My wife decided that she wanted a new Mega, and of course I wasn't going to dissagree, after all a new 6.7 w/ 6spd auto sounded pretty good! Knowing full well I should be able to make a little change by selling it outright vs trading it in, I decided to list it on my own.

I had already spoken to a couple of dealers who were only within $500 of each other in respect to the trade in value so, I decided that since I was still looking for the truck I wanted, I advertised my 05' 5.9 Laramie sb 4spd on my own.

Keep in mind, I wasn't asking a lot of money, just a few hundred dollars over what I could realize on my trade incl tax savings of course. A week went by and not one call, and It was time to make my much anticipated purchase .

I drove it down to the dealer and started the game. Well after a couple of hours of negotiations and not much luck, I decided to leave and went to another dealer near by whom acually treated me very well on my trade. After it was all said and done though, If I would have sold it on my own, I would have only made like $400....Not worth the hastle imo!

Well to make a long story short, I returned to my purchasing dealer the next business day to pick up a remote for my toanneau cover, and there goes my old 05' drove right by! It wasn't even 4pm the next day and it was already sold...What gives? Not a single call in over a weeks time and the dealer made a whole lot more on the truck than I was asking.

I just don't understand!

 

I always sell my vehicles outright and am well versed at buying a vehicle from a private party. Dealers sell convenience and supposedly the vehicle is safety checked. Private buyers may not know where to start buying from an individual.

 

My truck looked like new and had 36k miles on it when I traded in. The truck hadn't even been detailed yet, although it didn't need it. But, your very right, it's convienence people want! Not so much the money savings anymore.

After it was all said and done, it cost me just a little over 6k to drive my truck for 28 months and 36k miles. I know I couldn't lease a vehicle for that amount of money..

 

Sometimes it's all in the advertising.

When I sold my '92 ranger, I had it listed in the autotrader for ~2 weeks. Not ONE call! Advertised it in the AZ republic...Got full asking price and sold before the next weekend, and still had people calling for the next 1-1/2 weeks!

Tony

 

Don't forget, he person who bought your old 05 might well have had a trade in themselves to get rid of, thus messing up the whole dynamic.

 

Don’t most dealers offer a 30-day warranty on the purchase of a used vehicle in addition to whatever warranty is left on the vehicle? Most private party transactions are “as is.”

 

And a salesman may have had a customer waiting for a truck just like yours!

 

Around here, loans have a higher percentage on private party sales vs dealer sales...I'm assuming it's considered a higher risk for the bank.

 

craneage is on the right track... finacing is a big part of it, also the ability to trade in at the same place... our culture is all about convenience... they saw what they wanted, drove in, the dealership paid off thier old loan and rolled whatever was above the trade into thier new one, they left with a new payment and next to nothing out of pocket!

iweb- my inlaws went looking for a conversion van when my wife was in high school. they were only browsing, like salesmen do they try to push the sale that day but couldn't offer a good enough deal. as they were pulling he ran them down and said they NEEDED thier car... great position to be in... they left with a new van at a great price.

 

all the dealerships around here have sales lists of guys names that are always looking for something, they always give those guys a first call when they get something in on trade. the hot thing right now is 2005, 2006, and early model 2007 chevy and ford trucks cause everyone is flooding the dealerships with trade-ins to get the new ones and all the guys looking for low mileage used trucks are getting great deals. my friend traded his JUNK(i better get my flame suit on for this one)2003 dodge 2500 cummins ram, leaked fluids from every orifice, junk turbo and tranny at 70K+ for a 2007 classic duramax, they gave him 19K trade in, wholesaled the truck that day to a used car dealer down the road and it was sold off the lot 3 days later for 21K, there was no way it would of sold outright for that. financing is where alot of car lots make money, they finance your vehicle to you then finance your old vehicle for way more than what its worth to someone and make several thousand of both of you. ill be selling used cars when i move to florida, then im moving to a new chevy dealership within a year.

 

Just wanted to share a quick thought on car dealership efficiency. It's interesting to see how many dealers are still not leveraging car dealer management systems. These tools are designed to optimize operations, from inventory management to customer interactions and sales processes. The gap in using such systems can really hold back a dealership's ability to perform efficiently, especially in today's fast-paced market.

 

Just wanted to share a quick thought on car dealership efficiency. It's interesting to see how many dealers are still not leveraging car dealer management systems. These tools are designed to optimize operations, from inventory management to customer interactions and sales processes. The gap in using such systems can really hold back a dealership's ability to perform efficiently, especially in today's fast-paced market.