Sold my old car to Vroom instead of trading it in

[Badger_Prof]

I was planning to trade in my 2018 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV for the MME. But I wanted to make sure my dealer wasn't going to low-ball me on the trade-in price, so I asked if I could bring it in a few weeks early to have them evaluate it. He said, no they would just look at it when the MME arrives. Huh? It will be too late for me to do anything about it then. I told him that I just want a ballpark so I know if I should try to sell it myself instead. He then said that there's a huge surplus of used cars on the market, so their offer would be very low and definitely far less than I would want for it. Again, huh?

So I brought it to a couple of local non-Ford dealers to see what they would pay for it. NADA trade-in value was about $20k. The Chrysler dealer offered me $19k and the Mitsubishi dealer offered me $20k. I had it listed on Craigslist for $21k, but didn't get any bites.

So then I tried Vroom. I entered the info about the car online, and it generated an instant offer of $21,388. I accepted the offer, and within a week, a car transport company was at my house loading it onto a trailer. That was the easiest vehicle transaction ever.

I have sold multiple cars to CarMax in the past. Easy to do and they always made a better offer than the dealer trade-in offer. I wanted to sell my low mileage Bolt when I got my Mach-E. Tried CarMax, Vroom, and Carvana. Also asked my Mach-E dealer for a straight-up price from him. The first three offered between $16K and $18K. The Ford dealer offered $19.5K and committed to the price three months before my car arrived (and honored it). One more reason that Middleton Ford was a great dealer to work with. Traded it to them the day I took Mach-E delivery and also saved the 5.5% Wisconsin sales tax on the $19.5K.

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[photocyclist]

I sold my 2019 Kia Niro to Carvana who offered me 4k over Carmax and the local Ford Dealers. The difference was more than what I'd save by lowering the taxes on the trade. Having to share a car until the Mach E comes in.

 

[generaltso]

Hmmm. Tried some other sites (Shift) and KBB values my current car at around $3-$5K.

Vroom says it's worth....

Ha! You win some, you lose some.

 

[generaltso]

my dealer suggested months ago that they’d be happy to appraise a trade in anytime before the purchase.

That's what I expected from my dealer too. But they seem committed to finding new ways to disappoint me.

 

[Accord07]

That's what I expected from my dealer too. But they seem committed to finding new ways to disappoint me.

I may end up doing something similar. But the car I am trading in is too old for Vroom or CarMax to resell, they will just send it to auction anyway, Vroom's online quote is a few hundred dollars lower than Carmax's, which is expected given the extra cost of shipping the vehicle. I am going to get a firm quote at a Carmax store just before taking delivery of my Mach-E.

 

[Bear]

...just another way of saying "not interested." I'm guessing you didn't take the deal or try to negotiate.

Also consider selling to AutoNation. They gave me a good price on my 2016 GT350--just above the KBB low end of the range for excellent condition. However, AutoNation is 140 miles away. The local Ford dealer beat the price by $1K.

 

[MurphyDog]

Today I sold my 2014 BMW i3 to Carvana. I was hoping to get about $10k as a trade in. Blue book was about $9k trade in and $11 private sale. Ford dealer insulted me with a $5k offer. Carvana paid me $12,600. Hands down the easiest and best car deal I ever made.

 

[RedStallion]

Tried Carvana, Vroom, and CarMax for my old car. Carvana was the lowest, Vroom offered $200 more, and CarMax offered a whopping $1500 more. I'm a bit skeptical CarMax would keep the promise.

 

[SteelMach]

Carvana is great. Super easy to work with. Can't recommend them enough for selling your car to instead of trading it in at the dealer.

 

[wings2063]

We sold our GLC to Carvana,they beat carmax by 3000, easiest sale I have ever done. They picked it up, I signed the paperwork and they ACH'd mybank the money

 

[benk016]

Tried Carvana, Vroom, and CarMax for my old car. Carvana was the lowest, Vroom offered $200 more, and CarMax offered a whopping $1500 more. I'm a bit skeptical CarMax would keep the promise.

When you get that offer from Carmax, Its a written offer that is good for 7 days. You can leave, and come back in 5 days with that offer letter and drop it off and get a check. They are super easy and great to work with.

 

[benk016]

I had a 2019 Ford Edge ST to trade in. I didn't plan on trading in until the end of the year since I had a GT reservation, but scrambled when I made the deal on the FE I bought.

I did the negotiations with the dealer through email. Sent pics and all the info. They gave me an offer of $26,000. KBB and NADA had it closer to 30k, so I said that was too low and we worked it up to $27,000 and I accepted that.

I also got an appraisal through Carvana, and they offered $22,000. So that was definitely a no-go.

Then I took it to CarMax, they offered me $28,000 for it.

Ultimately I ended up trading it at the dealer even with $1k less in value. The dealer I bought from was 4 hours away, and I needed a way to get there to pick it up. Plus trying to sell it, get the check cleared in time to be able to pay the down payment with it. I just decided all that hassle wasn't worth $1k and stuck with the dealer. Had I tried I probably could have gotten the dealer to match the 28k, but I just wanted my new car!

The day before I actually showed up to do the deal, The dealer had my car listed on their site for sale already with just a coming soon picture. They had it listed for $35k. It didn't last long on their site either. The finance manager actually said he had a buddy that was looking for that exact car and they were excited to get it in for him.

 

[generaltso]

Carvana is great. Super easy to work with. Can't recommend them enough for selling your car to instead of trading it in at the dealer.

We sold our GLC to Carvana,they beat carmax by 3000, easiest sale I have ever done. They picked it up, I signed the paperwork and they ACH'd mybank the money

I've heard a lot of great things about Carvana. I was kinda bummed to see that I'm "outside of their service area". If they just contract with a transport company to pick up the cars anyway, I'm not sure why they can't pick them up from anywhere. Maybe they used up too much of their transport budget on those cool giant vending machines that dispense cars.

 

[CHeil402]

I have a 2017 Audi A4. The one Ford dealer I talked with offered $21,500 which is about KBB value. Vroom offered $22,956. Carvana offered $23,332. Carmax offered $24,500.

My car isn't due for a few weeks, so I'll see what the dealer finally offers me. At least in PA if you sell privately you lose out of the sales tax, so for me that's about $1,400. This is at least good to bring to your dealership to negotiate with. And I agree that if the price difference is close, it might be worth just going with the dealer for the convenience.

 

[Return of the Mach]

I was planning to trade in my 2018 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV for the MME. But I wanted to make sure my dealer wasn't going to low-ball me on the trade-in price, so I asked if I could bring it in a few weeks early to have them evaluate it. He said, no they would just look at it when the MME arrives. Huh? It will be too late for me to do anything about it then. I told him that I just want a ballpark so I know if I should try to sell it myself instead. He then said that there's a huge surplus of used cars on the market, so their offer would be very low and definitely far less than I would want for it. Again, huh?

So I brought it to a couple of local non-Ford dealers to see what they would pay for it. NADA trade-in value was about $20k. The Chrysler dealer offered me $19k and the Mitsubishi dealer offered me $20k. I had it listed on Craigslist for $21k, but didn't get any bites.

So then I tried Vroom. I entered the info about the car online, and it generated an instant offer of $21,388. I accepted the offer, and within a week, a car transport company was at my house loading it onto a trailer. That was the easiest vehicle transaction ever.

Thanks for suggesting this website! I plan on going with Ford Options to finance my MME, which limits me to putting 30% down toward the price. My current vehicle is a 2018 Fusion Sport with about 30k miles on it. Here are the trade-in evaluations I have received so far:

Ford Dealer (where I am getting my MME): $17,500 (very disappointing, but expected)
KBB Instant Cash Offer: $17,514
Carvana: ~$17,500
Carmax: $19,700

and now

Vroom: $20,639..... Um, Sold?!

Question: Did they do any pricing adjustments when then came to pick up you car and evaluate it's condition in person?

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