For Sale? Maybe...

[tundra-lover]

Hey guys, I'm thinking about selling my 97' ES and I'm not sure what to sell it for. I will be upside down with all the money dumped into it since I bought it in November. I'm not much of a car guy, and having a hard time.

NADA says its high book value is 10700. I have 114k miles, new rebuilt tranny with carbonfiber clutches, all synthetic oils, new belts, new timing belt, iridium plugs, all maintenance done, good brakes, two sets of new tires (snow, summer), new 5%/20% tinted Llumar windows, white pearl with grey on bottom/leather/CD changer, new KYB struts, all rockchips repaired, windshield is a little pitted. No electronic suspension control. I've buffed it out a couple times, and it looks pretty nice. Only two slightly visible little dings- rear quarter, and front fender near bumper- can't really see. I'll try to figure out how to post pic's.

What would it be worth to you? Thanks

[SW03ES]

The NADA Book is going to be way high. KBB in "good" condition is going to be a much better guage of the car's actual value. NADA is basically just used to price insurance payouts and costs etc.

It lists your Lexus' value at $8,450 which I think is much more in the ballpark.

[tundra-lover]

All of the banks here in Utah usually go by NADA, so thats what they suggested to go by, as the Kelly is usually much higher. I guess its regional?

[kyle0k]

my 1996 is worth $8,355 according to kelly blue book and it has salvage title. but then again it only has 60,000 miles:)

[SW03ES]

The banks go by NADA for what residuals? That also makes sense. I've never known Kelly to be more than NADA though...

[tundra-lover]

Around here Kelly is usually higher. I go through several different CU's. All trade values come from NADA, but for sales they can sometimes go through Kelly. They say NADA is more accurate.

My main concern is for actual Lexus owners. You know what you'd pay for one, so I'm just trying to get a good idea since you've all been through it. Sounds like it could be a little regional as posted.

[SW03ES]

Weird, I guess it is a regional thing

[Lex3486]

This must be a highly regional question because I'm constantly lookin at the classifieds at Lexi and a 97 w/114k would run ~11, 12k...We thought we got a helluva deal on my moms' 96 w/67k miles last year for 10,800...it's basically flawless, except for the tarnished gold emblems...and my 93 w/126k (when we bought it, now I'm pushin 139k :D ) we got for 5,800.

[93LSOwner]

Book values have a lot do to with pricing, but also how many more of the same cars are for sale in your area matters too, I believe. I browsed around autotrader and cars.com and have seen Lexus figures a lot lower than what we have in my area. We don't get many Lexi for sale around here compared to all the other brands, so maybe thats something to consider too, which will be the reginal pricing thing...

Tundra-Lover: One more thing, do you have pictures of the car on the net anywhere, those will help a lot too.

[blake918]

Why would you consider selling the car after you have done that much work to it? New tranny, struts, brakes, timing belt, etc., keep it!!! :D Why do you want to sell it? I think the $8,450 number that Steve found is a realistic figure. I've seen a few ES's locally with 110k miles and an asking price of only $7500; we have a lot of Lexi available down here(I suppose that's why it's so cheap.). Check your classified ads to see what other ES's in similar conditions and mileage ranges are going for in your area. ;)

[SW03ES]

Also bear in mind that you rarely get the asking price, thats the price before negotiation...

[jragosta]

Edmunds puts it at $10,600 for sale to a private owner or $8,900 for a tradein. This is supposedly the average of actual sales for similar cars.

You can look for prices in AutoTrader or the local newspaper, but remember that these are asking prices and the actual sale price is almost always going to be lower.

Good luck.

[branshew]

I thought all NADA, Kelley, & Edmunds were adjusted for regional differences. Where I am, NADA tends to be the highest value, followed by KBB, and then Edmunds. Edmunds seems to be the most realistic in terms of actual sales prices/valuation in relation to what cars are selling for in SE VA.

There is also a "Black Book" of wholesale values and recent auction prices that you may run into sometime.

Also, keep in mind that there are several different versions of the NADA guide. Some are for consumers and some are for dealers. These differences are not apparrent to most people, and dealers use them to their advantage in sales tactics.

When I was recently negotiating a trade in towards my Wife's Pathfinder, the salesman was a bit unexperienced. He brought out the dealer retail NADA guide to "show me the price" of the new to me (used) Pathfinder - which is considerably higher than what I had negotiated in order to make me feel like a got a good deal on the truck - All of this to indicate that I may not get as much for the trade because I "got such a good deal on the Pathfinder."

When he was negotiating the trade in, he brought out another NADA guide forgetting that the previous one was still on the table. This was the trade-in/wholesale priced NADA guide that listed the "trade in price for her old car." The trade in amount was insulting (as it usually is), but I was able to pick up the retail guide that was mistakenly left on the table and used the wholesale & retail prices on the truck and trade-in to work the guy over. I guarantee that he will never make that mistake again.

Most banks that I have dealt with use the NADA to determine resale value in relation to finance approval as well as residual. My credit union uses the dealer retail version to calculate financing amounts.

[tundra-lover]

I'll see if I can get some pic's this weekend if it doesn't rain.

When I went to the gas station last night, the AutoTrader listed a few with very similar miles and options from $10,500- $12500. The newspaper had none. And yes, I'm very familiar with all the different price guides. I've also never sold a car under High book before, usually I sell them for more than book in less than a couple weeks(so far 11 vehicles).

Ya, I don't want to sell it after fixing so many things, but I'm having a problem getting used to it. I'm just not sure. But I know I don't want to buy another vehicle just to repair it as well? Specially if I can't sell it for a good enough price. I'll probably be able to sell it, but have to make payments on the tranny for another year? Looks like I'll have to rethink this one? Thanks!