I got a flyer in the mail today from my local Toyota dealership, which announced this "Trade-In Assistance" program where you can get 100 percent of your original MSRP on a trade for a new vehicle. Anyone ever hear about such a thing?
Oh, yes, there is a SMALL amount of fine print here... like, the vehicle you trade in must be a Toyota between 1998-2006 model years, and you have to buy a "like model" or "upgraded new Toyota", and the kicker is really that they deduct between 20 and 30 cents per mile, depending on model and "reconditioning". And you know they'll use the 30 cents per mile figure.
So, let's suppose you have a 2004 4Runner Limited with 65,000 miles on it. Like, oh... mine. The original MSRP on this vehicle was around $38,000. Given 65,000 miles, there will be a mileage deduction of 30 cents times 65,000 miles, or $19,500. That brings the trade value of my truck down to $18,500 under this program.
Hey, looky here... if I check out Kelly Blue Book for my current trade value, it says it's worth $16,375. I bet the NADA value is pretty close to that. But, these dealers all use Galves, anyway, and that has to be lower, like probably around $12,000.
So, this "trade-in assistance" program sounds like a good deal, right?
Oh, I don't know what kind of games they may play with this deal, like making you pay full MSRP for the new vehicle, or something like that. I mean, Toyota would never pull a stunt like that, would they? Huh?
Has anyone ever actually bought a new Toyota under this kind of a program?
I just think that if something looks like a duck, and smells like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it's a duck. And this deal looks like a duck to me.
Oh, yes, there is a SMALL amount of fine print here... like, the vehicle you trade in must be a Toyota between 1998-2006 model years, and you have to buy a "like model" or "upgraded new Toyota", and the kicker is really that they deduct between 20 and 30 cents per mile, depending on model and "reconditioning". And you know they'll use the 30 cents per mile figure.
So, let's suppose you have a 2004 4Runner Limited with 65,000 miles on it. Like, oh... mine. The original MSRP on this vehicle was around $38,000. Given 65,000 miles, there will be a mileage deduction of 30 cents times 65,000 miles, or $19,500. That brings the trade value of my truck down to $18,500 under this program.
Hey, looky here... if I check out Kelly Blue Book for my current trade value, it says it's worth $16,375. I bet the NADA value is pretty close to that. But, these dealers all use Galves, anyway, and that has to be lower, like probably around $12,000.
So, this "trade-in assistance" program sounds like a good deal, right?
Oh, I don't know what kind of games they may play with this deal, like making you pay full MSRP for the new vehicle, or something like that. I mean, Toyota would never pull a stunt like that, would they? Huh?
Has anyone ever actually bought a new Toyota under this kind of a program?
I just think that if something looks like a duck, and smells like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it's a duck. And this deal looks like a duck to me.
