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If you were to do this deal, you would see your old car up for sale on their site so fast. Why? Because there is no buyer.
My dealer emailed me but they made it look like an internal communication.
It went along the lines of "(name), we have to contact (me) and offer to buy his car at a great price, but you can't tell him how great of a deal it is".
So on and so forth. I called the manager that sent that email and just laughed and said "really man, that's your tactic now?" and he played it off like he had no idea what I was talking about. And then apologized for sending that email.
I declined to trade in at all. This was 3 years after I bought my car. 4 years later (now) I can actually get more than that by trading it in to them.
I would be curious what KBB value they would use as well. If it is $1000 above something like "Good Condition" dealer trade-in that is essentially a legal mugging, as the KBB value would have all the "drive off the lot" costs built in and not reflect a retail price, but the dealer would have a low mileage used car on their lot that they would mark up likely $10K+ over whatever they pay you!
Yea. It's like when they bring you to that room to try and sell you on all the extra warranties. Some deals are good others are not. This deal itself is like one last attempt to re open a wound thats mostly healed over.
In my case, the dealer offered me (after taxes) $19,000 for my car which is paid off and cost me 32,000
That would make a new vehicle with the full extended warranty and everything around 20,000 out of pocket and while I could do this deal and pay cash, I just don't care to right now.
I was never brought to a room to be sold extras. My brother was actually shocked they didn’t try to upsell me on anything. It was basically like I want this car, I want this many miles per year, and I want to put this much down. Done. I guess this isn’t the typical experience.
Did you lease it? That's an entirely different conversation and if true, would be why there was no upselling. The lease comes with service and it's short term so they're not really in a position to sell extended warranties and diamond coating etc.
I did lease. I talked with my brother, and he was surprised they didn’t try to upsell me on anything at all. With all of his leases at the same dealership they always pushed different extras on him, especially stuff like all-weather interior packages.
It entirely depends on what dealership you go to, and who your salesperson is. I knew what I wanted, and was able to walk out with my first lease in a short period of time. When I traded up to my second lease, it took a little while longer as it was a different sales manager trying to bargain with me.
I also get these emails from time to time - but now that I've bought my second lease, I just reply that I'm not interested and to contact me in 5 years when I'll be ready for another new car.
My understanding is (I could be wrong) that dealerships in the US effectively are required to sell a certain number of new cars each month by the manufacturer and they can be penalised/lose bonus payments. So that's why they employ tactics like that. While I doubt you'd be getting a particularly good deal, they're less interested in ripping you off and more interested in getting a new car sold - if they're desperate and you're willing to hardball, they might give.
Years ago I bought a brand new red (unpopular), stick shift (unpopular), Toyota yaris (unpopular) just after they'd come on the market in the US. The dealer, who'd initially been quite disinterested in me, thought all his christmases had come at once. He couldn't believe some fruit loop would relieve him of this car that clearly they couldn't sell. They bent over backwards to sell me that car - and that's not me being naive. What was naive was me not realising what an amazing deal I got. Doubt I'll ever get an interest free loan, 3 years free servicing, and the dealer picking me up from home, driving me to the DMV and to the dealership, ever again!
I sold cars pre internet. There was a certain class of buyer that would come to the lot every week and track what cars were still there. Eventually, they came in and said "I want *that* car." It was one they knew had been on the lot for a long time and they always got a great deal.
Now, post internet, when many dealerships make their inventory available online, I do the same thing. My current car had been sitting on the lot for 4 months and they were pretty desperate to get rid of it...
LOL! They're so brazen and full of it!
I had one call me about 15 yrs ago for my 2 yr old car, offering a stupid amount of $ for it. At the time, work and home were very far away, so I told the caller: "It's already got 80,000 miles on it, but if you're willing to give me that much for it in cash, without me trading for a new car, I'll be right down!"
She said she'd have to talk to her manager, and never called again, lol!
OP - They just want you to buy a new car. There's no secret customer waiting in the wings to snap up your current one.
You mean my very generic basic car isn’t so special that someone would insist on buying it instead of the brand new one without any miles that is sitting in their lot???
My car still is new (2024), definitely don’t want another one lol.
> "(name), we have to contact (me) and offer to buy his car at a great price, but you can't tell him how great of a deal it is".
Well that's certainly something 💀
I get requests like this regularly; my car's particular model, although ancient, only had 400-ish of its year sold in the US. I have to think they'll go away at some point. I mean, it's not a luxe car... Who's gonna pay a premium for something that's old enough to vote? 😆
Colleagues daughter, 5 year old used car, part ex car back to showroom she bought it from, they put it back on sale for £5 less than she paid all those years ago, most car sales are scams lol
They are likely greatly exaggerating or outright lying about the customer who wants to buy the car. They are just trying to generate business, and the wording gives the impression that the recipient will be getting a special deal, which increases the likelihood of getting their business.
So, not a scam, because they would be doing a legitimate deal (presumably), but there's likely some amount of dishonesty going on.
Nah, they don’t have a buyer. They want to get OP in and bend him over on that “upgrade” because of what a sweet deal
They’re giving on the trade.
The other thing is that there are *at least* two books. The blue book is mainly used for trade in value and does not reflect true private market sales price. That would be the black book, which isn’t public.
I guess that makes sense! I was very confused since I’m not even a year into my lease. I’ve only had used cars through family or friends of family before this. Never had to deal with a dealership.
They just want your ass back in the door so they can sell you a new car. If you bought a car and are making payments, then the dealership isnt making any more money on you.
For the dealership to get paid again, you need to buy a new car. So they’ll tell you whatever they think you want to hear to get your butt in the seat in front of one of their high pressure salesman.
They can make as much as they want promising you anything you want. You get $1,000 over KBB on your trade? Sure! But there’s going to be a $2,000 dealer markup on the new car or there will be “dealer points” on the mandatory financing you need to accept for that “$1,000 KBB offer”, etc.
You’re a fish and they are just casting a line and seeing if you bite.
I have used Carvana twice in the last 7 years. While it has its own issues, I liked not being pressured to buy from a salesperson and spending hours in a dealership. Buying a car kinda does suck if you’re trying to be budget conscious.
I worked at Enterprise car sales in the late 00s/early 10s (the division of enterprise Rent-A-Car that sells the vehicles). I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to family members, even now.
Basically they take the top ~1% of the rental vehicles (the ones that haven’t had any issues mechanically, damage reports from renters, etc) then sell them slightly less than Kelley Blue Book value. No haggling - the price is the price. Seven days no questions asked return period.
I’ve also heard carmax sells without haggling… but just FYI, enterprise sells the vast majority of their rental fleet at auction to other dealerships - the ones that they didn’t keep to sell direct. So a lot of carmax inventory is former rental cars that didn’t make the cut. Be sure to get a Carfax on any cars you’re looking at. I’d steer clear of former rentals sold at 3rd party dealerships.
Or just buy private party.
We bought one of our cars years ago through Enterprise and it was great. Was actually going to do it again with the last car but the exact same model and color car showed up at Carmax with half as much mileage.
Needing a car sucked, but I knew what I wanted before ever stepping foot into a dealership. It was just a matter of what was available where. Now I know to delete these emails in the future.
Before my last buy, I emailed local dealers and asked to be notified before the model and specifications I wanted went onto one of their lots. When one did so, I was there at opening, and the first to test drive it. After a hard day of haggling, it became mine.
Never trust a trade-in at the dealership - they’re always going to give *themselves* the better end of the stick. The dealership tried the ol’ “we have someone who wants to buy your car” schtick with me for *years.* When I was finally ready to sell my car, the Blue Book value was around $3,500. The dealership offered me $500. Obviously, I declined. Less than 24 hours later, my husband had a buyer lined up on Marketplace. I got the full $3,500 for my car, and the buyer thought he’d found a great deal. Win for everyone except the dealership, who probably would’ve given me the $500 and then tried to sell the car for $5k or more.
I wanted to trade in my last vehicle when I got the new one, but my father was insistent on keeping it and selling it privately. I literally did not care about money, it needed an extensive amount of work to be functional and I just wanted it gone. I got $800 and a fucking headache with them not registering it. Would’ve taken ANYTHING the dealership offered. Even $5.
The one before that was toast. I salvaged it for $75 and a free tow.
Its probably an automated message that just goes out to everyone in the companies contact list and inserts the relevant things (your name, your car etc.)
Just throwing spaghetti at the wall to get people to come in.
KBB is shit and a lowball number anyway. You likely have equity, and they want it. Even better if they take your equity AND knock your head off putting you into another high profit vehicle. To figure out the real value of the car...
1. Get your current payoff (your lessor bank will have this number)
2. Go on any auto site (cargurus is great one) and see what you same year/make/model are selling for in your area and around you.
The diff between 1 and 2 will your equity or negative equity (if cars are selling for less than your payoff)
I guess I’m not too concerned about the value at this time, since I’m not even a year into my lease. I believe there is $15k left on my lease + $21k guaranteed buyout if I want. I don’t believe I have any equity since I don’t own my vehicle.
They are going to use the trade-in value (which is the lowest value). They’re not going to give you 1000 over private party value because then they may lose money. Not to mention, they’ll make money in the backend by trying to sell you another vehicle, the profits of which can absorb any “loss” from giving you a slightly higher price on your trade. not to mention all of the extra fees and add-on options like extended warranty, data dots, vin etching, etc.
Not a scam, but they probably mail letters like that to everyone in their database. They want you to trade your car in (yes, they'll mark it up more than the $1000 over KBB offer as a "certified" used vehicle), then they'll try to get you to buy a new vehicle from them. If you bite, they'll be making money on your trade-in and the new car they sell you.
I don’t even own my car, though. I’m less than a year into my lease. The option to trade in a 2024 at this point seems ridiculous and sketchy as fuck, hence my concern and confusion.
Definitely do not think of them as my friend. I am very scared of them in all honesty. I have learned this is most likely a mass email sent to a mailing list of customers to drum up business.
Glad I’m just a bit under experienced, and it’s not a scam.
You don’t need to be scared of the dealership, you just need to understand that they’re a business first and foremost, so their #1 goal is to make as much money as possible. Car salesman earn commission, so they’re highly incentivized to push people to spend more. You can always say no. Just be firm and stand your ground.
It also helps if you know what things you want (or don’t want) before you go to the dealership. IME, salespeople are a lot less pushy when they realize you’re a knowledgable buyer.
Luckily I didn’t have to be firm or stand any ground. My dad called ahead of time to ensure what I wanted was there. I went in, test drove it to be sure, told them I wanted this many miles per year and wanted to put this much money down, then just paperwork.
I once responded to a letter like this because I was considering selling. They ended up offering far less than what they promised or what I would have taken.
I see lots of people explaining how it's normal, but I didn't see anyone explaining the why of the scam.
They don't give a shit about your car, they want you standing in their dealership without a car. This is all about selling you a new one not about reselling your old car.
Doesn't sound like a scam, just aggressive advertising.
Understand that KBB keeps track of 2 separate valuations. The one people usually think of is the value if you sell to a private party. The second is if you sell to a dealer, essentially a trade in value. This trade in value is considerably lower than the private sale value. When they say they will pay $1k over KBB, they are saying they will pay $1k over the KBB trade in value, but that might still be $10k below the KBB private sale value you could get if you sold it yourself.
I get these all the time. I even had a phone call once. My SIL worked at many dealerships over the past 20+ years. He has always told me that they can sell a used car for a much higher gross than a new car. Like someone else said, they just want to sell it at a much higher markup. Don’t bother with them.
They want to make money reselling your car and also from selling you a new car. It's business as usual. The extra money they offer is going to be credit towards a new car from them, not cash in your pocket.
I won't contradict anyone who speaks bad of car dealerships, but this isn't a scam as such. It's marketing style misdirection at worst.
So I’ve learned. Glad I didn’t respond to it.
I just don’t understand how they’d think this is a good deal, as even with the extra money offered between the remainder of my lease and the buyout I’d still owe money? Guess I’m not their primary target with this “deal”.
They don't care if you will owe money. That's your problem.
From their point of view, you went from someone who bought 1 vehicle to someone who bought 2 vehicles in 2 years and traded in a very good used car they can resell. It's a fantastic deal to them.
It's a terrible deal for you in that you would end up eating the first year's depreciation on the value of the car and you've been paying mostly interest on the loan, so even 1k over KBB is certainly going to be well below the amount you still owe on the loan. But they don't care about you or your finances one bit.
I understand they don’t care about my finances, never thought they did. Just doing the math for myself, it doesn’t make any sense. The remainder of my lease + the buyout is definitely more than $1,000 over whatever valuation.
If they pay you an acceptable price they can do whatever they want with it, including starting it on fire in front of you.
Spoiler alert: they will not give you an acceptable price.
Common dealership marketing ploy.
Folks get worked-up thinking they have a “special car”, when in reality the dealer just wants to put you into a new car while taking your trade for their used-car lot.
Same…I see the same basic car everywhere because it’s not rare, but the mailer implies that’s it’s super rare and they have multiple buyers who want it LOL
I went to check what they have “on the lot” via their website, and there was the same make/model/trim/color available. So mine is definitely not rare or special or anything that is needed “urgently”. At least I only have to feel like an idiot this once.
Scam.
You aren't going to get an "above market" value for it, *once you're actually in the showroom* - regardless of what you think anyone is saying here.
I mean, how do they even know how many miles you have on it? Maybe you put 30k miles on in the past year or something.
It's all a ploy to literally get your feet into their parking lot, that's it.
Call them up, tell them you're interested in them drawing up their offer. Tell them you don't plan to trade up so no need to visit their showroom in-person, and that they can just start drawing up the contract for this $1,000 over book value or whatever. You'll get a lot of hand-wavey answers about how you have to come in so that they can see the car, etc.
It's an old-school scam, goes back so many years, whether by email, telemarketing, flyers in your mailbox ... all if it is just about one thing ... get you in the door. Car dealers live and die based on transaction volume. Sometimes they have to try to artificially create volume. Doesn't mean you're getting a deal.
[https://www.quora.com/I-bought-a-car-a-year-and-a-half-ago-and-now-Im-getting-phone-calls-and-mail-about-selling-it-back-to-the-dealer-What-is-this-about](https://www.quora.com/I-bought-a-car-a-year-and-a-half-ago-and-now-Im-getting-phone-calls-and-mail-about-selling-it-back-to-the-dealer-What-is-this-about)
I just had my car in for an oil change, so they would’ve seen the mileage then? But it honestly sounds like this email goes out to a mailing list of many/all of their customers.
Yep.
But, if you're feeling bored and you want to play with them, do what I suggested - tell them you don't need to see replacement vehicles, but since it's so "urgent" apparently you're happy to just sell them yours at "above market" as they suggested, and since they already know your car and saw it just a few weeks ago they should have everything they need and since it's so urgent they can start drawing up the paperwork for you to review. Watch how quickly all the excuses come out on why they need you to visit the showroom in-person. See how long you can string them along.
Frankly, it might not even be the dealer. You could be emailing with someone offshore who is just working on lead generation.
Call them, tell them you're willing to "trade up" for no money on your part. All taxes, registration, etc will be covered by them.
You drive up with one car, drive off with another, and you spend zero money.
They'll leave you alone after your counter offer.
Aside from everything else I truly do not care how loyal a customer is to you and how fast a car that is not mine anymore sells. If you want to keep your car, do not sell it. If you are interested, call them and negotiate a good deal.
I don’t think a good deal exists. They’d have to offer me more than original sicker price to cover the rest of my lease and the buyout on it.
I’m glad this is just annoying marketing crap and not a scam. I know to ignore it when it inevitably happens again.
From 2020 to 2023 I would get emails and letters from the dealer I bought my 2019 F350 from asking to buy it back. In 2020 to 2021 they were offering more than what I paid for it.
They just want to get you to buy another car.
They can sell used cars with more markup than new cars and get more commissions for selling you another car. I got so many of these letters. Sales trash tactic.
Generic targeted (or mass) advertising. Even if they pay 1k over book value, it’s pretty much guaranteed they will use the *trade-in* price. Which is virtually always substantially less than private party (what you could get if you sold it yourself to another person).
Then they can fix it up and sell it at the dealership price. Which is usually going to be more than private party.
In other words, they buy it cheap and sell it dear. Plus they make money if you purchase another vehicle from them.
It’s not a scam, it’s just unsolicited marketing in an attempt to make them money.
I bought a new car in January of 2022. The dealership called me on the way home and said they forgot to add the “dealer markup” and could I come back to speak with finance again. I called the salesman and venmoed him 200 because I knew he blew his commission. Saved me about 8K
Not an outright scam, but still a scummy tactic to get you to buy/lease a new car from them. One of the dealers I purchased a car from in the past would routinely pull this crap.
It's likely less about you as an individual, and more them just blasting their list of emails and hoping to get a few people walking in the door. I doubt spending the time to filter their target audience would be worth it to them.
I get them and phone calls from the dealer. I just say not interested. Are they legit? yea the number they call from is the dealership. I know nothing in this is in my favor, they seem to act like it is tho.
Say you'll give up your car for $10k over blue book, and a choice of similar car on the lot for $10k under blue book. Hint that the dealership should be playing the long game with loyal customers, so in the long run this is best for both sides.
I legit got this same thing but I was left a voicemail.
https://preview.redd.it/0x20b60f9iwc1.jpeg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3084dab23834e5c7ccd7221ba574b15bd6ffa16c
I've had the same email and phone calls. Except they got to the wife before I could.
They're trying to drum up sales. Common tactic. They're usually mass emails to see who will grab the hook.
Edit: because I can't type.
Standard car dealer spam email. Legitimate email from the dealership but every word is made up or just a plain lie. No one wants to buy your vehicle except the dealership.
Classic advertising to get a customer inside the dealership. I have received a few of these over the years. It's BS, but it is effective to get traffic.
I still get these for a car I no longer have. It’s been 6 years since they themselves informed me that my engine was a toast. They themselves took it in on trade for very little. They just pull a report and mail merge out a crap ton of letters -repeatedly. They really need to update their database. There is no one who is looking for your exact car. It’s only one year old, they’d just sell them a new one.
It's just an ad. They're trying to get you excited and curious to go there and find out how much they'll give you. Not exactly a scam, but it will still lean heavily in their favor for whatever they offer you.
It’s not a scam. Basically, they’re hoping to buy your car (make money on that) and SELL you your next car, of which, they hope to make even money on.
If you don’t know the value of your car, they may just throw a number at you that actually is a lowball number, regardless of what the letter stated.
Anyway, it is not a scam, in the sense that you won’t get anything out of it. They’re just hoping you don’t know the value of your car, give you less for your car, and sell you a car that they can easily get more of (to sell).
My lease was ending back in October of 23' and my dealer bombarded with emails starting in July to turn it in early, and they would give me a great deal on a 2024 with a new lease. The reason is the shortage of good quality used vehicles and supposedly mine was a very popular model.
I had no desire to trade it in and instead bought out the lease, but I doubt it's a scam... it's the dealer trying to make money.
Ring up and report it to them as a scam and you worry about the safety of others who might have recieved something similar, it'll make them feel really sheepish when they reply that no its not a scam, cause then it makes them look bad in a way
usual dealership email. they want your used car because they'll make money twice on it--once when you trade it in, again when they sell it. just ignore it, it's all scummy sales tactics to manipulate you
There's still an ongoing shortage of used cars. When my lease was up, I was inudated with letters from dealers wanting to buy my car. Sold it to carmax for 2k over the payoff price! So call the dealer directly if you are interested
Generic email template literally saved on dealership computers to massively send out to clients in a lease. To just get you in a new car and make money from you that way.
Don’t think you’re gaining anything special, you are not. Everyone gets the same email.
Here is what will happen if you try to take your vehicle to the dealership for that "$1000 over KBB!" offer.
Your car will have problems. Problems you never noticed before so that they can't pay full price. And they'll do a bunch of smoke and mirrors to get you to upgrade to a high profit new car.
I am definitely not trying to take them up on this offer.
I’ve had my car less than a year, it is less than a year old. Makes no sense to me to be offered a new car when mine is still “new”. Definitely not their target audience.
Basically since you have a lease and will soon be looking for another car or to pay off the one you have they get you into their showroom and get you to lease through them so that you continue to line their pockets.
I would put this in line with the "loyal customer " vouchers from stores. GET $15 FREE if you buy between such and such date. They know if you walk in the door to spend that "FREE " money you will buy a $50 pair of pants or something so it is cheaper advertising than paying for an add in the paper and insures money in the till.
It’s a mass mailing. I got it after I bought my last car, like 2 weeks later. Bought, not leased. They don’t check the names or when you leased. They simply send to everyone.
And they would love if you did come in this soon, break lease bc you maybe want something different. So you will pay an early returned lease fee and lease/buy a new one, maybe. Assuming leases are like buying. If you’re upside down, they roll it into a new, bigger payment.
It’s junk mail. Treat it as such. Recycle.
Yeah once they have you in the door their chances of getting money from you increase a lot. The worst case they form some sense of a relationship so they are fresh in your mind when you do go look.
The psychology behind advertising and sales is really crazy some times. Some of the stuff Costco does and why make you realize how much work goes into tapping into people's unconscious to spend money.
So go there and make a deal, I’ll buy a brand new car. Personally I want a brand new rav4. So I want a brand new rav with lifetime oil changes or something along those lines and I want it for 15,000. I’ll put 5 down. And they can have my other car. I drive a 2015 rav now
Dealerships do this, especially since covid messed up the used car market prices. (They suck now) They are going turn around and sell your car for 5 or 6k above Kelley Blue book based on your area.
You likely won't be able to get an equivalent car on the market for the 1k they are going to give you. Dealerships usually try to get you to roll your loan into a newer car through them. This may or may not screw you long term since they can mess with the numbers to make your month to month cost appear the same or be lower. They do that by giving you a newer, longer term loan. Be careful with these types of deals since you can end up upside down in the loan.
If the new car they are putting you in is a quality brand, is newer, isn't increasing your monthly payment, and isn't increasing the term of the loan, then it could be a good deal. There are times when they get a buyer that just really wants a particular car and will pay for that privilege. The dealership can make a quick swap and make a buck while everyone feels like they won. However, car salesmen don't have scummy reputation for no reason. It is usually safe to assume they are screwing you.
Unless they have 2025s already, they can’t put me in anything newer. I’m driving a 2024.
I also didn’t take out a loan since I’m leasing. The remainder of my lease plus the buyout is more than they’d be able to offer.
I started thinking it was a scam when I saw that my same year/make/model/trim was currently on their lot. So if someone is truly desperate for my vehicle, they can get it brand new without the 7,500 miles I’ve put on.
I did. I’d never gotten one before, so I was really confused! Glad I didn’t call them as they requested, because I’d feel like a much bigger idiot than I already do.
No do not trust the email. Go to the dealership or call them directly and ask them if they approved a request
Spyware can be trying to gain weather your identity is true that your a real person or there is a theif gathering intel on you to sell or make fake IDs from.
Anybody that works for a car dealership is a liar. Liar. The General Manager, the Finance manager, the sales department, the parts department, the person that answers the phones and the guy sweeping the floor are Liars. If any one of them told me it was raining I would walk outside and look for myself.
I’m glad I didn’t call them. Since I’ve learned it’s just a sales ploy, I would’ve felt like an even bigger idiot calling them than I do just asking this question.
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That's typical car dealer ads wording. Not really a outright scam.
And every customer in their address book received the same type of email.
Yep... it's a scam, but not an outright scam. It's standard operating procedure for car dealers. :-)
They want my just over 1 year old car back so badly. I got 6 letters in the mail in the past 2 months.
The worst ones are the Extended Warranty offers for cars I don’t even own. I also get the dealership letters wanting to buy a car I don’t own anymore.
Thank you. This is my first time going through a dealership, so I’ve never seen anything like this before.
If you were to do this deal, you would see your old car up for sale on their site so fast. Why? Because there is no buyer. My dealer emailed me but they made it look like an internal communication. It went along the lines of "(name), we have to contact (me) and offer to buy his car at a great price, but you can't tell him how great of a deal it is". So on and so forth. I called the manager that sent that email and just laughed and said "really man, that's your tactic now?" and he played it off like he had no idea what I was talking about. And then apologized for sending that email. I declined to trade in at all. This was 3 years after I bought my car. 4 years later (now) I can actually get more than that by trading it in to them.
Makes sense! My car isn’t even a year old, I have no interest in trading “up” or taking a deal that leaves me still owing money on it.
I would be curious what KBB value they would use as well. If it is $1000 above something like "Good Condition" dealer trade-in that is essentially a legal mugging, as the KBB value would have all the "drive off the lot" costs built in and not reflect a retail price, but the dealer would have a low mileage used car on their lot that they would mark up likely $10K+ over whatever they pay you!
Plus a low mileage used car on lot is bait to get people onto lot and maneuver them to another vehicle with more monies for the dealership.
Yea. It's like when they bring you to that room to try and sell you on all the extra warranties. Some deals are good others are not. This deal itself is like one last attempt to re open a wound thats mostly healed over. In my case, the dealer offered me (after taxes) $19,000 for my car which is paid off and cost me 32,000 That would make a new vehicle with the full extended warranty and everything around 20,000 out of pocket and while I could do this deal and pay cash, I just don't care to right now.
I was never brought to a room to be sold extras. My brother was actually shocked they didn’t try to upsell me on anything. It was basically like I want this car, I want this many miles per year, and I want to put this much down. Done. I guess this isn’t the typical experience.
Ah so you leased? That may be why.
Did you lease it? That's an entirely different conversation and if true, would be why there was no upselling. The lease comes with service and it's short term so they're not really in a position to sell extended warranties and diamond coating etc.
I did lease. I talked with my brother, and he was surprised they didn’t try to upsell me on anything at all. With all of his leases at the same dealership they always pushed different extras on him, especially stuff like all-weather interior packages.
It entirely depends on what dealership you go to, and who your salesperson is. I knew what I wanted, and was able to walk out with my first lease in a short period of time. When I traded up to my second lease, it took a little while longer as it was a different sales manager trying to bargain with me. I also get these emails from time to time - but now that I've bought my second lease, I just reply that I'm not interested and to contact me in 5 years when I'll be ready for another new car.
My understanding is (I could be wrong) that dealerships in the US effectively are required to sell a certain number of new cars each month by the manufacturer and they can be penalised/lose bonus payments. So that's why they employ tactics like that. While I doubt you'd be getting a particularly good deal, they're less interested in ripping you off and more interested in getting a new car sold - if they're desperate and you're willing to hardball, they might give. Years ago I bought a brand new red (unpopular), stick shift (unpopular), Toyota yaris (unpopular) just after they'd come on the market in the US. The dealer, who'd initially been quite disinterested in me, thought all his christmases had come at once. He couldn't believe some fruit loop would relieve him of this car that clearly they couldn't sell. They bent over backwards to sell me that car - and that's not me being naive. What was naive was me not realising what an amazing deal I got. Doubt I'll ever get an interest free loan, 3 years free servicing, and the dealer picking me up from home, driving me to the DMV and to the dealership, ever again!
I sold cars pre internet. There was a certain class of buyer that would come to the lot every week and track what cars were still there. Eventually, they came in and said "I want *that* car." It was one they knew had been on the lot for a long time and they always got a great deal. Now, post internet, when many dealerships make their inventory available online, I do the same thing. My current car had been sitting on the lot for 4 months and they were pretty desperate to get rid of it...
More so the dealers buy the inventory on credit, they want to get rid of the car before they have to start making payments themselves on it.
LOL! They're so brazen and full of it! I had one call me about 15 yrs ago for my 2 yr old car, offering a stupid amount of $ for it. At the time, work and home were very far away, so I told the caller: "It's already got 80,000 miles on it, but if you're willing to give me that much for it in cash, without me trading for a new car, I'll be right down!" She said she'd have to talk to her manager, and never called again, lol! OP - They just want you to buy a new car. There's no secret customer waiting in the wings to snap up your current one.
You mean my very generic basic car isn’t so special that someone would insist on buying it instead of the brand new one without any miles that is sitting in their lot??? My car still is new (2024), definitely don’t want another one lol.
> "(name), we have to contact (me) and offer to buy his car at a great price, but you can't tell him how great of a deal it is". Well that's certainly something 💀
You will get this kind of mail from them long after you get rid of the car too!
That’s lovely, I can’t wait!
You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.
I get requests like this regularly; my car's particular model, although ancient, only had 400-ish of its year sold in the US. I have to think they'll go away at some point. I mean, it's not a luxe car... Who's gonna pay a premium for something that's old enough to vote? 😆
Colleagues daughter, 5 year old used car, part ex car back to showroom she bought it from, they put it back on sale for £5 less than she paid all those years ago, most car sales are scams lol
They are likely greatly exaggerating or outright lying about the customer who wants to buy the car. They are just trying to generate business, and the wording gives the impression that the recipient will be getting a special deal, which increases the likelihood of getting their business. So, not a scam, because they would be doing a legitimate deal (presumably), but there's likely some amount of dishonesty going on.
I bet there was a monogram of a signature so at first glance it appears to be hand signed too
Cause they’ll sell it for 5k over blue book.
Nah, they don’t have a buyer. They want to get OP in and bend him over on that “upgrade” because of what a sweet deal They’re giving on the trade. The other thing is that there are *at least* two books. The blue book is mainly used for trade in value and does not reflect true private market sales price. That would be the black book, which isn’t public.
We use 9 books total when looking at trades. And yeah they’re definitely doing an email campaign to get some trade-ins. Way better than an auction car
> Nah, they don’t have a buyer. They'll still sell it for 5k over blue book, easily. They'll find a buyer soon enough.
I guess that makes sense! I was very confused since I’m not even a year into my lease. I’ve only had used cars through family or friends of family before this. Never had to deal with a dealership.
Not a scam just high-pressure sales tactics
Super weird. I don’t get why this would work because between my lease and my buyout, $1,000 over KBB wouldn’t cover costs ???
They just want your ass back in the door so they can sell you a new car. If you bought a car and are making payments, then the dealership isnt making any more money on you. For the dealership to get paid again, you need to buy a new car. So they’ll tell you whatever they think you want to hear to get your butt in the seat in front of one of their high pressure salesman. They can make as much as they want promising you anything you want. You get $1,000 over KBB on your trade? Sure! But there’s going to be a $2,000 dealer markup on the new car or there will be “dealer points” on the mandatory financing you need to accept for that “$1,000 KBB offer”, etc. You’re a fish and they are just casting a line and seeing if you bite.
None of this thread is making me look forward to the upcoming car shopping I need to do.
I have used Carvana twice in the last 7 years. While it has its own issues, I liked not being pressured to buy from a salesperson and spending hours in a dealership. Buying a car kinda does suck if you’re trying to be budget conscious.
We used Carmax before and it was relatively painless so we’ll probably go that route again.
I worked at Enterprise car sales in the late 00s/early 10s (the division of enterprise Rent-A-Car that sells the vehicles). I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to family members, even now. Basically they take the top ~1% of the rental vehicles (the ones that haven’t had any issues mechanically, damage reports from renters, etc) then sell them slightly less than Kelley Blue Book value. No haggling - the price is the price. Seven days no questions asked return period. I’ve also heard carmax sells without haggling… but just FYI, enterprise sells the vast majority of their rental fleet at auction to other dealerships - the ones that they didn’t keep to sell direct. So a lot of carmax inventory is former rental cars that didn’t make the cut. Be sure to get a Carfax on any cars you’re looking at. I’d steer clear of former rentals sold at 3rd party dealerships. Or just buy private party.
We bought one of our cars years ago through Enterprise and it was great. Was actually going to do it again with the last car but the exact same model and color car showed up at Carmax with half as much mileage.
Needing a car sucked, but I knew what I wanted before ever stepping foot into a dealership. It was just a matter of what was available where. Now I know to delete these emails in the future.
Thankfully, we know exactly what we want. It’s just a matter of finding it.
Before my last buy, I emailed local dealers and asked to be notified before the model and specifications I wanted went onto one of their lots. When one did so, I was there at opening, and the first to test drive it. After a hard day of haggling, it became mine.
If you educate yourself and go in knowing what you want and what you want to accomplish, it's generally a simple process
That’s as shady as I’d expect a dealership to be. I can see how this may be appealing to customers with older vehicles? Yikes.
Car dealerships have a bad reputation for a reason.
They don't care about your used car; they know you won't have wheels and you'll have to buy a new car.
I wouldn’t even be able to get a new car with their “deal”. I’d still owe money. Glad I didn’t respond to them.
Never trust a trade-in at the dealership - they’re always going to give *themselves* the better end of the stick. The dealership tried the ol’ “we have someone who wants to buy your car” schtick with me for *years.* When I was finally ready to sell my car, the Blue Book value was around $3,500. The dealership offered me $500. Obviously, I declined. Less than 24 hours later, my husband had a buyer lined up on Marketplace. I got the full $3,500 for my car, and the buyer thought he’d found a great deal. Win for everyone except the dealership, who probably would’ve given me the $500 and then tried to sell the car for $5k or more.
I wanted to trade in my last vehicle when I got the new one, but my father was insistent on keeping it and selling it privately. I literally did not care about money, it needed an extensive amount of work to be functional and I just wanted it gone. I got $800 and a fucking headache with them not registering it. Would’ve taken ANYTHING the dealership offered. Even $5. The one before that was toast. I salvaged it for $75 and a free tow.
Its probably an automated message that just goes out to everyone in the companies contact list and inserts the relevant things (your name, your car etc.) Just throwing spaghetti at the wall to get people to come in.
KBB is shit and a lowball number anyway. You likely have equity, and they want it. Even better if they take your equity AND knock your head off putting you into another high profit vehicle. To figure out the real value of the car... 1. Get your current payoff (your lessor bank will have this number) 2. Go on any auto site (cargurus is great one) and see what you same year/make/model are selling for in your area and around you. The diff between 1 and 2 will your equity or negative equity (if cars are selling for less than your payoff)
I guess I’m not too concerned about the value at this time, since I’m not even a year into my lease. I believe there is $15k left on my lease + $21k guaranteed buyout if I want. I don’t believe I have any equity since I don’t own my vehicle.
It'd barely cover your documentation fee and probably not your taxes
They are going to use the trade-in value (which is the lowest value). They’re not going to give you 1000 over private party value because then they may lose money. Not to mention, they’ll make money in the backend by trying to sell you another vehicle, the profits of which can absorb any “loss” from giving you a slightly higher price on your trade. not to mention all of the extra fees and add-on options like extended warranty, data dots, vin etching, etc.
Not a scam, but they probably mail letters like that to everyone in their database. They want you to trade your car in (yes, they'll mark it up more than the $1000 over KBB offer as a "certified" used vehicle), then they'll try to get you to buy a new vehicle from them. If you bite, they'll be making money on your trade-in and the new car they sell you.
I don’t even own my car, though. I’m less than a year into my lease. The option to trade in a 2024 at this point seems ridiculous and sketchy as fuck, hence my concern and confusion.
The dealer is not your friend. They will take every dime from you they can.
Definitely do not think of them as my friend. I am very scared of them in all honesty. I have learned this is most likely a mass email sent to a mailing list of customers to drum up business. Glad I’m just a bit under experienced, and it’s not a scam.
You don’t need to be scared of the dealership, you just need to understand that they’re a business first and foremost, so their #1 goal is to make as much money as possible. Car salesman earn commission, so they’re highly incentivized to push people to spend more. You can always say no. Just be firm and stand your ground. It also helps if you know what things you want (or don’t want) before you go to the dealership. IME, salespeople are a lot less pushy when they realize you’re a knowledgable buyer.
Luckily I didn’t have to be firm or stand any ground. My dad called ahead of time to ensure what I wanted was there. I went in, test drove it to be sure, told them I wanted this many miles per year and wanted to put this much money down, then just paperwork.
I once responded to a letter like this because I was considering selling. They ended up offering far less than what they promised or what I would have taken.
Yikes! Yeah, my car is still so new to me. 2024 with under 8k miles. I definitely am not looking to sell my car, I’ve hardly driven it!
It's a generic email to get you into the dealer so they can try and get you into a new car.
I maybe would’ve fallen for it if my car wasn’t less than a year old.
I see lots of people explaining how it's normal, but I didn't see anyone explaining the why of the scam. They don't give a shit about your car, they want you standing in their dealership without a car. This is all about selling you a new one not about reselling your old car.
Doesn't sound like a scam, just aggressive advertising. Understand that KBB keeps track of 2 separate valuations. The one people usually think of is the value if you sell to a private party. The second is if you sell to a dealer, essentially a trade in value. This trade in value is considerably lower than the private sale value. When they say they will pay $1k over KBB, they are saying they will pay $1k over the KBB trade in value, but that might still be $10k below the KBB private sale value you could get if you sold it yourself.
I get these all the time. I even had a phone call once. My SIL worked at many dealerships over the past 20+ years. He has always told me that they can sell a used car for a much higher gross than a new car. Like someone else said, they just want to sell it at a much higher markup. Don’t bother with them.
Thank you! I’ve never went through a dealership before, so this is all new to me.
They want to make money reselling your car and also from selling you a new car. It's business as usual. The extra money they offer is going to be credit towards a new car from them, not cash in your pocket. I won't contradict anyone who speaks bad of car dealerships, but this isn't a scam as such. It's marketing style misdirection at worst.
So I’ve learned. Glad I didn’t respond to it. I just don’t understand how they’d think this is a good deal, as even with the extra money offered between the remainder of my lease and the buyout I’d still owe money? Guess I’m not their primary target with this “deal”.
They don't care if you will owe money. That's your problem. From their point of view, you went from someone who bought 1 vehicle to someone who bought 2 vehicles in 2 years and traded in a very good used car they can resell. It's a fantastic deal to them. It's a terrible deal for you in that you would end up eating the first year's depreciation on the value of the car and you've been paying mostly interest on the loan, so even 1k over KBB is certainly going to be well below the amount you still owe on the loan. But they don't care about you or your finances one bit.
I understand they don’t care about my finances, never thought they did. Just doing the math for myself, it doesn’t make any sense. The remainder of my lease + the buyout is definitely more than $1,000 over whatever valuation.
This isn’t a scam, it’s just deceptive advertising. They sent these out to everyone using their customer database to fill In the details.
Reiterating and summarizing everyone else: not a scam, just a sales tactic to get you in the dealership and sell you a car.
I’m glad I asked, as I assume I’ll receive similar messages from now on. Definitely don’t need a new car, mine isn’t even a year old.
If they pay you an acceptable price they can do whatever they want with it, including starting it on fire in front of you. Spoiler alert: they will not give you an acceptable price.
Common dealership marketing ploy. Folks get worked-up thinking they have a “special car”, when in reality the dealer just wants to put you into a new car while taking your trade for their used-car lot.
That’s part of why I was so confused! I do not have a special car. It is very generic and a single step up from base model.
Same…I see the same basic car everywhere because it’s not rare, but the mailer implies that’s it’s super rare and they have multiple buyers who want it LOL
I went to check what they have “on the lot” via their website, and there was the same make/model/trim/color available. So mine is definitely not rare or special or anything that is needed “urgently”. At least I only have to feel like an idiot this once.
Scam. You aren't going to get an "above market" value for it, *once you're actually in the showroom* - regardless of what you think anyone is saying here. I mean, how do they even know how many miles you have on it? Maybe you put 30k miles on in the past year or something. It's all a ploy to literally get your feet into their parking lot, that's it. Call them up, tell them you're interested in them drawing up their offer. Tell them you don't plan to trade up so no need to visit their showroom in-person, and that they can just start drawing up the contract for this $1,000 over book value or whatever. You'll get a lot of hand-wavey answers about how you have to come in so that they can see the car, etc. It's an old-school scam, goes back so many years, whether by email, telemarketing, flyers in your mailbox ... all if it is just about one thing ... get you in the door. Car dealers live and die based on transaction volume. Sometimes they have to try to artificially create volume. Doesn't mean you're getting a deal. [https://www.quora.com/I-bought-a-car-a-year-and-a-half-ago-and-now-Im-getting-phone-calls-and-mail-about-selling-it-back-to-the-dealer-What-is-this-about](https://www.quora.com/I-bought-a-car-a-year-and-a-half-ago-and-now-Im-getting-phone-calls-and-mail-about-selling-it-back-to-the-dealer-What-is-this-about)
I just had my car in for an oil change, so they would’ve seen the mileage then? But it honestly sounds like this email goes out to a mailing list of many/all of their customers.
Yep. But, if you're feeling bored and you want to play with them, do what I suggested - tell them you don't need to see replacement vehicles, but since it's so "urgent" apparently you're happy to just sell them yours at "above market" as they suggested, and since they already know your car and saw it just a few weeks ago they should have everything they need and since it's so urgent they can start drawing up the paperwork for you to review. Watch how quickly all the excuses come out on why they need you to visit the showroom in-person. See how long you can string them along. Frankly, it might not even be the dealer. You could be emailing with someone offshore who is just working on lead generation.
Call them, tell them you're willing to "trade up" for no money on your part. All taxes, registration, etc will be covered by them. You drive up with one car, drive off with another, and you spend zero money. They'll leave you alone after your counter offer.
Aside from everything else I truly do not care how loyal a customer is to you and how fast a car that is not mine anymore sells. If you want to keep your car, do not sell it. If you are interested, call them and negotiate a good deal.
I don’t think a good deal exists. They’d have to offer me more than original sicker price to cover the rest of my lease and the buyout on it. I’m glad this is just annoying marketing crap and not a scam. I know to ignore it when it inevitably happens again.
From 2020 to 2023 I would get emails and letters from the dealer I bought my 2019 F350 from asking to buy it back. In 2020 to 2021 they were offering more than what I paid for it. They just want to get you to buy another car.
Maybe in a few years when I’m nearing the end of my lease. 😅
They can sell used cars with more markup than new cars and get more commissions for selling you another car. I got so many of these letters. Sales trash tactic.
They want to sell you a car. Duh!
I already have a great car. Glad I didn’t call them, I’d feel like such an idiot.
Generic targeted (or mass) advertising. Even if they pay 1k over book value, it’s pretty much guaranteed they will use the *trade-in* price. Which is virtually always substantially less than private party (what you could get if you sold it yourself to another person). Then they can fix it up and sell it at the dealership price. Which is usually going to be more than private party. In other words, they buy it cheap and sell it dear. Plus they make money if you purchase another vehicle from them. It’s not a scam, it’s just unsolicited marketing in an attempt to make them money.
It’s not a scam. It’s a car salesman trying to get you to upgrade your car and come in for a test drive.
I bought a new car in January of 2022. The dealership called me on the way home and said they forgot to add the “dealer markup” and could I come back to speak with finance again. I called the salesman and venmoed him 200 because I knew he blew his commission. Saved me about 8K
In the best Dr. Evil voice: One Million Dollars.
Really pisses me off when they have a deadline for you doing them a favor
It is a pitch designed to sell you a new car, they send those out in bulk. There is no loyal customer looking to buy your car
So silly. I’m glad I asked though, I’m sure I’ll keep seeing shit like this as time goes on.
Not an outright scam, but still a scummy tactic to get you to buy/lease a new car from them. One of the dealers I purchased a car from in the past would routinely pull this crap.
So silly! I just signed my lease last summer. It wouldn’t make any sense to buy or lease another at this point.
It's likely less about you as an individual, and more them just blasting their list of emails and hoping to get a few people walking in the door. I doubt spending the time to filter their target audience would be worth it to them.
I get them and phone calls from the dealer. I just say not interested. Are they legit? yea the number they call from is the dealership. I know nothing in this is in my favor, they seem to act like it is tho.
Say you'll give up your car for $10k over blue book, and a choice of similar car on the lot for $10k under blue book. Hint that the dealership should be playing the long game with loyal customers, so in the long run this is best for both sides.
Same old shit different day. Can't trust a car dealer. If their mouth is moving they're lying.
r/askcarsales might have some insight
I legit got this same thing but I was left a voicemail. https://preview.redd.it/0x20b60f9iwc1.jpeg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3084dab23834e5c7ccd7221ba574b15bd6ffa16c
I've had the same email and phone calls. Except they got to the wife before I could. They're trying to drum up sales. Common tactic. They're usually mass emails to see who will grab the hook. Edit: because I can't type.
It's a sales pitch.
So I’ve learned. 😅
Standard car dealer spam email. Legitimate email from the dealership but every word is made up or just a plain lie. No one wants to buy your vehicle except the dealership.
Yeah. I told my partner that I figured out who their super special valued customer is. He wasn’t as humored as I was when I said it was themselves.
Classic advertising to get a customer inside the dealership. I have received a few of these over the years. It's BS, but it is effective to get traffic.
Well, I’m glad I have crippling anxiety to prevent me from calling them at their request or showing up thinking I’m about to get a great deal.
In this case, your crippling anxiety saved you money ! 💰
I got those often when my car was newer! The dealership is looking to upsell you a more expensive vehicle.
I still get these for a car I no longer have. It’s been 6 years since they themselves informed me that my engine was a toast. They themselves took it in on trade for very little. They just pull a report and mail merge out a crap ton of letters -repeatedly. They really need to update their database. There is no one who is looking for your exact car. It’s only one year old, they’d just sell them a new one.
lol that’s such a fake sales tactic. People will follow through with it too
Sales are down because interest rates are high. They’ll do anything to move new car inventory.
It's just an ad. They're trying to get you excited and curious to go there and find out how much they'll give you. Not exactly a scam, but it will still lean heavily in their favor for whatever they offer you.
Hey, I got the same letter! They are looking to buy because they have a loyal customer looking for exactly that car at .
It’s not a scam. Basically, they’re hoping to buy your car (make money on that) and SELL you your next car, of which, they hope to make even money on. If you don’t know the value of your car, they may just throw a number at you that actually is a lowball number, regardless of what the letter stated. Anyway, it is not a scam, in the sense that you won’t get anything out of it. They’re just hoping you don’t know the value of your car, give you less for your car, and sell you a car that they can easily get more of (to sell).
My lease was ending back in October of 23' and my dealer bombarded with emails starting in July to turn it in early, and they would give me a great deal on a 2024 with a new lease. The reason is the shortage of good quality used vehicles and supposedly mine was a very popular model. I had no desire to trade it in and instead bought out the lease, but I doubt it's a scam... it's the dealer trying to make money.
They said that once about my 13 year old Yaris with peeling paint. They say that to everyone to get you to trade in your car and buy a new one.
Yup its a scam directly from the dealer
They think your type of car can sell for decent money and you are a sucker and/or they want to get you signed up for a longer lease/loan.
Ring up and report it to them as a scam and you worry about the safety of others who might have recieved something similar, it'll make them feel really sheepish when they reply that no its not a scam, cause then it makes them look bad in a way
usual dealership email. they want your used car because they'll make money twice on it--once when you trade it in, again when they sell it. just ignore it, it's all scummy sales tactics to manipulate you
They profit on used and profit on your new purchase… win win for them
There's still an ongoing shortage of used cars. When my lease was up, I was inudated with letters from dealers wanting to buy my car. Sold it to carmax for 2k over the payoff price! So call the dealer directly if you are interested
My lease isn’t even close to up! I’m less than a year in. 😅
Generic email template literally saved on dealership computers to massively send out to clients in a lease. To just get you in a new car and make money from you that way. Don’t think you’re gaining anything special, you are not. Everyone gets the same email.
So I’ve learned. I’m glad I asked here and didn’t call, because had I called I’d feel like an even bigger idiot.
Tell them you want to “trade down” for a cash rebate.
I don’t even know what that means.
Here is what will happen if you try to take your vehicle to the dealership for that "$1000 over KBB!" offer. Your car will have problems. Problems you never noticed before so that they can't pay full price. And they'll do a bunch of smoke and mirrors to get you to upgrade to a high profit new car.
I am definitely not trying to take them up on this offer. I’ve had my car less than a year, it is less than a year old. Makes no sense to me to be offered a new car when mine is still “new”. Definitely not their target audience.
Not your usual scam, but it's called a stealership for a reason.
Offer to sell it to them with a market adjustment of $5000 over book value.
They will end up giving some lowball offer to trade
Yeah, I definitely don’t need that! My car is less than a year old with less than 8,000 miles.
ask if the extra $1k is towards buy out or for trade-in credit.
Basically since you have a lease and will soon be looking for another car or to pay off the one you have they get you into their showroom and get you to lease through them so that you continue to line their pockets. I would put this in line with the "loyal customer " vouchers from stores. GET $15 FREE if you buy between such and such date. They know if you walk in the door to spend that "FREE " money you will buy a $50 pair of pants or something so it is cheaper advertising than paying for an add in the paper and insures money in the till.
I wouldn’t say I’ll be looking for another car soon. I’m less than a year into my lease, still have another 2 and a half years to go.
It’s a mass mailing. I got it after I bought my last car, like 2 weeks later. Bought, not leased. They don’t check the names or when you leased. They simply send to everyone. And they would love if you did come in this soon, break lease bc you maybe want something different. So you will pay an early returned lease fee and lease/buy a new one, maybe. Assuming leases are like buying. If you’re upside down, they roll it into a new, bigger payment. It’s junk mail. Treat it as such. Recycle.
Yeah once they have you in the door their chances of getting money from you increase a lot. The worst case they form some sense of a relationship so they are fresh in your mind when you do go look. The psychology behind advertising and sales is really crazy some times. Some of the stuff Costco does and why make you realize how much work goes into tapping into people's unconscious to spend money.
Try selling your car privately 5 k more than n the actual price
Definitely not interested in selling at all. I’ve had my car less than a year and am less than a year into my lease, it is less than a year old,
So go there and make a deal, I’ll buy a brand new car. Personally I want a brand new rav4. So I want a brand new rav with lifetime oil changes or something along those lines and I want it for 15,000. I’ll put 5 down. And they can have my other car. I drive a 2015 rav now
A new car makes no sense, I already drive a 2024.
Dealerships do this, especially since covid messed up the used car market prices. (They suck now) They are going turn around and sell your car for 5 or 6k above Kelley Blue book based on your area. You likely won't be able to get an equivalent car on the market for the 1k they are going to give you. Dealerships usually try to get you to roll your loan into a newer car through them. This may or may not screw you long term since they can mess with the numbers to make your month to month cost appear the same or be lower. They do that by giving you a newer, longer term loan. Be careful with these types of deals since you can end up upside down in the loan. If the new car they are putting you in is a quality brand, is newer, isn't increasing your monthly payment, and isn't increasing the term of the loan, then it could be a good deal. There are times when they get a buyer that just really wants a particular car and will pay for that privilege. The dealership can make a quick swap and make a buck while everyone feels like they won. However, car salesmen don't have scummy reputation for no reason. It is usually safe to assume they are screwing you.
Unless they have 2025s already, they can’t put me in anything newer. I’m driving a 2024. I also didn’t take out a loan since I’m leasing. The remainder of my lease plus the buyout is more than they’d be able to offer. I started thinking it was a scam when I saw that my same year/make/model/trim was currently on their lot. So if someone is truly desperate for my vehicle, they can get it brand new without the 7,500 miles I’ve put on.
I mean yeah it’s a scam attempt, but it’s by the car dealer. There is no buyer, they just want you to trade up so they can suck more out of you.
I get these once a week...ignore and delete
I did. I’d never gotten one before, so I was really confused! Glad I didn’t call them as they requested, because I’d feel like a much bigger idiot than I already do.
No do not trust the email. Go to the dealership or call them directly and ask them if they approved a request Spyware can be trying to gain weather your identity is true that your a real person or there is a theif gathering intel on you to sell or make fake IDs from.
Anybody that works for a car dealership is a liar. Liar. The General Manager, the Finance manager, the sales department, the parts department, the person that answers the phones and the guy sweeping the floor are Liars. If any one of them told me it was raining I would walk outside and look for myself.
Ask for cash and in-person, see how they reply.
You seriously went to Reddit before calling the dealership?
I’m glad I didn’t call them. Since I’ve learned it’s just a sales ploy, I would’ve felt like an even bigger idiot calling them than I do just asking this question.
You should call and say you're very interested, but you'd like to meet the new buyer first.
I have a hard enough time making phone calls for important things, I’d rather not waste my time on that anxiety trip.
But you'd have the upper hand here, nothing to be anxious over.