Now, it goes against the fun thing, but you could always sell your privately now, wait a few months, and catch a great deal at the end of the season. The hard thing is, it is the end of the season.

The question becomes what's more important, playing now while the weather is nice, or saving a few bucks? Neither is anything to be embarassed about. Some folks talk about how much they payed, some about how much they saved

 

You can use a dirty little trick to bring down the price on the new car. Usually when you're given the trade-in value, the dealer is still holding back about 2-3K to use as a negotion tool when discounting the new car. Meaning they can lowball you on the trade, but make you feel like you're getting a great deal on the new car.
What you can do in return is agree with the figure they give you for your trade-in and aggressively negotiate the price on the new car. The dealer will feel comfortable discounting the new car as he's holding back additional money on your trade.
When all said and done, pull the trade out of the deal, tell them you've decided to keep it after all .

 

Very sneaky Siberian.....but most dealers will have the deals contigent upon the ENTIRE negotiation and probably pull the deal at that point.

The BEST way to do this is negotiate the price of the car first with NO trade in then bring you car back that you want to trade in and negotiate that part of the deal as a deal maker.

Either way, you have to think like this or you won't get the best deal possible.

 

Yep, shell game. Just traded and bought a van for my wife. Same deal, I had to go to 4 stealers and play them offeach other. It really does work though. In my case I got a good trade # and it wasn't worth my extra effort to sell on my own.
Last year I had a 300ZX to trade for my P car and the dealer wanted to give me $2500. I was like "forget it". Two days later I sold it at my yard sale for $6750. Sometimes it does work out.

 

Are you sure that your car has never seen the track? I've seen more than a few silver 996s out there. If it truly has not been to Lime Rock or Watkins Glen or VIR, I must ask, WHY THE HELL NOT??? You think its the best car you've ever owned? Wait until you really learn what it can do!!!

 

Just bite the bullet and make the plunge. Yeah it really sucks how resale values for 1999 996 has gone but if it gave you a smile in your face each time that's priceless and I imagine your next pcar acquisition will be the same. And yes you gotta track the car-that's what it's for. I did 10-12 de's ayear for 6 years in my 1999 996 and loved every minute of it and extremely civil on the streets esp compared to what I have now but track is in my blood so it was my next upgrade. As far as the wheel and deal stuff yeah I wished I coulda gotten more out of my tradein but I rather take quick/easy for both paties versus long/involved which can dampen owner/dealer relationships which can go a long way. Just ffigure what you can accept and what dealer can do as well. It's always a compromise. Regards and good luck. Mike

 

If it's any constelation I lost $12K on my Boxster S 05 which I bought brand new in end-Feb 05 and traded in end-April 05 fully specc'ed (19" Carrera S Wheels, PCM 2, Sat Nav, Power Seats, Sport Steering, Dimming Mirrors, Bose Upgrade, Headstop, etc.etc) with 6,200m which I traded for an 02 996 C2 Convertible for $11K on top of my trade. To put it into consideration and shock you even more: Sticker price on my Boxster S was $63 and selling price on the 996 was $64.9

trading always makes no financial sense, hell paying that much money or having them tied into depreciating assett (P-Car or other marquees) makes no sense - but the SMILE i get every time I get on the car and the enjoyment is totally PRICELESS (maybe this'd be good for new MasterCard ads) LOL

good luck whatever you do!!!

rgds,
SM

 

Sell it on your own.

 

Let's say that a dealer has an objective of making at least a 20% marrgin on each car. If he's selling an entry level Hyundai and his cost for that car are $10K, he only has to sell it for $12,500 and he meets his objective. Margin = Profit/Price. Now if he's selling a Porsche with his costs being $60K, he must sell the car for at least $75,000 to make the same 20% margin.

Since dealers buy at wholesale and sell at retail, you will take a big financial hit if you sell your Porsche to a dealer.

 

I just picked up my '99 996 cab for $35k. So from a dealer $30k seems pretty respectable. It certainly is the best bang for your buck though, just the easy way out of your current car.