i agree. ap2's are worth more money and mods (except hardtop) do not add to the value of the car. for someone like me especially on a high revving car, i want the car as stock as possible. mods detract even if it is wheels, suspension or intake.
to even up a trade between an '03 and '04 assuming they were in the same condition, the '04'd have to have around 50k on the odo compared to about 10k for the dealership to go for it...they're in the business to make money not break even.

 

My prediction is 0% chance of an even trade.
The dealership is not going to let a newer body style and model year go for an older body style in a less desirable color.

 

 

The dealership needs to make money because they will be putting man hours into the deal. Nothing is free.

 

Exactly what I was thinking.

 

Too funny.

 

Upgraded rims don't really add on any value to your car although whoever is selling you the car will argue otherwise.
Back to the topic, even if you had the exact same car with the exact same mileage/color/etc they still wouldn't do a straight up trade. Why would they hassle checking the car all over again, doing all the paperwork, etc to only go through it all over again?

 

That's the truth.

Let's break it down.

I pulled these numbers moments ago from a popular national used car listing site (both of these vehicles are listed by dealers).

True, asking price (from these postings) is NOT selling price (which will definitely be lower), but I assume that haggling will reduce both prices accordingly, so the magnitude of difference between starting prices from this example should be fair.


Image aint workin' so here's data:
2003 38,000mi Yellow - $20,977
2004 32,575mi White - $23,988

Since I could not find an exact mileage match, I will give ya a credit of $500 (more than generous) for the lower mileage.

So, from a dealer's perspective:

diff between car values = 3011
I give you credit for mileage so the new difference = 3011 - 500 = 2511

Dealer overhead costs = 500 (storage, car prep, sale commission)
2511 + 500 = 3011

At a bare minimum (if he's your uncle) the dealer will want about 3k from you to give you a GM friends and family discount kinda deal. This is not real world, but uncle Monty. The real world will probably put you between 3700 and 4700.

The rims might have cost 3k, but they will not put a steak on the salesman's plate, nor pay lot cost, and might even reduce the market population of buyers for the car (depending upon rice factor).