I need alittle help about the value of my car. I currently have a 03 Mazda 6s. I got in April and it has 6500 miles on it so its still fairly new. I payed 26K for it and owe $8400 right now. My question is what kind of loss will I get if I trade it in? I don't know what kind of trade in value it has but I think I can sell it myself for 20K-21K. Would I be better off to sell it myself or should I not bother with it and just trade it in? One salesman told me that there is some sort of tax when it comes to trading in a car for a new one. Any comments about that? I need some options on this so I can keep the losses limited. Look at my sig and gallery to get an idea about my car.

Still trying to decide on a L or HD.

 

I believe you have to pay taxes if you sell it yourself, whereas if you trade it, you avoid paying taxes but probably wont get as much for it. I THINK that it the way it works, but Im not sure on this-anyone please feel free to correct me....AS far as what you owe vs what youll get for it, you definitely wont be upside down, but you will take a big hit-probably 4-5k is my guess. My stepmom went through a similar situation on a similarly priced vehicle.

 

Your right about the paying taxes thing and trading in a car...
But you sometimes are still better off selling it yourself (for more than what the dealership will give you + the tax break) do you understand? You say you can get 20-21 for it say the dealership will give you 16-19 for it. Subtract what you owe on it, and you get the tax break on that.
There are some times when trading in a car can benefit, other times it's best to hold on to it and dry to sell it on your own, and put the remaining cash you get after you pay if off down on the new car... good luck getten a ford truck. You’ll love it. Shane

 

MD is much different. The buyer pays taxes on the full price of the car, no matter what. When you sell a car, you pay no taxes(just the buyer). If you trade a car on a new one, you pay taxes on the full price of the vehicle you purchased.

In DE, it's much better. If you sell a car outright, the seller pays no taxes(the buyer does). If you trade a car, you pay taxes on the price difference between the two cars.

 

private sale, retail values call Consumer's Reports used car pricing service. You will get voice prompts asking about your car and where you live to get specific information to determine this values in your area. DO NOT TRADE IT IN, IF POSSIBLE! You will not even get wholesale, you will get ACV (Actual Cash Value) which is much less. If you paid $26,000 for your car, it sounds like you paid "sticker" or close to it? Guess the good news is you only owe $8400-substantial trade-in? State law varies, but in Georgia if it is a private sale neither seller, nor buyer pays sales tax. $1200 savings to buyer at a 6% rate. Powerfu selling tool. Run CarFax report on you own car,plus on anything you purchase from dealer or individual unless it's brand new. You should provide service & warranty service records to any prospective buyer. You should still be under factory warranty for ease of prospective buyer's mine. If you want a L or HD do your best to get an X plan. If you get Xplan pin, I would recommend buying an 04. Why take a year's depreciation immediately on an 03--unless you can get 03 for say $1500 less than 03 xplan. Good luck!

 

In NC, you pay the tax on the cash changing hands for a new vehicle, so if you traded something for it, the cash price will be lower, therefore the tax is lower on the new vehicle. Most of the time you still make out better selling it yourself. The convienence of one stop shopping is the main allure of trading, plus the benefit of not having a wad of cash tied up between buying the new vehicle and selling the old one.

 

Greetings from the other end of the state with the other maximum security prison(s).

My suggestion to you is to sell it yourself as you're almost always going to get a better bang for your buck versus that of what the stealership will offer you. Even with taxes...

RP

 

Check out www.kbb.com www.edmunds.com and www.nadaguides.com for trade in and private party values. In my area, I would expect to be able to sell that for about $19k.

 

Thanks everybody, this is really helping me.
Sticker price for the car was $26,310 and I owe around $8400. I figure I can get 20K-21K bacause its still somewhat new. I have all my records from the oil changes that been done. I have also had warranty work done on the left rear tire rim because it had a small hole in it that was slowly letting air out of the tire(The dealership had no idea how it got that). That was fixed and the car is running great.

After reading what everybody is saying, I will most likly sell it myself. I live in a really small town so Im wondering how long it will take to sell it. I just may have to drive everywhere and place the ad in all the papers thats in Western Ky.

Hi there, nice to see a fellow Kentuckin here!
I see your close to Louisville, Im about 40 miles from Paducah and only a few miles from the prison on the lake.

 

I'm sure I've buzzed by you on the lake once or twice then... we had a houseboat in Buzzard Rock for a few years and I fish with my father all the time down there... oh yeah, and we occasionally get the Sea-Doo out (although, it typically plays second fiddle to the Ranger bassboat).

RP

 

all over your end of the state to place newspaper ads. "let your fingers do the walking" and call newspaper in the largest city close to you. If that isn't big enough go to the next biggest. Auto Trader should reach a bigger market ( ask what geographic area and population, plus circulation) AT you can put a picture of your nice car. Appears you did pay list for your car? Please never do that again! I worked in Sales for Toyota for awhile and Consumer Reports proved to be consistently most accurate of all pricing services. Consider my previous suggestion for purchasing L. Again, Good Luck!

 

I sold my 1998 Explorer XLT by using www.autotrader.com and carsforsale.com

I believe the purchase lead came from autotrader.com though... Excellent site that reaches a buncha folks. I think I spent $20 for the ad...

RP

 

When did you do that? Did you get the price you were looking for?

 

Selling on Autotrader is a good idea but how would I ship the car off to however buys it. If the person who buys it is close to me then I'll just drive there, but someone far off, I do not know how to ship my car to them.

BTW, yes I DID pay sticker price for the car.
Here is the sticker for those who what the detailes, its kinda hard to read.


Still trying to learn my digital camera.

 

paid list price! No offense meant,but have you purchased many cars before? If you're a young man, you may not have purchased many? If buying L, follow previous suggestions. EBay sellers make transportation buyer's responsibility. Since yours is not an exotic, unlikely you'd have a buyer from great distance away. Your car isn't that unusual. Again use Consumer Reports Used Car price service for a good asking price for your car. Very lucky you only owe $8400 on your car. Most people paying list would have negative equity in their car. If I can help more, let me know