Have received 2 phone calls from my dealership and now a letter for Toyota saying they need my year model for resale. I have looked online and seen references to this as a way just to get you to buy another car, not that they are serious. Has anybody sold their 2012 v (lowercase v for the Prius v wagon) back to the dealer? Is this a legitimate inquiry? JJ
Sure they want your car and to SELL you a new one. They make 3 to 4 times the money when selling a late model used car as they do in selling a NEW one. Is it legitimate? Yes. But, not a good deal for you.
They do that sales technique all over. Nothing wrong with it if you are ready to trade. Most people trade in their old car at the dealer when they buy a new one. Just remember to shop around if you really want a good price, regardless of how much they spend on direct mailings.
make it work for you. find the legitimate value of your car, and the going price for the one you want. trade up at a price you'll never get anywhere else.
yep it's just your ol' standard snail male spam. 3yrs later & I still get coupons from the Nissan dealer for oil changes for the Leaf. .
Dealers love 2 yr old cars on their lots because they're new enough to sell as a new car alternative, and typically have low enough miles to sell extra warranties. One guy at our local Honda dealer said he can make up to $800 on a used car sale, but only $100 on a new car sale. My sales guy at Toyota said he gets $150 on new cars (bonus and spiffs on top of that), and about $450 per used car. Dealers also have the same differential on their profits too, and when you add warranty sales which are almost pure profit, you can see why they "want" or "need" your car.
Got a similar request from a Toyota dealership, said my car was in high demand. Reading the spiel it said they'd give me a "fair" KBB amount. When I questioned how fair a deal it was to a salesperson he clarified that the "fair" designation was just that....no matter how good the car looked and was it would be assessed "Fair" with a capital F. I laughed in his face. Sneaky.
Here's a quick way to find out. Drive to the dealer with your car and your title. Plop the title on the table, show them the letter and say "Here it is!....you can have it for X" Where "x" is some value between KBB's retail and trade-in value. If they try to sell you another car? Then they're not really after your 2012, but rather they want to sell you a 2014....and then sell your 2012 to somebody else. As stated above...it's not underhanded as the dealer will make money on both ends of the deal. If you don't have the title for the 2012? Keep it. If you do? Sell it privately in about 10 years and with the money that you saved up by not buying new cars every 2-3 years you'll be able to pay cash for the next new car. It makes the negotiating soooooooooo much more simple! Good Luck!
very true . . . and put another way - if you were born in the 1950's . . . . you'd think smoking was healthy for you, if you believe every piece of paper that got stuck in front of your face