What’s Up in the Forums: What’s a Used S2000 Worth These Days?
Valuation guides are great and all, but a car is only worth what someone will pay for it. And dealerships won’t give you much!
These days, we’re lucky enough to have seemingly endless used car valuation tools at our disposal. Despite this, however, the value of any car remains pegged at “whatever someone is willing to pay for it.” Even if Kelly Blue Book says your S2000 is worth $20k, if you can’t find a buyer willing to shell out that much, it won’t do you much good. So there is some value in heading to places like the S2KI forums to see what others are getting for their cars. And that’s exactly what member G Rahn decided to do.
“Hey all, just curious what an S2000 is going for these days. Looking to trade it in, possibly this weekend. I’d like to know what I should expect as a fair trade-in price.
Yellow 2001 w/63,000 kms. U.S. car bought through The Honda Way. I’m the second owner No claims, but has a few dings and scratches. Fogged up headlight that goes away in sunshine. OEM hardtop w/ matching VIN. Enkei RPF1s w/ Dunlop Star Specs and OEM wheels w/ winter rubber.”
Without hesitation, the advice comes pouring in. Much of it centered around why trading in a car is often a bad idea if you’re looking to get maximum value for it.
“I think you could probably sell it for more privately,” said alSpeed2k. “IIRC, someone traded their ’06 in last November for around $15k. It had been in one accident though.”
“You absolutely would get more money on a private sale and you probably could sell that fairly quickly with summer coming,” adds DDonovan.“The dealer will never come close to what you can get for it. The only advantage to a trade is that it is all done in one nice package. If that isn’t important, sell it privately.”
ALSO SEE: Market Watch: Your S2000 Isn’t Appreciating in Value…Yet
Chuck S does a nice job of explaining in detail why trading is generally a bad idea.
“Trade-ins are a shell game the dealer always wins. They buy at wholesale and sell at retail. If they offer a lot of money for your trade they just cut less from the deal you would have gotten if you had no trade at all. Either way, it’s always the same for them. S2000 or Yugo is all the same to the dealer. You’re paying for the convenience with a trade-in, and in some tax jurisdictions you only pay sales tax on the difference.”
Ultimately, it appears the OP did go the private route and sold his car quickly. Even if it was priced pretty competitively. Regardless, it’s just another example of why the S2Ki forums are such a great resource. They’re chock full of invaluable info. Oftentimes, info that’ll save you a lot of money!
Join the S2KI forums today!
