Trade-In Help?

[K-MTG]

I received my invite and configured my 3 yesterday!!

The Model 3 will be replacing my 2015 Acura TLX that is currently leased for $415 per month. I have 10 months left on the lease and my payoff is $26,200.

I took my car to the Acura dealership this morning hoping I could terminate my lease early since I only have 10k miles (without any fee).

But they were only willing to give me $23k for the car...unless I purchased/leased another Acura.

I don't see the value of paying $3k to return my car early when I can keep it for the remainder of the lease (10 months) for $4k.

CarGurus Market Value is: $28,686
Edmunds:
Private Party: $27, 209
Dealer Retail: $29,057
Trade-In: $25,029


Do you think Tesla would give me a better value if I trade-in with them?? What are my alternatives (CarMax, etc...)? What is the best way to sell with a private-party?

I am not looking to make a profit...just want to get out of my lease.

 

[combo]

If I understood correctly, Tesla may use vroom.com to handle non-Tesla trade-ins behind the scenes. You might check with them directly to get an idea.

CarMax would be another safe bet.

 

[jjh1234]

I contacted Vroom and they never got back to me with an offer after the initial email exchange.

 

[Dwdnjck]

Carmax is pretty good. Get an offer from them and try to beat it.

 

[omgwtfbyobbq]

You can try swapalease or similar.

 

[K-MTG]

You can try swapalease or similar.

Do you know how Acura handles this? Is there a fee? Am I liable after the lease is swapped?

 

[patrick40363]

Do you know how Acura handles this? Is there a fee? Am I liable after the lease is swapped?

You need to read your lease agreement to answer those questions or call the leasing company.

Why not just wait and get the model 3 at the end of your lease?

 

[neptune2000]

I received my invite and configured my 3 yesterday!!

<....>

Do you think Tesla would give me a better value if I trade-in with them?? What are my alternatives (CarMax, etc...)? What is the best way to sell with a private-party?

I am not looking to make a profit...just want to get out of my lease.

When I bought my Tesl Model S, I traded in my Fiat 500 Abarth with a Carmax quote. I plan to fo=do the same when buying the Model 3 and trade-in a Hyundai Elantra with its Carmax quote.

 

[Big Dog]

Why not just wait and get the model 3 at the end of your lease?

Excellent idea. Even better, wait for the AWD with white interior. Come on, you know that you really want it.

 

[K-MTG]

You need to read your lease agreement to answer those questions or call the leasing company.

Why not just wait and get the model 3 at the end of your lease?

Already ordered the 3 so it is too late to cancel now...and I want the tax credit. But I need to get $26,000 for my TLX.

What am I gonna do with 5 cars? Even 4 cars...can only fit 3 in the garage.

 

[strykeroz]

What am I gonna do with 5 cars? Even 4 cars...can only fit 3 in the garage.

You solved it yourself right there - bigger garage is the answer!

 

[JohnSnowNW]

Tesla has a relationship with CarMax, so I would just get a CarMax quote regardless of what you decide to do. It's free, the only cost is your time.

 

[cwerdna]

But I need to get $26,000 for my TLX.

Is that a realistic amount? What have you seen used ones go for? If you think you can get that, an option is to pay off your lease and sell it private party.

 

[Xminus6]

I'd follow up with Vroom as well. I sold our Model S through them and they offered me WAY more than Carmax or Tesla. It was something like $5k more than either of the other options if I recall correctly.

 

[K-MTG]

Is that a realistic amount? What have you seen used ones go for? If you think you can get that, an option is to pay off your lease and sell it private party.

The dealer is selling a similar car with nearly 2x the miles for $28k. So my $26k is about right.

But I will check out Vroom, Carmax, Beepi, Swift, and Roadster. Anyone recommend anything else??

I heard Tesla matches CarMax and Beepi, is that true??

If neither one of those get me $26k...I will go to Craiglist, Ebay, Nextdoor, Cargurus and try to sell the car myself. But I haven't sold a car myself before so I am worried about getting scammed....even cashier checks can't be trusted anymore. Maybe I should accept bitcoin only lol

 

[mrtian97]

If u are worried with scam with private buyer, just have the buyer meet u at the bank that you have acct with and have them pay u cash and u deposit the cash at the same time. Worked for me

 

[K-MTG]

If u are worried with scam with private buyer, just have the buyer meet u at the bank that you have acct with and have them pay u cash and u deposit the cash at the same time. Worked for me

By cash do you mean check? Or paper cash? Is it reasonable to ask the buyer to bring $26k in paper cash?

 

[SageBrush]

But I haven't sold a car myself before so I am worried about getting scammed....even cashier checks can't be trusted anymore. Maybe I should accept bitcoin only lol

Funny you mention this .. I just sold a car and learned a little along the way.

If you go to the buyer's bank with the buyer, you can receive a bank check that has zero chance of being a counterfeit.
If you have an account at that bank you can deposit it into your account immediately, otherwise you have to deposit the check at whatever bank you do use and you take a small risk of the check being lost/stolen/damaged in the meantime.

In my case, I took the bank check home. Smarter would have been to use my bank's electronic deposit feature right at the buyer's bank.

 

[K-MTG]

Funny you mention this .. I just sold a car and learned a little along the way.

If you go to the buyer's bank with the buyer, you can receive a bank check that has zero chance of being a counterfeit.
If you have an account at that bank you can deposit it into your account immediately, otherwise you have to deposit the check at whatever bank you do use and you take a small risk of the check being lost/stolen/damaged in the meantime.

In my case, I took the bank check home. Smarter would have been to use my bank's electronic deposit feature right at the buyer's bank.

Thanks for the info...how did you find the buyer??

KBB just gave me a super low instant cash offer of $20,180 and shift offered me $24,700.

Still holding out for $26k

 

[davidc18]

we used carmax.