My 04' 4runner won't sell...what gives?

[spyne]

As much as the trade-in value sucks (I think the original poster was offered $17K), some of that may be offset by a reduction in sales tax on the new car.
In Illinois, you only pay sales tax on the difference between the new car and your trade-in. I made a trade a few years ago where I had to talk a dealer up in order to match an offer I got from Carmax. When you factor in the sales tax savings, doing the trade-in at that price was almost $2K better than taking the same cash offer from Carmax.

The original poster is in Delaware which has no sales tax. In VA, where I live, the tax is based on the sales price only. Sounds like you may have a unique situation in Illinois.

 

[boston_kevin]

Let's not forget the year end sales quotas that have to be met. A dealer was advertsing a brand new '06 SR5 V6 (basic options) for 21,990 plus ttl. When you can get a brand new 4Runner with a V6 for under 22 grand, buying a used one for 22k is hard to justify. Give it a month or so when the dealer jack up their prices for the '07 MY. It should be easier to sell then.

 

[liquidvw]

sell it on ebay with a 20K reserve. Only cost you $40 to list and another $40 if it sells. I sold my last vechicle there and got $1K more than I wanted.

 

[aguerem1]

With all the rebates and financing deals on new SUV's, in addition to high gas prices, it's a bad time to sell a used vehicle. Given that you have a Toyota truck, you can consider keeping the vehicle for many years of reliable transportation. In the long run, Toyota trucks have a low cost of ownership.

 

[ToyotaDan]

try carmax. A buddy just sold his Sienna and got $1k below what the kbb listed.

 

[jh26]

That same truck on a used Toyota lot would have an asking price probably of 26,000-28,000

It might, but my brand new 2006 v8 4WD only cost $29,000 - why would someone buy a 40k mile used one for just a few $K less.

Like others have said, it's darn near impossible to complete with dealers in that price range. Go to Carmax and get a quote . At least then you'll have an objective 3rd party starting point. On a late model low mileage car, you probably won't get more than $2 or 3 k more than CarMax offers in a private sale, and then only if you're lucky.

 

[biglatka]

I traded my 04 SR5 V6 for a new 05 SE V8 (both 4WD) in July, 2005. I netted almost $2000 savings in sales tax with no hassle in the exchange. I would've needed to get at least $2000 over dealer trade in to start with just to break even, and also lay out the amount of trade in value until I sold the 04. Never looked back on the switch or the trade in over selling on my own.

 

[OUTRNNR]

The market is flooded with these things right now. There are so many of them on the road it makes more sense to just pony up a couple extra thousand and buy a new one. Your asking price, which seems good, is not in an ideal range. Too high for someone to pay cash, and close enough to new models to justify the extra couple grand for brand new.

Our own proliferation is driving down our re-sale values

 

[GlennD]

Suv sales are very slow right now. I traded in my SR5 May 5. I kept running the plates and it sold Aug 31. In my job as Public Safety Tech I have access to the JDIC database.

 

[pipspeak]

Book value is approx $20K.

Koz

I just plugged in an 04 SE 4x4 with 32K miles and standard equipment and got a KBB private party value of over $23K for a vehicle in "excellent" condition.

 

[Falls]

I know the market is soft right now , but the 4R still has a good edge in holding value. On the other hand SUV's like the trailblazer & explorer hold crap for value. So if someone is looking to buy an used 4x4 SUV on a budget for them the TB or Explorer would be a cheaper buy and what they might perceive as a better value.

BUT ....you get what you pay for

My parent have a 05 4x4 Trailblazer ext. 6cyl , totally loaded , never had any problems to date , they use it for road trips ect.. it's value is absolutely horrible !! My mom was pretty dissappointed in that when they looked at trading it. I told her it would hold better value with a lift kit and rim's and tires she's not buying it.......