1999 trade in value

I went to Princeton Porsche this weekend just to look around (I purchased my 996 there three years ago. Saw some 2002s and a 2003 that I might be interested in. I asked the sales guy about trading my car (99 996/ Silver/Boxster Red leather/47k miles/ Fabspeed with no dings/no track/no snow/ NO leaks ever...a beatiful P-car.) The guy comes back with an offer of $28k to $30k...I felt like he kicked in me in the nuts....could my car really be worth under $30? It makes no sense. I thought I could move up a few years for $20k or so. Anyone else seeing their cars getting ripped like this by Porsche dealers

30K is not a bad amount to get in TRADE. You MIGHT be able to get low 30s for it if you sell it yourself, but the truth is that there are a LOT of 99 coupes out there, some with more miles, many with less. You need to find someone who REALLY wants the car. Keep in mind, the whole thing with the dealer is just a shell game, up a little on trade, less discount, etc. The dealer MIGHT give a little more to move another 996, but again, just a shell game. The only consideration you have to consider are the tax consequences, which differ state to state. If you pay less sales tax on a trade, that is worth x% (x=NJ state sales tax) of your trade. I know it's hard, because you have emotion involved. The net is, it will be worth even less come Nov. You might not get 25k then.

You can find similar cars for sale for $35k, so $30k for trade-in is fair.

99 996, You could get more selling on your own and I am not to fond of Princeton Porsche.

that sucks doesn't it. i got my car used for this reason. with my last car i swore i would not take the depreciation hit again. traded up to a used '99 996 from a boxster almost 2 years ago for ~$38K @ 35K miles so 30K for trade in sounds reasonable.

I got 10k more than the dealer offerend the first weekend for my 2000 coupe....44k...

I would take it to at least one other dealer to validate the wholesale price. The interesting thing is that Princeton would probably do no more than detail your car, assuming it passes inspection, and then retail it for $38K. You certainly should try to retail it yourself before you sell it to a dealer. At least you are smart enough to separate your buying and selling transactions. An old salesman's trick is to inflate the value of a trade by selling you the new car at or near sticker. It seems that many people are more apt to buy a new car if they get a decent tradein price for their present car, even if that price is inflated by the discount on the new car.

Sell it for 35k then deal them down on a new car, waving the cash under their noses. You'll get te deal you want and not feel raped on your old car.

Dealers will always low ball you for a trade in, thats how they make their money. The best move is to do what C4S said.

Assuming there are no liens on the car, what's the difference in trading it in at $30k and selling it third party at $35k. After tax, your at roughly the same point. Sometimes, it is just not worth the battle. Remember, you need to sell the car for at least $35k third party, just to be even at the end. I bought my car at Princeton and they have been nothing but great to me. I traded in an Audi S4 that I had been trying to sell 3rd party for 4 months. Also, we agreed on a purchase price for P-car before he even knew I had a trade in. Take it to another dealer just for piece of mind, I did with my Audi. I even took it to an Audi dealer who was going to give me even less! Chris

You have to pay tax when you sell your car?

In Tennessee, you have to pay tax on the net, after trade-in.....and all the dealers know it very well...so after all is said and done, selling privately can save you a few dollars, but usually too few to make it worth while for me. I NEVER buy new, so I found a fantastic used lot, the owner of which has become a good friend, and he shops for me. He's fussier than I am about what used car we should even consider, and he takes my old car off my hands. I've never been burnt yet. I have absolutely no financial interest in his business, so for any of you who'd like to contact him, email me: [email removed] . By the way, prior to buying his lot, he was the #1 Porsche salesperson in Middle Tennessee, and he knows his PCars.

this avatar is much better lee. couldn't tell what you were leaning on with the previous avatar. i get it now!

Thanks. Continuous evolution...

Thanks guys for your feedback. BTW I bought the car used from Princeton for $50k in Sept 2001. It had 14k miles on it. I've since put on an additional 33k miles which according to the dealer cost me $20k in depreciation....was it worth it?...hell yes. Best car I've ever owned....

Now, it goes against the fun thing, but you could always sell your privately now, wait a few months, and catch a great deal at the end of the season. The hard thing is, it is the end of the season. The question becomes what's more important, playing now while the weather is nice, or saving a few bucks? Neither is anything to be embarassed about. Some folks talk about how much they payed, some about how much they saved

You can use a dirty little trick to bring down the price on the new car. Usually when you're given the trade-in value, the dealer is still holding back about 2-3K to use as a negotion tool when discounting the new car. Meaning they can lowball you on the trade, but make you feel like you're getting a great deal on the new car. What you can do in return is agree with the figure they give you for your trade-in and aggressively negotiate the price on the new car. The dealer will feel comfortable discounting the new car as he's holding back additional money on your trade. When all said and done, pull the trade out of the deal, tell them you've decided to keep it after all .

Very sneaky Siberian.....but most dealers will have the deals contigent upon the ENTIRE negotiation and probably pull the deal at that point. The BEST way to do this is negotiate the price of the car first with NO trade in then bring you car back that you want to trade in and negotiate that part of the deal as a deal maker. Either way, you have to think like this or you won't get the best deal possible.

Yep, shell game. Just traded and bought a van for my wife. Same deal, I had to go to 4 stealers and play them offeach other. It really does work though. In my case I got a good trade # and it wasn't worth my extra effort to sell on my own. Last year I had a 300ZX to trade for my P car and the dealer wanted to give me $2500. I was like "forget it". Two days later I sold it at my yard sale for $6750. Sometimes it does work out.

Are you sure that your car has never seen the track? I've seen more than a few silver 996s out there. If it truly has not been to Lime Rock or Watkins Glen or VIR, I must ask, WHY THE HELL NOT??? You think its the best car you've ever owned? Wait until you really learn what it can do!!!

Just bite the bullet and make the plunge. Yeah it really sucks how resale values for 1999 996 has gone but if it gave you a smile in your face each time that's priceless and I imagine your next pcar acquisition will be the same. And yes you gotta track the car-that's what it's for. I did 10-12 de's ayear for 6 years in my 1999 996 and loved every minute of it and extremely civil on the streets esp compared to what I have now but track is in my blood so it was my next upgrade. As far as the wheel and deal stuff yeah I wished I coulda gotten more out of my tradein but I rather take quick/easy for both paties versus long/involved which can dampen owner/dealer relationships which can go a long way. Just ffigure what you can accept and what dealer can do as well. It's always a compromise. Regards and good luck. Mike

If it's any constelation I lost $12K on my Boxster S 05 which I bought brand new in end-Feb 05 and traded in end-April 05 fully specc'ed (19" Carrera S Wheels, PCM 2, Sat Nav, Power Seats, Sport Steering, Dimming Mirrors, Bose Upgrade, Headstop, etc.etc) with 6,200m which I traded for an 02 996 C2 Convertible for $11K on top of my trade. To put it into consideration and shock you even more: Sticker price on my Boxster S was $63 and selling price on the 996 was $64.9 trading always makes no financial sense, hell paying that much money or having them tied into depreciating assett (P-Car or other marquees) makes no sense - but the SMILE i get every time I get on the car and the enjoyment is totally PRICELESS (maybe this'd be good for new MasterCard ads) LOL good luck whatever you do!!! rgds, SM

Sell it on your own.

Let's say that a dealer has an objective of making at least a 20% marrgin on each car. If he's selling an entry level Hyundai and his cost for that car are $10K, he only has to sell it for $12,500 and he meets his objective. Margin = Profit/Price. Now if he's selling a Porsche with his costs being $60K, he must sell the car for at least $75,000 to make the same 20% margin. Since dealers buy at wholesale and sell at retail, you will take a big financial hit if you sell your Porsche to a dealer.

I just picked up my '99 996 cab for $35k. So from a dealer $30k seems pretty respectable. It certainly is the best bang for your buck though, just the easy way out of your current car.