2009 370Z Touring Trade In
 

I currently own a 2009 370Z Touring with 33,000 miles. I've greatly enjoyed driving my Z but I believe its time to switch to a vehicle with more mpg, seating room and that's safer to drive in inclement weather. I'm trying to decide what I should do with regards to trading in my Z. Your advice is greatly appreciated.

Currently Owe: $26,000
KBB Good Trade In: $23,803
Dealer Trade In: $22,000
Warranty Refund: $1,000
Total Trade In: $23,000

So I would be taking a $3,000 hit to walk away and purchase another vehicle of my choice.

I'm curious if I would be better off waiting until June to trade in my Z. The vehicle would have approximately 42,000 miles then but my loan would be down to $24,000. I'm assuming demand (and perhaps trade in) goes up in the summer for Z's? I live on the East Coast (VA).

Thanks all.

You would be taking a risk for sure, hard to say if the demand will go up or down. Generally speaking it should go up like you say, but at the same time the market is getting a ton of new sportscars, and who knows what kind of deals will be floating around on 370's at that time. Personally watching prices on used z34's, they've been on a steady decline.

While you may be able to get slightly more it will most likely be offset by higher mileage.

I would find a suitable replacement and negotiate a higher trade in or lower the price of the replacement car to where the hit won't be as hard. The longer you wait the less the car will be worth.

What kind of a replacement are you thinking?

$3000 is a lot to offset the gas savings of a new car.

Have you received a firm trade in value from a dealer who has a new car that you would buy? My experience and research tells me that KBB values aren't worth much when you are at the dealer in negotiation, so planning your strategy based on KBB is likely to disappoint and the trade value you quoted for your car may be optimistic. Dealers often counter the value you want for your trade by quoting what they can buy a car like yours for at the Manheim Auction. It's always less than what you think your car is worth, and the dealer knows that the public has no access to Manheim used car auction prices, and you have no way to verify what they say.

If you have the time and are willing to put in the effort, you almost always do better selling your current car yourself. Look on Autotrader and you'll get a better idea of the value of your car, keeping in mind that most cars are overpriced. When you watch a specific make and model on Autotrader for a long period of time, as I've been doing regarding the Z, you see the same cars advertised for months, some 6 months or more, some have price reductions, others don't. When you see several cars advertised with price reductions over time, that tells you that their prices are too high and/or demand isn't strong. Most buyers of the this car know what they're looking for and are particular. There's a dealer that has a '12, advertised as a Touring and it is not a Touring it's a base,, it has 10-15K miles or so, it's priced at $32k, and they'll never sell it to someone who knows anything about the market for Zs. It's been on Autotrader for months.

I looked at an 09 Touring with 20,000 miles last summer, they were asking $27k, the dealer still has the car last time I checked a month ago.

Do a search on Autotrader for 09 Zs with similar mileage, trans, coupe or conv, whichever yours is, and see what the prices are. Also search 500 miles from your location, since most buyers of the car are enthusiasts and are willing to travel for the right car. I'd even search nationwide just to see what's out there.

There probably is some seasonality to the demand and price of the Z, but an enthusiast is looking for the "right" car and if he can get a better deal in the off season, he'll probably be a buyer. Just my personal opinion, but I don't think the value of your car will go up when it has more miles on it and it's a few months older, just because the season is better for sports cars. The right guy will buy your car whenever.

My advice would be to put it up for sale yourself, on Autotrader or similar, within the next month or so. If you really want to sell it, your price will have to be competitive with what is out there. By competitive I mean one of the best prices for the mileage your car has. I really think you'll do better selling it yourself than trading it. Just my own particular preference, but I'd rather buy a used sports car from the owner, not a dealer.

Hope all goes well with your sale.

I did the math, at most he could conceivably save himself $70 a month on fuel costs by switching cars. This takes into consideration lower octane requirements and miles per gallon. It would take him 3 years to recoup the $3000 trade in hit.

That said on a low interest loan it'll up the payments by about $45 a month depending on the duration of the loan. If you need better fuel economy and more room look for a used vehicle you can save yourself quite a bit because depreciation has already been factored in and in some respects you can "recoup" your loss.

^^^Damn, a lot of good info in the above 2 posts

$22k is a good offer. Take it or consider selling it private party. Those cars can be bought at auction cheaper than that. Extra clean black book on a 2009 Touring is about $21k with that mileage including nav + sport. They are going through auction even cheaper than that.

Thanks for the insight everyone. The $22,000 trade-in is a firm offer from the dealership. I'm considering getting a 2012 Ford Fusion with under 36K miles and then purchasing the extended bumper to bumper warranty through Ford. If not a Fusion then I'd be looking at other cars in the same class.

In my experience when you buy used you have significantly less room for negotiation on the price (at least at the dealerships near me). They have them priced aggressively to sell and will only budge a few hundred dollars. I'm trying to avoid buying new because of the substantial drop in value soon as you drive it off the lot.

I agree that a $3,000 is a significant cost but as others pointed out the value is going to steadily decline the longer I own the vehicle considering how many miles I put on it every week. In the next six months I'll need to have the tires replaced which is an expense of $700. Gas savings would be roughly $800 a year and insurance premiums/property taxes would go down as well.

I suppose my main dilemma is whether to purchase new or used. You have a lot more room on new vehicles when compared to used vehicles with regards to price but at the same time they take a significant hit in value. I know I'm looking at roughly three years of ownership to break even.

Most dealerships have more room to move on a used car.

You might consider a new "left over" 2013 ford Fushion. I don't know where you are in Virginia, but Upper Marlborogh Ford is offering $5,000 off a new 013, MSRP $30k, sale price $24,900 or so. Only did a fast search so there may be even better deals near you. Autotrader is worth a look.

Good luck in your search.

22K is a good trade in value. I traded in my 2009 Z touring sports with NAV with 40K miles for 22.5K last September. They started from 21K. This was after we were done negotiating the sales price of the new car. Consider the price cut on the Z from Nissan, the price will only go down, not up. KBB and NADA will slowly show that trend.

that isn't bad at all considering carmax offered me $14k for my 2009 sport.. lol

from a Z to a Fusion:facepalm::facepalm:

I would say that they are offering you a good amount for your trade in. I just traded in my 09 touring non sport no nav. with 32k miles for 20k. In my area 09 touring w/sport and nav with 25k miles dealerships are asking 24-25 and probably selling for 22-23 maybe less.

Did you buy your Z new?