BigAlC230K

All input and advice would be greatly appreciated. I have a 2005 c230 ss and am very much considering upgrading to an E class 2004-2006.

I just looked through KBB and my private party value is at $16K and my trade in value is at $13.5K or so. WOW! I currently owe bout $31K and my payoff amount is $27K

I have been lookin at Southbay MB and Fletcher Jones for an E class and they're running roughly at about 28-29K or so give or take slightly higher depending on mileage. So how exactly does this work. I basically tell them I want to trade in my car and they take my trade in value $13.5K subtract it from what I already owe $31K which is a difference of bout $18K and on top of that pay the $28-29K for the new car???? BIG BIG difference if that's the case!

Any other suggestions greatly appreciated! BTW I do have the payoff amount on hand to pay it off just don't know what I wanna do at this point.

Thanks for readin!

Albert

amdeutsch

Wow, thats what I would call upside down.

BavarianPride

Yup, you got the numbers about right, either way you look at it you'll get screwed "again".
Sorry, T.

krnboy817

wow... how long have you had the car..? i have 06 c230 with 40k miles and trade in value isnt below 20k.

this is my 8th car.. and i usually just let the dealer pay off what i owe and pay sticker on the new one i want to get into.

takes long talks and just stand your ground.

BigAlC230K

I've only had the car ... let's see.... I bought it in August of '06 ... that would be awesome if they'd pay it off so I could get something else!

I had called this 1-800 # to get a pay off quote through this automated system cause like I said, I have the funds to pay it off and sure enough ... this call came through with some lady askin me that there are "other options" available to you. So .... Hmmmmm guess it wouldn't hurt to ask!

Gouda

Doesn't sound quite right. How can your payoff and amount owed be so different? Did you pay way over retail? Or have a high interest rate?

So, I think this is how it would work

New car - 30000
Minus trade 13500
Balance 16500

Plus payoff on trade 27000

You'll owe 43500 plus tax, fees etc.....

I'd pay something off or refinace the existing car.

benz_addict

bigal which E-Class are you looking into? I'm also getting rid of my 06 c230 soon for a E500 4Matic, 2004 or 2005.

krnboy817

in my case...

i got mine july of 2007 and financed 27,998 for 06 c230 ss with 4.9% apr rate of 66 months it comes out to 32,5xx .

last week my sales person at the dealer asked if i wanted to trade in for w204 so i went and calculated...

had for about 8 months with roughly 450 per month = 3600

3600 - 325xx = 289xx

value of the car is 24,xxx

289xx - 24xxx = 49xx

with good negotiation and coming back customer, MB should easily look over 49xx if i am willing to trade in my w203 for w204 at sticker price.

in my past honda did twice mazda did once pontiac did once nissan did twice ... MB should do the same.

Andonixxx

You are upside down big time i would recommend you to wait a little longer or put down payment, also if you put too much negativity to the car you are buying, the bank might not be able to finance the car bcause they are going to say that the car you are buying its not worth that, or put some money down but still you are way upside down believe me i work doing this everyday
try to fight to give you more for your trade!

Oluedo

My $0.02. Why do you want the E Class? I chose a fully loaded C320 instead of the E Class. One reason is the money and another is I felt the E Class has nothing really over the C Class. I am one of those who think its either the C class or the S Class (no reason for E Class). Is it room you want or what? Just my $0.02. Any way KBB private party says for 05 c230 with basic everything and 30000 miles is $20000.

alpinweiss

Remember that NADA (National Automobile Dealers Association) value is the "real" value of the car. Try www.nada.com for a comparison.

Kelly Blue Book tends to deflate the trade-in value, and inflate the retail value. Kelly is normally more profitable for the dealers, so they often like to quote it.

You can also look at Edmunds for a comparison value www.edmunds.com. But again, NADA is the nationally recognized actual value.

alpinweiss

As a follow-up to my previous message, I compared the trade-in values on the NADA site vs the KBB site.

For a mythical good-condition C230K with 36k miles, sunroof, auto trans, and normal equipment, I got the following trade-in values:

KBB $15,465
NADA $21,275

Obviously, your car may be different in terms of mileage, equipment, condition, etc. But my point is, there is a lot of disparity in pricing.

yeuchau

i believe the real value is the black book value, which is based on the current auction price.
correct me if i am wrong.
with that said, you won't get the kbb trade value if you trade in your car to dealers, you will get lower than that.

alpinweiss

NADA value is still the real and recognized value of the car. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean you can actually get that for your trade-in. With the economy in recession, used car prices are low, and dealers will not give much for trade-ins.

Auction values are normally lower than most of the book values. Dealerships often auction cars they do not plan to keep and sell on their lot. Some dealerships may only give you auction value for your trade-in, which may be today's reality, but it definitely isn't a good deal for the customer.

But the point of all this is: there are a variety of ways to calculate your trade-in. No one can even agree on which "book value" to use. Dealerships will obviously want to pay as little as possible, but their value is negotiable.

The best defense is to be an informed customer.

wmhjr

NADA isn't any more "real" than KBB. I've had many instances where the NADA value was ridiculously low. Both for cars and motorcycles. I actually switched my motorcycle insurance company to a different provider with a stated value policy because of it. I challenged my carrier to find me a single example of a vehicle having been sold for anything within 10% of the NADA stated price in the last year. They had no answer. NADA is in bed with both insurance carriers and manufacturers. You need to use NADA and KBB as starting points, and then research actual selling costs for similar units. Bottom line is that you're way upside down, but you need to do some homework.

BigAlC230K

Thanks for all the input guys. It was just a thought and after all this trade in mumbo jumbo and coughin more out of my pocket... it's just a big a$$ headache.

tanktube67

I'm sorry you are big time upside down, who ever sold you the car, did a big number on you