Trade in...or sell?

[pinchvalve]

While I LOVE my FiST, it has been with me a few years and I have accomplished what I wanted to do with it and am ready to try something else. I am just beginning the process and don't know what the current market conditions are for trading in versus selling it myself. I know that you don't get back what you put into a car, but I'd love to sell to someone who wants the extra sets of tires and appreciates the mods. What are other people seeing right now, can you sell a modified FiST? Are dealers giving good deals? The last car I traded in (as opposed to having it towed away with 300,000 miles on it LOL) netted me $700. I hope I can do better today.

 

[Mikey456]

I would try selling to Carvana. I have heard people getting good money for the car over there. Perhaps Carmax? Selling the mods here might be a good idea too. Or a whole car for someone who appreciates the value of the mods. The dealer will probably try to low ball you if you go for a trade in. IMO

 

[Dpro]

I would try selling to Carvana. I have heard people getting good money for the car over there. Perhaps Carmax? Selling the mods here might be a good idea too. Or a whole car for someone who appreciates the value of the mods. The dealer will probably try to low ball you if you go for a trade in. IMO

I found that CarMax offered a higher quote than Carvana for shits and giggles I submitted my car to both and CarMaX came back with a 2k over original purchase price quote.
Not selling my car but it was fun exercise to see.

 

[SteveS]

You never get as good a deal on tradein as you would selling the car outright, but the convenience factor has always been there for tradein. However selling Carmax is pretty convenient also. The real question is can you even find a new car to buy?

 

[dhminer]

You never get as good a deal on tradein as you would selling the car outright, but the convenience factor has always been there for tradein. However selling Carmax is pretty convenient also. The real question is can you even find a new car to buy?

Or find one if looking for brand new

 

[Dpro]

However selling Carmax is pretty convenient also. The real question is can you even find a new car to buy?

This

Or find one if looking for brand new

and this.

Though two things it depends on the area some places Carmax is higher some places Carvana is higher . Though both are paying higher than private basically because they sell nationwide and ther are a lot of areas our cars are not even available in private party ads.

Carvana ships you the car as well.

Though in the end indeed finding something to replace it with new or used is the real conundrum.

 

[dhminer]

Could just do like my neighbor. He buys a new car every time he finishes paying one off. Never sells the old one. Always has the same-ish car payment and keeps amassing cars to play with

 

[FiestaSTdude]

Could just do like my neighbor. He buys a new car every time he finishes paying one off. Never sells the old one. Always has the same-ish car payment and keeps amassing cars to play with

That will probably be me with fiesta's and focuses lol

 

[pinchvalve]

The second half of the equation was easy to answer, there are no new cars to buy. Everything on dealer lots was ordered or reserved months ago and are already sold. If you see one on a website, it is there to get you into the dealer to order something else. Good luck test driving anything, it isn't going to happen around me. I am not ready to pay for a car, sight unseen, that I have never driven. So perhaps I keep the FiST for another season and put some more mods on it and wait until the craziness dies down.

 

[pinchvalve]

OK, well that went the other direction quickly. A local dealer had an Elantra N on the lot and I called about it and got the usual story of an out-of-state buyer picking it up that afternoon. The next morning they called me back and said that their deal fell through and they still had it. So I drove over and they let me take it for a test drive all alone. They did not want any markup over MSRP, and they gave me a decent price on the FiST on trade-in. I might have been able to get more with a private sale, but I don't have the time or want to deal with the hassle. So I am no longer a FiST owner after 8 years, which is a little bittersweet. But on to new adventures.

 

[blongo804]

OK, well that went the other direction quickly. A local dealer had an Elantra N on the lot and I called about it and got the usual story of an out-of-state buyer picking it up that afternoon. The next morning they called me back and said that their deal fell through and they still had it. So I drove over and they let me take it for a test drive all alone. They did not want any markup over MSRP, and they gave me a decent price on the FiST on trade-in. I might have been able to get more with a private sale, but I don't have the time or want to deal with the hassle. So I am no longer a FiST owner after 8 years, which is a little bittersweet. But on to new adventures.

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Congrats on the N! I absolutely love these things.

I'd love to hear how the Elantra compares to the Fiesta, if in any way at all. I know it's a different segment car so there's probably not much.

Any first hand impressions of the N would be great to hear.

 

[pinchvalve]

Congrats on the N! I absolutely love these things.

I'd love to hear how the Elantra compares to the Fiesta, if in any way at all. I know it's a different segment car so there's probably not much.

Any first hand impressions of the N would be great to hear.

The thing I always loved about the Fiesta is the fun per dollar ratio, for under $20,000 the Fiesta put a smile on my face every time I drove or raced her. Nothing in the same price bracket even comes close. Add some mods and the midrange punch was intoxicating.

The EN is obviously in a higher cost bracket, but considering the increase in MSRP since 2014, I'd still call it pretty affordable, especially considering what you get. The big difference is the infotainment system, digital screens and programmable everything are a big step up from the Fiesta. Everything I modified on the Fiesta over the years is adjustable on the EN. I can change damper settings at the touch of a button instead of having to break out the wrenches. I can change exhaust sound. I can choose what LSD I want. And all of the settings and gauges on my Cobb AP are built into the Elantra. It's pretty awesome.

I'm still breaking the car in, but the midrange punch is there in spades. Passing, merging, pulling away from a stop all provide similar thrills to the FiST. If you believe the dyno, my FiST had more torque at the wheels than the N, so its not that far off even thought it has 90 more HP. For handling, my Fiesta was pretty stiff, so it's nice to have the handling without the punishing ride. (I am an old man after all.) Autocross will be interesting, it's much larger than the Fiesta, and 600 pounds heavier. 19" tires will SUCK to buy compared to my 16" wheels, but oh well.