Anyone selling a car for more than you paid for it?

[vafoodie]

I always thought it was a good idea to have a spare car, but in retirement, we aren’t really driving it, and I found out I may be able to sell it for more than we paid for it! It’s a 2013 Toyota Corolla that we paid $13,000 for, and they are going for $16,900 on Carvana. I’m checking it out today. I’m wondering if anyone else has done this.

 

[Car-Guy]

Well almost.... I just traded a 2019 model with over 30k miles on it this week for a new 2021....As close as I can guesstimate (since this was a trade deal), I lost <5% of the original purchase price of the 2019 model over a two year period... I got a lot more on my trade than Kelly Blue Book said I should. Very strange times for buying and selling cars.

 

[JRon]

A number of years ago I bought a car for $900 from the post office for my kids. It was used to transfer mail between towns. High miles and the drivers seat was well-used, but the rest of the car was in great condition. Never had much of a problem with it. After 3 years of kid use I sold it for $1700. Couldn’t believe it.

Very recently sold a 2008 Yukon Denali for $2000 more than I thought I would get. It’s definitely a sellers market.

 

[Born2Fish]

Not a car, but I sold my 2013 21' bay boat 3 months ago for $21k. Originally paid $17k.

I took my 2013 F150 Lariat into the dealer for maintenance a few weeks ago. It has 51k miles. I bought it used for $24k. The service manager told me it is worth $30k in my local used automobile market. I'd like to keep it another 15 years or more if possible.

I would not want to be buying an automobile or boat right now.

 

[Lakedog]

I would not want to be buying an automobile or boat right now.

I would like to buy both (truck/boat) in the near term but after looking at the current market decided to wait it out. For some reason, lots of people are willing to over-pay for vehicles, boats, bikes, kayaks, etc. I expect there will be lots of both new and "like new" stuff for sale at much lower prices in the not too distant future. But if you have something to sell, now is certainly the time.

 

[REWahoo]

I expect there will be lots of both new and "like new" stuff for sale at much lower prices in the not too distant future.

Hope you are correct but I'm hearing more and more reports that the "chip shortage" at the root of the problem will likely not show marked improvement for more than a year, probably not for 18 months. I expect prices to get worse (for buyers) over the next few months as more and more car mfg. announce production cuts.

 

[vafoodie]

Hope you are correct but I'm hearing more and more reports that the "chip shortage" at the root of the problem will likely not show marked improvement for more than a year, probably not for 18 months. I expect prices to get worse (for buyers) over the next few months as more and more car mfg. announce production cuts.

Great news for us retirees with extra cars to unload! You can go to Carvana nd type in your details and get a quote. I was stunned—in a good way.

 

[Montecfo]

of course, like housing, the bad news is you buy in that same inflated market.

 

[marko]

A bit off topic:
Back in the late 50's my grandfather had a second car that needed tires, muffler and other repairs.

He traded it in for a new car but then after a few days missed his old car.

He went back to the dealer and re-bought is old car but the dealer had put in all new tires, new muffler and had it looking like new.

He re-bought the car for less than what the dealer gave him on trade-in! So not only did he make $1,000 on the difference but he got new tires and a muffler thrown in.

 

[Present Aside]

I bought a used 2019 Alfa Romeo Stelvio this January. By June I could sell it for $1000 more than I paid for the car, taxes, registration, gas, oil change, insurance, wiper blades, you name it. And I got to drive it around for 6000 miles. So basically I was paid to have a spare car. Used prices are a little crazy right now. I would hate to be in the market looking for one. And I did use Carvana to sell it.

 

[Jerry1]

Not quite. I bought a new truck in March. Traded in my two year old truck with 22K miles for what I paid for it. So, it cost me the sakes taxes to drive it for a couple years. I’m glade I did the deal. It was right before things got really crazy. Even then, I bought (committed to) the new truck sight unseen as it was not yet delivered to the dealer. He was selling them faster than he could get them. Now, he can’t even get them. I could get more for my old truck now, but I’d have trouble getting a new one. OP is in a unique situation to be able to sell and not have to buy.

 

[vafoodie]

Well, the actual offer was not as high as what I was seeing them sell for. Of course, Carvana must make money, but it’s still a good ROI—$12,444 for a Corolla that has 74k miles on it and was bought used in 2015 for 16k. Now the question becomes does a retired person need a spare car? I’ve switched over to compact SUV world too and feel too low in the seat whenever I do drive the Corolla, so I’m thinking if I got in an accident— heaven forbid—and needed a spare car I’d probably just want to rent a compact SUV.

 

[Car-Guy]

In thinking about this a bit more and expanding on my post above, I might add that they wanted 10k "over" the window sticker when I started negotiations, which didn't surprise me too much, considering the vehicle I was buying. In fairness they were also offering me well over what I feel was fair value for my trade-in too... Crazy times.... In the end it was basically a swap cars deal which worked for me...

 

[teetee]

A bit off topic:
Back in the late 50's my grandfather had a second car that needed tires, muffler and other repairs.

He traded it in for a new car but then after a few days missed his old car.

He went back to the dealer and re-bought is old car but the dealer had put in all new tires, new muffler and had it looking like new.

He re-bought the car for less than what the dealer gave him on trade-in! So not only did he make $1,000 on the difference but he got new tires and a muffler thrown in.

The person sold the car back to your grandfather must be a different sales or he/she was just very very bad at his/her job!

 

[travelover]

Bought a 1964 VW bug for $50 in 1971. Sold it two years later for $100.

 

[latexman]

I paid $30k for my mustang in 2004 and sold it for $35k in 2009.

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

Carvana is coming to pick up my 6 year old Mitsubishi on Tuesday but the problem is I cant find a new one that I want so I'm considering cancelling the deal.
My daughter had agreed to let me have her spare car for as long as I needed but it might be a lot longer than expected so best to wait until I find what I really want.