I'm very interested in trading in my 2001 Z28 for a 2004 Ford F150 FX4 pickup truck this weekend. I need some advice on how to get top dollar for my trade. Now being that this is a Ford message board many of you probably don't think to highly of my trade. I can tell you my Z28 has been raced numerous times, dynoed a few times and taking an all around good beating and HAS NEVER HAD ANY WARRANTY WORK done to it. My 98 GT took about 1/4 of the beating and went through 3 third gear synchros and warped front and rear rotors before 20000 miles. I don't believe in brand lotalty at all or I'd probably be buying a 2004 Chevy Silverado. OK enough rambling, the truth is I feel the power, styling and interior of the F150 is superior to its competitors. I just want to know the following:

1. Should I mention my many aftermarket parts?
2. Should I mention my **** fluid change intervals?
3. Should I detail the Z to the max before bringing it in?
4. Should I have a KBB printout on hand?

The value of my trade in the deciding factor on what option I can get on my truck. This is very important and any help will be appreciated. KBB says its worth abou $14700 in excellent condition. I have about $1800 of aftermarket parts into the car. It runs high 12's low 13's all day long and trapped high enough to run mid 12's with sticky tires.

 

IMO, you can mention all that stuff, printout all that stuff, and the Used Car Mgr will offer you ACV (actual cash value) based on the market for what you got. If they are going to retail it, you can figure it's about $2000 less than you can retail it for. If they wholesale it, it's what they figure they can break even on it (after re-conditioning it) at an auction. All the emotional stuff you feel for your ride doesn't matter to them, they just see a pieice of steel. Either way it probably wont influence your negotiated price on the new 04, I just wouldn't pay much over invoice - Good Luck, you won't be disappointed in the new F150!!!

 

Having a clean overall trade will bring you more money. Literally, clean, in and out, that's it.

Mods will work against you and actually bring down the trade-in value.

Because, if you're wondering. They're thinking, as a sales manager, okay what does this car need to be original. Period.

Take off as much aftermarket stuff as much as possible, and down play if they ask. Unless the sales guy is a race nut.
But I would play down mods.

This is from personal experience.

94 F150 - stock trade - broke even

95 Bronco - stock trade - broke even

96 Bronco - 4" lift & tires - lost $2k

98 Mustang - rims, tires, lowered - lost $3500

I could be wrong. Good luck!

 

1) I agree with The Monkey, pull the mods if you can and don't offer info about the ones you can't. They just don't care about them on trade in and they can actually hurt you. Even on a hi-perf machine like yours, people are put off by go fast parts. Aftermarket = abuse in the eyes of many. A stock vehicle is just worth more.

2) They could care less about your service intervals. They just want to turn a profit.

3) Definitely clean her up.

4) Try Carmax. They've bought my last two trades ('97 and '99 F-150's) at a fair price.

5) Good Luck.

 

Like the rest have said basically forget about the after market parts because they won’t help you much and as some have mentioned could actually lower the value.

The biggest plus is as others have said CLEAN IT, inside, outside, engine compartment, undercarriage. If the interior is a bit dirty I would even have it shampooed, nice coat of wax on the outside, steam the engine compartment if needed. It may not bring a lot more money, but if you think about it, if you were to look at two identical cars selling for the same price which would you pick? A somewhat dirty one or the one that looked showroom condition…

It won’t hurt detailing it, it can only help. I have always detailed my trade-ins. If I didn’t get the price I wanted then they were ready for private sale…

 

I traded in my '01 S10 ZR2 for the '04 F150. Took it in nasty-filthy, and had all the stereo stuff inside. They looked it over, and asked about the factory radio. I told them it was all in a box in my office and I'd be putting it all back just like it was........they said "Good, that'll help". I got over $1k over payoff for it. I was happy.............

 

yup, pull the mods

 

Another cold hard fact at the current time, at least in my area, is that there is a glut of used vehicles on dealer’s lots. All the rebates over the past several months equals less offered on trades – the dealers do not need them. Generally new car dealerships will not keep a modified car on their lot. Additionally, a dealer will never tell a potential buyer that a specific used car will turn XX.XX in the quarter – as stated, that immediately means abuse to the potential buyer.

Lastly, and unfortunately, you can throw KBB, or any other online pricing guide, out the window due to the glut of pre-owned cars out there. At beast, they will offer the mid range pricing stated in the trade in value.

You may be better off selling the car yourself and hope for a teenager that will be impressed with the mods and potential performance.

Just my humble opinion.

 

Alternative! Don't trade it, sell it. If your net bottom line price for the '04 is paramount, sell the car and pursue invoice price with the Fleet Manager.

 

Thanks for the help guys. I'm convinced I will not be able to afford a new F150. I'll give it a shot tomorrow and let you guys know.

 

Just Remeber Stand your Ground !!!!!!! YOU do not need that truck right now . as hard as that is let on its your stance .

and Remind them that just down the road there is another Ford dealer just waiting to sell u the exact same truck . and yeah pull the Dodge and GMC on em too ..

Good luck after i finished my trade the Sales Manager wanted to know if i would like a job Selling Cars he said if i was as hard at selling as i was at Buying i`d soon be his Top Sales Man

Oh and they dooooo have more power than a 2001 5.4 superscrew

i traded a XLT 2001 superscrew for F150 2004 Lariat 4x4 fully Loaded and its Beautiful 5 times better ride 3 times quicker pickup
i mean she halls woooo hooooooooo

 

My opinion, pull the mods and list the car for private sell. Pick a number between KBB retail and wholesale. On a trade-in you are going to get the new vehicle's tax burden reduced by the price they are willing to give you on your trade-in. I've found I was always better off selling privately (I used eBay for our MB CLK320 and it sold in five days).

As for negotiating with a dealer - I never talk to a salesperson. I configured my Lariat Screw at www.fordvechicles.com and then search all dealerships within 50 miles. I then faxed an offer based on the dealer's cost (easily obtained by Ford or Motor Trend for a fee) to the fleet manager. Got my number with no hassle and no "Wait here and I'll go in the back and talk with the MAN" B.S. Try it - it might work out if you find a dealer with inventory (although the 2004 is carrying a premium). I even got 2.9% for 36 months.

 

I have to agree, no matter what you may think of a mod, a dealer will use that against your trade value. My '98 Lariat F-150 is in pristine condition, NEVER been in the shop, and has had excellent maintenace and care. The truck is fully stock, except for the 12-strobe Edge lightbar on the roof.

My dealer immediately said that would reduce the value, and that they would have to remove it and fill the 5 holes before they could sell it. Now, I KNOW that is BS because I traded my '97 in to them with an 8-strobe on the roof. And they sold it within 4 days to a guy I eventually ran into and talked to about my old truck!

So it may be BS, and the mod(s) may even be beneficial (the guy who bought my '97 could throw a plow on and be set to rock!) but your dealer will do what he can to make as much profit for himself, so go easy with the mods IF you expect a high trade value later.