Am I nuts, '16 Trail Premium Value Question?

GG Allin

GG Allin

New member
So here is my situation. Between my wife and I we have a 2014 Acura MDX, financed, current balance is around $26,000. That car has 20100 miles. We also have my 2016 4Runner leased for 3 years with around 15 months left to go. Current buy out according to Toyota Financial is $31,500.

My daughter has recent switched to a "school for gifted children". Long story but the tuition is going up around $300 per month compared to her last school. Easiest way to offset that is to shed some car.

The original plan was to trade the MDX on a Honda Civic lease. A deal was offered where they give us $27,000 for the MDX we add $2500 cash and walk away with a new Civic EX on a 3 year lease for $181 per month. There's our $300 right there. Problem now is, after a week or so of my wife driving the 4Runner (I've been driving the MDX) she just does not like it and can't get used to it. "It's too big."

So it occurred to me, I'm not 100% attached to the 4runner. I like it, I love it but I can live without it. I can also live with the fuel economy of the Civic.

So I'm thinking, is it realistic to think that I can get the Honda dealer to give me at least $32,500 for the 4Runner? They've already said it's not unheard of to take a leased vehicle on trade.

-2016 Trail Premium (White)
-17500 Miles
-TRD Pro Look (Wheels, Tires, Front Grill, Front and Rear Plastidipped Valances)
-1.5 Inch front spacer lift

Absolutely perfect condition, no dings or scratches anywhere.
 
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that's worth a lot more than $32,500 if you sell private party instead of trading

trading in vehicles is leaving money on the table
 
First off, any dealer will take a lease as trade. It's just a car to them, and lease or financed, there is a payoff, and a value, looks no different. IMO, Toyota leases end up WAAAY lower on the payoff than their value so you should be in a pretty good position on that 2016 Trail. I'd say 34k or so on trade.

With the Civic lease, if you have good credit, don't put any money into it, you are just pre paying your monthly payment as the money factor is almost 0. For example, the scenario you listed with the MDX is almost $100/month that you just pre paid ($3,500/36), so you are only saving $200/month. IMO, you can do better than that. Could do a Corolla S for ~$200/mo with no money down easy.
 
Come on now. You have the internet. Pull up the book value. That's what the dealer is going to do. NADA lists trade in between almost $36k-37k. Which to me is amazing, considering I'm at about the same mileage and year and that about what I paid new.

Also, those mods are worth nothing to a dealer.

Just be prepared for the dealer to offer you right around the buy out price, because that's how they make money... You'll probably have to do a good bit of haggling to get them to pay you that much for it.
 
(none) said:
Come on now. You have the internet. Pull up the book value. That's what the dealer is going to do. NADA lists trade in between almost $36k-37k. Which to me is amazing, considering I'm at about the same mileage and year and that about what I paid new.

Also, those mods are worth nothing to a dealer.

Just be prepared for the dealer to offer you right around the buy out price, because that's how they make money... You'll probably have to do a good bit of haggling to get them to pay you that much for it.
Click to expand...

And this is where the internet gets you in trouble... I looked at a 2016 Trail Premium with the exact same miles with dealer ask price of $36,400. Puts the trade right at 34k. Geography isn't gong to get you that much different (except maybe Colorado). NADA is always going to run high too, especially on newer models where there isn't much data. Check KBB and Edmunds as well to get a range.

OP, try calling a few dealers too and ask, tell them what you are trying to do and get an idea of where they would be on your truck. Don't mention it has a lease or what payoff is. Some are pretty forthcoming with what they'll give you. If they pressure you for payoff numbers, just say you'd rather not disclose that as it's irrelevant to the value. If they won't play along, try another dealer.
 
GG Allin said:
So here is my situation. Between my wife and I we have a 2014 Acura MDX, financed, current balance is around $26,000. That car has 20100 miles. We also have my 2016 4Runner leased for 3 years with around 15 months left to go. Current buy out according to Toyota Financial is $31,500.

My daughter has recent switched to a "school for gifted children". Long story but the tuition is going up around $300 per month compared to her last school. Easiest way to offset that is to shed some car.

The original plan was to trade the MDX on a Honda Civic lease. A deal was offered where they give us $27,000 for the MDX we add $2500 cash and walk away with a new Civic EX on a 3 year lease for $181 per month. There's our $300 right there. Problem now is, after a week or so of my wife driving the 4Runner (I've been driving the MDX) she just does not like it and can't get used to it. "It's too big."

So it occurred to me, I'm not 100% attached to the 4runner. I like it, I love it but I can live without it. I can also live with the fuel economy of the Civic.

So I'm thinking, is it realistic to think that I can get the Honda dealer to give me at least $32,500 for the 4Runner? They've already said it's not unheard of to take a leased vehicle on trade.

-2016 Trail Premium (White)
-17500 Miles
-TRD Pro Look (Wheels, Tires, Front Grill, Front and Rear Plastidipped Valances)
-1.5 Inch front spacer lift

Absolutely perfect condition, no dings or scratches anywhere.
Click to expand...
I will add this for the alternate option that you decide to trade in instead of selling outright. You will get much more if you trade it in to a Toyota dealer due to the fact they can resell it as a CPO. I did this with my 14' and got over $2k more on trade since I didn't have the time to wait and sell outright. I did a 2 year lease on a fully optioned Corolla S and my payment for right at $230 a month. Your payment will obviously go down with a 3 year lease. This is just my info I have to offer.
 
If you're trying to reduce monthly expense - why would you go buy or lease another new car? A 10yr old Honda Accord is going to be a lot cheaper to own than any new car. If you can get $5k more than your payoff by selling - you can buy a 2007 Accord, have no payment, and save a lot more money. Buying a new car is almost never a good financial decision. Leasing is worse.
 
Jetboy said:
If you're trying to reduce monthly expense - why would you go buy or lease another new car? A 10yr old Honda Accord is going to be a lot cheaper to own than any new car. If you can get $5k more than your payoff by selling - you can buy a 2007 Accord, have no payment, and save a lot more money. Buying a new car is almost never a good financial decision. Leasing is worse.
Click to expand...

Not seeing a whole lot of '07 Accords for $5K. On Autotrader there is a grand total of 1 with mileage less than 100k at that price. I'm not interested in a car that is potentially going give me mechanical issues as a daily driver.
 
GG Allin said:
Not seeing a whole lot of '07 Accords for $5K. On Autotrader there is a grand total of 1 with mileage less than 100k at that price. I'm not interested in a car that is potentially going give me mechanical issues as a daily driver.
Click to expand...

There's not many 10yr old cars of any model with less than 100k miles.

If you want to limit the search enough that it only includes a new car - that's up to you. Just don't trick yourself into thinking it's somehow a wise financial decision. A 150k mile Accord is a nicer car to drive than a new civic. And probably just as reliable for the next 3-5 years of use.
 
Jetboy said:
There's not many 10yr old cars of any model with less than 100k miles.

If you want to limit the search enough that it only includes a new car - that's up to you. Just don't trick yourself into thinking it's somehow a wise financial decision. A 150k mile Accord is a nicer car to drive than a new civic. And probably just as reliable for the next 3-5 years of use.
Click to expand...

I'm not tricking myself in to anything. There are just certain things I won't use as a daily driver, financially wise or not. Putting an LS2 in to an M3 is not financially wise. What I want in the short term is a lower monthly payment on a reliable car. What I need is an appliance to get to and from work, nothing more.


The new Civic is no slouch. Dirt cheap, reasonably quick and barely uses any gas, that's the appeal.
 
GG Allin said:
Not seeing a whole lot of '07 Accords for $5K. On Autotrader there is a grand total of 1 with mileage less than 100k at that price. I'm not interested in a car that is potentially going give me mechanical issues as a daily driver.
Click to expand...

Why in the world would you think a Honda with 100k miles would give you any sort of trouble? I just bought my latest Toyota with 105k miles on it and it's the newest one I've bought. They just go and go and go and go.....heck, even my Audi didn't give me much trouble between 100k and 200k. Sure on it I had to do some $$$$ repairs (that's what running an Audi is like) but it got me to work and back every day without fail.

Get a good Accord with 150k miles and you can reasonable expect it to go to 250k with very few if any issues.
 
Last edited:
I only read this thread because of your username.

You are car poor. You should purchase some affordable cars based on your budget.
 
GG Allin said:
So here is my situation. Between my wife and I we have a 2014 Acura MDX, financed, current balance is around $26,000. That car has 20100 miles. We also have my 2016 4Runner leased for 3 years with around 15 months left to go. Current buy out according to Toyota Financial is $31,500.

My daughter has recent switched to a "school for gifted children". Long story but the tuition is going up around $300 per month compared to her last school. Easiest way to offset that is to shed some car.

The original plan was to trade the MDX on a Honda Civic lease. A deal was offered where they give us $27,000 for the MDX we add $2500 cash and walk away with a new Civic EX on a 3 year lease for $181 per month. There's our $300 right there. Problem now is, after a week or so of my wife driving the 4Runner (I've been driving the MDX) she just does not like it and can't get used to it. "It's too big."

So it occurred to me, I'm not 100% attached to the 4runner. I like it, I love it but I can live without it. I can also live with the fuel economy of the Civic.

So I'm thinking, is it realistic to think that I can get the Honda dealer to give me at least $32,500 for the 4Runner? They've already said it's not unheard of to take a leased vehicle on trade.

-2016 Trail Premium (White)
-17500 Miles
-TRD Pro Look (Wheels, Tires, Front Grill, Front and Rear Plastidipped Valances)
-1.5 Inch front spacer lift

Absolutely perfect condition, no dings or scratches anywhere.
Click to expand...



Hold up a sec, A better question would be? Why would you lease a Toyota 4Runner that barely loses value in the first place?
 
Arthur4R said:
Hold up a sec, A better question would be? Why would you lease a Toyota 4Runner that barely loses value in the first place?
Click to expand...

Lots of people lease for various reasons. A very good friend of mine is leasing a 4Runner now, and he could stroke a check for it and not even blink. If you are someone who buys new cars and drives them for a short period before upgrading, it's a great deal, the money factor is almost nothing these days, and you are only paying for the depreciation. Plus, you have downside protection on the depreciation. If it is worth more than the agreed residual at any point in the lease, you can capture that $$, if it is worth less, then you turn it in and walk away.

This idea of having "equity" in a car is foolish, as it's temporary, it'll eventually go to 0 all on its own anyway. Cars are an expense, not an asset.

There are 2 ways to approach the financial aspects of buying a car... the long game where you focus on NPV, or the cash flow approach. It's a business decision. Buying new, either one is almost identical, especially with interest rates where they are now. Even with leasing, you are just making payments for a longer period before you "own" it (if you purchase at end of lease). Remember, even after the car is paid off, you are still making "payments" as it is depreciating every day, and your overall net worth is decreasing.

Now we can argue all day long about whether or not you should buy a new car, but that is a personal utility question, and I for one prefer a newer vehicle. Financially the 10 year old Accord or Camry is the best bet, but has very little personal utility to me other than point A to B.

OP, I feel your pain, get that cash flow down, go grind harder at your day job and try and fix that side as well. Attack the problem from both the out and the in.
 
Arthur4R said:
Hold up a sec, A better question would be? Why would you lease a Toyota 4Runner that barely loses value in the first place?
Click to expand...
If you aren't keeping new cars longer than your financing, i.e. just going new car to new car, leasing is less expensive overall if you don't drive high miles

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