What trade in value for my '03 wagon?

First, I have seen on line value charts and they seem way low, even fro trade in.
I don't have time to play the classified ad game (been there, done it) and would like to simply like to be able to trade in a get a good deal on an '06 crv before they are all gone.
My car- excellent condition, '03 wagon tdi gls, mojave beige (gold) beige leather, heated seats, monsoon, moonroof, esp,5 speed, 75000miles, ecode headlights. I also have pp520 injectors and a vr6 clutch, but I won't mention those things to the dealer.Oh, and I have had the egr disconnected since it had 1000 miles (via epsilion device) so the intake is clean!
What should I being willing to get for it? One dealer offered $12K and I thought that was ridiculous.
I live in N.CA and I thought that nearby californians might helpt the value of this car.

Post it here for $17,000 and it will sell in a day.

Get a buy bid from a VW dealer. Then take that buy bid to the the Honda dealership---And trade in your car for that price. Then negotiate the price of the Honda separately.

A buy bid is a commitment to buy a car from one dealership to another. Dealerships are sometimes a bit reluctant to go in at more than what cars are available for at Auction, especially if it's another brand. THe Vw dealership knows what a TDI's value is, and will give you better trade in value for the car. They may offer to buy it from you outright.

The good dealerships will determine market value of a car by calling around other local dealerships to solicit buy bids. It's what we do when we give an appraisal. This keeps dealerships from having to go to auction and paying a fee, paying to ship a car in, and streamlines the process significantly. ( and usually it ups the trade in price significantly).

Good Luck.
Fwiw-- a car with 75k will 99% of the time fall under the "good" condition at best, instead of Excellent. Excellent is usually reserved for cars which have less than 10k miles on them, and have no rock dings, interior blemishes and the leather seats look perfect, even though it's an option to click on the websites-- it's usually not a viable one.

dclark said:

First, I have seen on line value charts and they seem way low, even fro trade in.
I don't have time to play the classified ad game (been there, done it) and would like to simply like to be able to trade in a get a good deal on an '06 crv before they are all gone.
My car- excellent condition, '03 wagon tdi gls, mojave beige (gold) beige leather, heated seats, monsoon, moonroof, esp,5 speed, 75000miles, ecode headlights. I also have pp520 injectors and a vr6 clutch, but I won't mention those things to the dealer.Oh, and I have had the egr disconnected since it had 1000 miles (via epsilion device) so the intake is clean!
What should I being willing to get for it? One dealer offered $12K and I thought that was ridiculous.
I live in N.CA and I thought that nearby californians might helpt the value of this car.

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Don't trade it in. You'll get ripped off. If you must buy the CRV first and then sell your car. You'll lose thousands of dollars. $12k? Some dealers are just shameless.

I just helped a friend find an 03 gls wagon with 75k miles here (Portland Oregon). Paid $18,500 and that seemed reasonable based on local market.

If you want to sell it privately quickly, go to cars.com and post it. You'll sell it within a day. If you don't even want to do that, I'll buy it off you right now. $13k. You'll have the money tomorrow.

Private Message (PM) sent
or send me an email: russchu at yahoo . com

I'll give you 13,000 for it. Seriously, don't be lazy and foolish. Place an ad on craigslist and it will be sold in a day. I live in Colorado and have sold a TDI on craigslist in Northern California in a day.

DrewD said:

Place an ad on craigslist and it will be sold in a day. I live in Colorado and have sold a TDI on craigslist in Northern California in a day.

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Yep, portland/seattle/SF craigs list will have it out of your posession very quick.

DrewD said:

I'll give you 13,000 for it. Seriously, don't be lazy and foolish. Place an ad on craigslist and it will be sold in a day. I live in Colorado and have sold a TDI on craigslist in Northern California in a day.

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I offered $13k first! I've got the check in hand ready to go!

dclark said:

I don't have time to play the classified ad game (been there, done it) and would like to simply like to be able to trade in a get a good deal on an '06 crv before they are all gone.

Click to expand...

You think the classified ad game is bad, just wait til you meet the dealership guy who puts a trade in value on your used tdi.
On a side note, I have a bridge in Brooklyn for sale.

Do a search here and you will see that even $13k is not enough for this car.

For example: http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=149556

Wagon, 5 speed, leather, ESP under 100K miles, E-codes, PP520s? OMG!

Do a quick search here and see what people have been asking. I am thinking this is at LEAST an $19,000 maybe well above that, but I have not really been paying attention since I got my golf.

Take some time - it will earn you $1-2K by simply educating yourself.

$13,500 over here! Going once...

We are heading to Arcata in October and hoping to find a tdi wagon to drive back up.

Please consider the offer or contact us to talk another offer.

send us a PM or email.
homeuptop@yahoo.com

Your rig is worth 18-19k on Craigslist in any city on the west coast. I look for them all the time for friends. If you take anything south of 16k, and the car is as clean and functional as you describe, you're getting reamed.