned 130k. I bought 1.5 years ago for 17 with 103k... So what can it possibly be worth right now, 12? its a toy. It was bought as a toy and will be treated as such.

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This is the right attitude, my friend! What's the point of having a nice car if you don't drive it to it's potential? It's better to burn out than to fade away. (Neil Young)

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Great attitude for sure! At $17k it's hard to go wrong. That's awesome!

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+1. I re-bought my car within the last 1.5 years as well. Good time to buy especially with IMS solutions available. My cost basis has been very low so far - lowest than any of my other Porsches I've owned besides a 914. Anyway, we seem to be in similar circumstance except that I don't consider mine as a toy. Rather, I use mine as a very capable, fun appliance complete with a roof rack, dog bed in the back, and snow tires in the winter. Back to the OP, I always expect trade-ins to be low ball offers. Unless I really want a certain car and have time-constraints, I don't do trade-ins. One thing I have done several times is that after I get a trade-in offer from the dealer, I have posted on craigslist to sell my car with the following stipulation: highest offer above dealer trade-in by x date gets the car. The last time I did this was a couple of years ago on a 04 Porsche Cayenne - a Cayenne year not very much favored just like early 996s. I ended up getting an offer $5K above the dealer's offer with 3 parties trying to buy the car. Just another option to consider...

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This is indeed a great attitude and fortunately for us, the basic 911 shape has remained "timeless" where it get's harder to justify paying extra for a relatively marginal improvement. Enthusiasts are always talking about pumpkins, mk1, mk2, 997, blah blah blah, but at the end of the day, the general public sees it as a "Porsche". I can't tell you how many times people have gawked at my friend's '01 Boxster. LOL I'm still surprised by this.

I think you should sell Privately. You will always get more than a dealer will give you. Its just more work but at the end you can gain 2-3k more in your pocket. THEN you go back car shopping and negotiate. Remember, car buying (specially for Porsches) is an emotional thing. Its a want and not a need (for most of us I will hope). So take your time, sell post yours for sale and see what happens. Good luck

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For the amount of money that I paid for mine, I will drive it until the floor boards fall out and the parts dismantler will have to come and cut it in half to get it out of the garage.

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Totally agree with both of these statements. 99.9% of people out there do not know the difference between a 996 and a 997 and about 90% don't know the difference between a 911 and a Boxster. Really.

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Couldnt agree more. Its really nothing more than the guys that own them comparing penises here on this board. And the sad situation of the people that paid a god awful amount of money for the car are now getting a slap in the face with re-sale or trade value. But really show me ANY american car with 130K on it thats is 12 years old and still worth 12+K and runs and looks like my 996.

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All of the above is true. My MIL thinks my '99 C4 is a $130k 997.2TT. To be honest, I'm really getting antsy to buy another car--it's been six years since I got my 996--but I just can't come up with a good reason to do so. Going to, say, a 997 isn't going to add much performance, tires will cost about twice as much, I won't feel much of a difference, and if I got a black one nobody would even notice I changed cars.