As much as I love it, I'll have to sell it

I'm sure you realize that statement means "We can probably give you even more."
Wow...only a $2000 dollar loss is not bad at all, in my opinion.
Do a trade in for that value and get the tax credit!!

 

Just hand it over back to the dealer. Honestly, 29.2K is already a lot for it! I think the dealer is offering that much just because it is a high demand car.

If I were to buy it, I would not pay anything more than 28K because it is a USED car, I don't care how new it is; whoever buys it, will no longer be the first owner, which means: less value (higher depreciation) down the road when selling or trading it in.

 

Doody:
Check your PM

Thanks.

 

I think you misunderstood what I meant. (although I'm not sure how)

If the dealer says, "We can give you X dollars for your car. Think about it and let me know... but tell me before you sell it to someone else"...
"Tell me before you sell it to someone else" obviously means "If you find SOMEONE ELSE who will also give you X dollars, let me know because I will probably give you more than X dollars for it."

Are you looking to get something else, or do you still have the Lexus that you want to continue using? If he does find another buyer that will give you more than X dollars for it, he is probably offering to sell it through the dealership as a "courtesy trade" so you can get the tax credit toward a trade on a new car from the dealership.

 

I am not positive, but I think you are wrong.

My recollections date from the days of tax breaks for large SUVs/trucks. They had to be over a certain gross weight to be eligible. I *think* that gross weight was figured by taking the curb weight and adding passenger capacity. The actual total load capacity, e.g. of a large truck, was of course quite a bit more.

 

I think you did very well only losing that much. I took a Honda Insight back after around 12 hours and lost $580.

 

What color interior is it?

 

Translated ...

Dealer: We both know I am screwing you. I've got lots of room to give you more money and still make a bundle. Be a bud, and don't let me miss this opportunity!

 

Then give them a taste of their own medicine and say MSRP, take it or leave it.

 

I will say that I have loaded 900 pounds of (bagged) sand into my Prius and suffered no problems other than having to vaccuum my car. The gas mileage may have taken a hit, but it was only 6 miles back so it's hard to say.

 

Doody, Good for you!
Did you happen to ask the second dealer how they knew about your car ? Sounds like either 1) someone in dealership #1 has mixed loyalties; or 2)the dealerships are playing good guy/bad guy.

For good karma, if you find a private party willing to pay as much as the dealer, tell the dealer to take a hike. Do you know how sales tax will sort out in your state ? Perhaps that will be an incentive for a private party.

 

Amen

 

Good for you! It's a high demand car (hundreds of people still in waiting lists), so that's the reason you are getting such good deals (you will still lose considerable amount of money though, at least for my standards). I'm amazed that people would actually offer to buy a USED car for a price close to a brand new one. I would never do that! It has nothing to do with the car condition or mileage; Used cars depreciate on average 10-15% as soon as they leave the dealership and second owner cars depreciate a lot more than first owner’s.

I guess some people are just crazy about buying it, which is OK, it’s really a great car!

 

I bet it would go for very close to sticker in the Chicago area, given how hard they are to find in stock. Throw it up on craigslist, it's free, why not. Maybe you'll sell it this weekend before c4c ends and they start discounting them again at dealers...

 

Doody, both Bob Howard and Dub Richardson in OKC are both charging and getting a $1500 premium over sticker on the exact model you have. Keep that in mind.