Guys, I'm getting ready to (try and) trade the Lightning. I'm trading it at a Toyota dealer, and I know the crap they're going to try and pull to get me down on the trade-in value.

Other than, "Ford doesn't offer incentives on SVT vehicles, so that isn't an issue", and "Yeah, it comes like that, from the factory", anything else you think I should know?

It's a 2002 - I KNOW they won't have it in the books yet...

 

$50 says they offer you $22,000-23,000... Laugh at them and try to sell it yourself.

-Mark

 

Your trading a Lightning...in on a Toyota? God have mercy.

I can't think of one Toyota currently on the market that I would ever in my life have any interest in owning.


BTW....1 year after I bought my lightning, a local svt dealer offered me a whopping 17,000 for the Lightning to trade it in on a 2001 model.

I laughed and left. I shoulda pissed on the guy first...then Laughed...but hind sight is 20/20 as they say.

 

I'd try selling it myself. You'll be $$$ ahead.

E-bay, local trader mag, ect....

 

Haha... Yeah, well I need things like reliability, value, build quality, and gas mileage right now... Those are the things this truck seriously lacks.

I'll be getting a new, or newer used, Celica GTS. It's quick, and I love the 6-speed. I miss throwing gears. I miss going for an entire week without filling the tank, and being able to punch it on the way to work, and not worry about getting home that day.

Laugh all you want - but the car still runs (barely) in the 14's, gets 28+MPG, is more reliable, NICER, cheaper, can be driven in snow, etc.

When you drive 100+miles/day for work, and have a 3 year-old daughter, and a house, and a wife, you don't worry as much about the speed, as the overall package.

And, if you already DO have all of those things, I apologize - but keep in mind that I have all of this at 23.

Also, trust me. If I had more money, the Lightning would forever stay in the family. But, for now, it's kind of a waste. I don't race on the track, no one will race me on the street, and I could cry because I have to give this thing up....

I'll be prepared at the dealer - I know the owner, and I have quite a barrage of why I should get what I want.

Only problem with selling privately? - It's a lease.

 

i tried last week to trade it in on an 02 ss camaro. mines an 02 w/ 6kmiles. the most they would give me was 26k. sucks ***.

 

If you think about it, $26k isn't that bad for a trade-in. It just sucks, because you KNOW they'll charge $28-29k for it...

 

Sorry to hear you had reliability/quality problems. However, if you are going to be pushing 50-100 hp over stock in the celica as well, it will most likely give you problems. I must concede on the gas mileage though. That is one reason I would like to get a vette...fast as hell an still gets great gas mileage.

My truck is stock and I have yet to have problems. Best car I have ever owned, and it is my daily driver year round. Just be careful with the mods on that Toyota.

I would definitely have to argue your point about a Celica being "nicer" but I guess that is an opinion thing, so it is subjective.

Looking at your family situation I guess a 2 seater is not the best vehicle for you. I am lucky enough to also be 23 but not have any of those sorts of things holding me back, and I hope to be the same way at 33.

Good luck at the dealer...don't let em bend you over. You will prolly be better selling the truck privately.

 

sell the car privatley, you will make so much more off it, hell put it up on ebay and ask a rediculously (sp) high price for it, someone will buy it, it's ebay after all.

I'm also 23, but single. I feel your pain about it being a horrible daily driver, the tires wear fast, and it eats gas like a ****, i hate having to put 20+ gallons of premium gas in it, thats about $35 every 3 days. I hate filling up ever 3 days. Plus watching the miles multiply is killing me. No way in hell I am going to sell it, but I think I need to find a really cheap beater for daily driving ....

If you trade your L back in at an SVT dealer, you might get decent money for it, then go get a Ranger or something, I had one, they are reliable and you can go 2 weeks without filling up!

 

No, I agree about the modding, but even stock, these things pretty much stink. My truck will be returned to stock, aside from the exhaust, by the weekend. Hopefully, I'll have the Celica by the end of next week.

I'll only be doing minor mods to the Celica. Exhaust, (no fart cans ), intake, that sort of thing. That, and a 250hp shot of Nawzz!!! (j/k!!) Seriously, though, most of my mods will be suspension, and most of them will come from TRD - which means that it'll retain the factory warranty.

Seriously, though, the gas mileage is more of an issue than anything. I'd keep it, and buy a beater, but I'd hate to pay this much for a weekend-only car....

I only say the Celica is 'nicer', for the following reasons: Full leather interior, soft-touch materials throughout the interior, customized floor mats, etc. It's the little things.

I mean, I bought a $33,000 truck, and then had to search for the little add-ons that should have come from the factory...

 

Hopefully a dealer will let you trade it in at all. Leased vehicles normally carry some stiff penalties for early turn-in/cancellation, and the dealer might not go for that, or they may want you to eat the penalties.

There are websites (swapalease.com) that allow you to "trade" the lease over to someone else, thus getting out from under it without paying penalties.

 

Thanks, I'll look into that!

Otherwise, though, I already talked with the lease company about it. My total buyout, including all penalties, taxes, etc, is about $31k. I can take the hit, if I need to.

 

Full leather would be nice...but at the same time...it is a truck..so it is going to have a truck interior. The reasons it costs so much is because it goes fast, can still tow, looks awesome, goes fast, relatively low production, handles great, has big a$$ tires, oh yeah and goes fast.

It's the big things that count. The truck really makes a great daily driver...it is ultra reliable, quiet, comfortable, awesome traction in the rain..the only drawback is that you become Mobil's best customer.

You just gotta be content to not mod the crap outa it. And if you do mod the crap outa it...you gotta accept that it is going to break...and that it broke out of your own doing. This isn't directed at you....but there are a lot of people on this board that do crazy mods that push the engine well beyond the limits it was desgined for..then blame ford when something breaks.

 

If you are stuck on a car like the GTS, get an Aacura rsx type S. They are faster, cheaper (with features not offered on the GTS), longer warranty, an better resale value, and everything is standard with no options to be added, and still gets better gas mileage!. Trust on this one, I use to sell them. They sticker for under 24K. You can get one for about $500 over invoice if you look hard enough.

 

Oh, I forgot to metion that the clutch on the GTS is a POS> they start to slip right away!!