Hi... trading the wifes C230 for a high mpg commuter car. She needs to commute four days a week from San Francisco to Silicon Valley.

What do you think is a fair price to expect from the "Stealership"? Trading in the car for a new Toyota Yaris. Currently getting about 24mpg on the C230. Mileage is at appx 94k. Silver with no issues and no bodywork. All stock. Not driven by an old lady but a responsible Trekkie Brainiac. Very gently used and looks great.

Anyone trade in your C230. What did you get?

Miguel

ps: We still have the C32 AMG

 

Just guessing i would say like $1 to 8k for trade in they either get you on trade in or new car. And only 24mpg must be bad traffic or lead foot lol. i always recommend looking for what a dealer is trying to get for a car like yours in your area and subtract 2k at least. If you have the fiances covered i would recommend trying to sell on your own but can understand if that is not a possibility i know i could not pull it off without cutting back my vanilla coke habit and Chipotle 2x a day lol.


I just looked up my cars trade in value on KBB i know they suck but it hurts In excellent condition my car with 150k on it is worth a whopping $4,350.
Guess i can't trade it in to get a Chevy aveo anymore if i don't laugh i will cry

 

Used cars are really worth f/a in the US.

 

Id check edmunds, auto trader and KBB, between the 3 you should get a good idea of its current value, and if you have a friend that works at a dealer, have him check manhiem auctions (which is what they go buy usually) it will tell you what they should be going for today at auction and also what you should expect to get.

 

Yeah look around and see what they are selling for in dealerships. They'll usually give you around ~4k less give or take some. Best thing to do is check auction prices and you'll have a better idea.

 

i get better mpg in my c320 hmmm

 

The C230 is my commuter car and mine averages 28mpg. It's not what you drive, but how you drive it.

Is the additional MPG worth what you'll be giving up? I don't understand. The Yaris might average 6mpg more (if you're lucky) but due to its lack of power it might not average but 2mpg more.

Let's see.. if you get 30mpg average for the Yaris instead of 24mpg for the C230 it will take 10 gallons for the Yaris to go 300 miles and 12.5 gallons for the C230 to go 300 miles.

C230 300 miles, 12.5gal @ 3.00/gal premium = $37.50
Yaris 300 miles, 10 gal @ 2.70/gal regular = $27.00

Every 30,000 miles will save you $1,050 with the Yaris. But that doesn't include the depreciation of a new car in the first three years which will be much more than $1,050 a year.

No matter how you slice it this is not a sound decision. There's simply not enough difference. If this is a must-do, consider a used Prius. Otherwise it seems to make more sense to keep the C230. Ask anyone on the forum and they will tell you that I am a HUGE Toyota fan - but the Yaris is a turd! It feels as though it is made out of paper and the crash test ratings are poor in accidents with cars larger than it (and most cars are larger than it). The additional $1,050 per 30k miles would be worth it to me for the peace of mind I have with the C-class and its plethora of safety features and excellent crash protection.

 

Dude with the smaller engine in the yaris you are going to have to push it harder than you would for normal speeds with the C320. Please dont waste your time buying a Yaris man honestly. I dont want to Facepalm lol.

 

Lots of great points. In regard to the MPG. Her commute is one of the worst in the States. San Francisco to Silicon Valley. Basically "stop and go" for the majority of the drive. Unless you live in the San Francisco Bay Area or one of the other top congested drives you cant understand. So, when we use the car for other then commuting we are looking at high 20's.

Our C230 is 7 years old. It started its life not as a commuter. Christine commuted to MicroSoft in Washington from SFO from Monday return Thursday. But when family came into play she now commutes to Silicon Valley. She often joked about how her commute to Seattle was shorter then driving to the South Bay.

Comparing the C230 to the Yaris. Yes, the Yaris is not a sporty car. And it isnt as powerful as the C. Christine doesnt care about those things. And actually, it is quite nice to know that when it comes to cars it basically has to work well and appeal to her needs. The Yaris can get up to 45mpg. So if the Yaris loses 10 percent of its best mpg because of the commute we are still looking good.

The C has 93k miles on the odo. Nothing has ever happened to the car. Always ran great. Will it run great for another year and 20k miles? No issues? Maybe it will and then maybe it wont. If there was a catastrophic failure that costs $2500 in repairs that bumps up our committment to the C. We are looking at a Yaris tomorrow. Basic commute car with no add-ons. No Cruise Control for obvious reasons. A 2010 Toyota Yaris for appx $13,900 with 3.4APR. Trade in on the C will be a very conservative $5k. So... after negotiations we should be looking pretty good. And I will feel pretty good that my wife has a car which should not have any mechanical issues for many many years. Just like the C.

As for depreciation, we keep the cars long enough that we dont worry about depreciation. Actually, in 6 years we will be giving the car to our daughter if it is in sound condition.

We still have the AMG and also a 1999 Suburban. But, I hate to say it... those two cars will be leaving the stable too for a "CrossOver" style vehicle. Looking at the Chevy Traverse or GMC Acadia. And that may happen as soon as the California rain starts to fall.

No big deal really... She has already promised me a 911 in a couple years. She always keeps her promises. Im not too concerned with not having a high HP car. But it will be a huge change.

The only area we dont agree on is that she wants the four dour sedan and I want the four door hatchback. But its her car. Doing it tomorrow.

Thanks for the good feedback.

Miguel

 

i thought you would get at least 30mpg with the C230k on the highway commute?

the Yaris is only good in the city. my buddy got one when he moved back to Taiwan. small engine on the highway = still use a lot of gas. i.e. my Beetle 1.8T had a 25mpg est on the sticker, but on the highway the most I've gotten was always around 22mpg. why? because the thing had a 4spd auto and at 80mph which I normally drives the rpm is near 4k.

 

It's just like a EVO. In the 8's you could be cruising at 70 in 5th gear and you'd begin to boost because of the rpm where it is at. The gearing is these cars are short.

 

CAn you let me check out the car before you trade it in? I PM'ed you. TC

 

The $9,000 + interest you will end up paying out of pocket for the Yaris buys a lot of fuel and pays for quite a lot of maintenance and repairs. The C230 will likely run just fine for many years to come - we have a lot of members on here with a lot more miles than that and a lot less than $9k invested in repair costs. Catastrophic failure chances are SIGNIFICANTLY less than the chances of being in a car accident - and in that regards the C230 is a much, much better bet as the Yaris is simply not a safe vehicle. It is far less advanced in that area than the 7 year old C230. I wouldn't willingly put anyone I love in a Yaris unless it was absolutely necessary. I guess our priorities are different. I'll take safety over a few MPG every single time because I am never, ever compromising in that regard. My last year of high school a good friend of mine got killed on his way to school in his brand new Toyota Echo in a frontal-offset crash with a Ford Ranger that the Benz would have scoffed at. I carry people I really love in my C230 almost every day, 30,000 miles a year and, while there are never guarantees, I have peace of mind. I cannot tell you a monetary figure of what that is worth.

It is ultimately your call, of course. But no matter how you spin it this is still not a wise financial decision. If you spent even $3000 in the next 5 years on repairs (which is unlikely given the overall solidity of the components by 04) you'd still have $6000 to spend on fuel. That would be 50,000 miles worth of fuel. You'd have to keep the Yaris a very, very, very long time to break even on the cost of just keeping the C230.

PS - don't expect 45mpg from a Yaris unless it is downhill with a tailwind. A Prius is 2x as much and gets 50.

PSS - my 05 C230 has 92k on it and I expect many, many more miles from it. It doesn't feel that much different than it did at 25k. Modern cars don't expire at 100k.

 

If your getting 5k for trade in.. Let me see it before you trade it in as well.. My girl would love a benz

 

Thanks for all of the great commentary. As you suggested I did a little more research on KBB and Edmunds and was able to negotiate an excellent trade price and made and scored a great buy price.

As much as we enjoyed the C we are quite happy with our decision. And as I have mentioned before... we still have the C-AMG.

Miguel

 

Can't believe you traded in a benz for that ugly thing



Im not trying to be mean but lol who puts the console in the middle of the car lol

 

i can completely understand his logic. When my car was in the shop, I had a corolla for a rental and the mpg were amazing. I could drive everywhere and still only fill up only once a week.

 

Matt, some of your figures don't add up. Since he traded in the C on a Yaris (I would have gone Fit, but she obviously wanted a sedan, so I'll let that go ).

Say they traded in the C230 at 7k, that leaves $6,900 financed (13,900 - 7,000). Even if they couldn't get reduced financing from Toyota, there's no way that financing costs would run at 9k over the term.

3 year warranty for 6,900 - that's 2,300 per year with a car with close to 100k on the odometer. Figure in the gas, cheaper replacement wear items, 2-year free maintenance on the Toyota, etc., Miguel will make out better in the Toyota. I'll say that value will be a wash at the end of three years.

Smart move. Good luck with it.

 

I agrre with Tommy. Also Yaris drinks the cheaper regular unleaded than the premium that our C loves.

 

Tommy: Here is how the numbers worked in our particular transaction.

The $13,900 car wasnt available anymore. And we wanted the sedan because we need to stow a stroller and groceries and such... Three kids!

We chose a car that was marked at 16800.00 MSRP. We got the car for 15,300 and also got 6800 trade for the C. We also financed at 0 percent for 60 months! Free money really.

$8500.00. Car had 26 miles on the odometer. She did her first RT to work today. She likes the car alot. Currently at 140 miles. Fuel gauge hasnt changed.

Looking forward to seeing what happens by the end of the week.

Xhale 707: Thats not to pleasent of a comment Its not an ugly car. Actually its very nice.

Miguel

 

holy crap... your c230 is the same mpg as mine c320... tell her to drive more economical...

 

She is driving something more economical. But im not that is for sure. Anyone want a low mileage C32 for cheap? Trading it in tomorrow on more Japanese goods. Unless.... See profile for pics!

Miguel (making a massive exodus from the world of MB)

 

Wasn't Trying to be mean in anyway.. Just looking at the car i couldn't see anyone doing the change really.

Id rather have my wife in a safe car which the mercedes heavy weight champ would do the trick. Plus driving long trips i would rather be in a car that has more comfort options etc. Getting 23mpg in a c230 is hard to believe i get 28mpg + and i drive 80 miles a day to work. Thats also with oversized rims / tires.. Im also a very aggressive driver.. But maybe she likes cloth seats over leather.

But again Miguel i wasn't trying to be mean in anyway sorry if i came off that way.

Also ill take your C32 =P

How much you lookin to get

 

honestly its how bad the dealership wants to help you/screw you..

just some advice....
what to expect...

They WILL low ball you on the price of the vehicle if you walk in there like someone who wonders the world and has no clue as to what their car is worth.
For example, if they can ACTUALLY give you $6k for your car their going to start at $4k, cuz if u agree they just made $2k off of you.

Its important to go in there knowing what your car is worth/what you want for it (demand), yes I said demand. Most people dont understand that a dealership will abide to most of your demands as long as they are not outrageous and seem fair.

Its really too many factors to explain however do remember, if the number they are giving you for your car seems WAY TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, it IS. Because their ultimate goal will be to get that money back on the backend of the deal (adding it to the price of the car you are purchasing)

Hope that somewhat helps and good luck

EDIT: just realized u already bought it! lol
I work for Toyota of Hollywood. What was the final term if I may ask? $141/month?

BTW guys 28+ miles on a c320???? hm... I have a c230, new filters, oil, and plugs currently averagin 24MPG.. I am a 6speed tho could that have an effect?...

 

m272 C230 are not that gas friendly. you are avg better than the auto ppl.


The Yaris is HOW MUCH? $16k msrp???? I thought you could get the Corolla or the Civic with that?