[Mpy18]

Hi everyone.

I bought a 2006 325xi in September of 2011 and I bought it for $19k.

Now I am already getting a slight itch to get a new car. I have looked at Genesis Coupes, 135's and Maximas. Originally I didn't want to get a 335, (dumb right?) because it would've been too similar to my current car interior wise. Didn't see it being worth it.

But then I thought about it for a bit, and I am ready to get myself a 2008/2009 335 Coupe in White with Navigation, Premium seats and Cold Weather.

With Coral Red.

Should be pretty different in there now

First off, 2008 or 2009, which one and why?

Second, this would be my third car and I've never b traded in a car so I am asking if this is the correct process of what would need to be done.

Go from dealership to dealership and find my 335 that fits my specifications.Then go and tell the rep I want to trade you my car and buy that 335, and I will tell him I have 6 thousand left in loan payments on my 325. He will then give me a quote for what he will pay for my car (What do you think it is worth? 61,000 miles 4 door, 3 areas on car where there are small dings, roof, front fender).

If I accept the offer he gives me would he then take that amount and subtract the 6 thousand still left on the car and I would get that total in cash. Would he give me a better price for my car since I will be giving him that money back and more for a new car?

I then take a loan from whoever he recommends me or will the dealership give me a loan? And the only two things that change are my car and my payments monthly since it will be a bigger loan and will be paying monthly a little longer now to finish it all.

Now should I sell it to a dealership or should I sell it privately? I have third party HID headlights and fogs, metal foot pedals, rear spoiler and WeatherTech digital fit floor mats (Will they fit the 335 coupe?) Should I sell it with these or strip the car out of everything I did to it?

And the best question of them all, automatic or manual in new york?


Thanks for reading

[Kellen]

2009 had the updated navigation, that alone would be worth it for me between the 2 years.

[marshall834]

Typically it is more expensive to trade in your car to a dealership, I.E. you get more money is you sell it privately. The advantage to trading it in is you don't have to worry about selling it and its instant.

And yes the $6,000 you owe would be subtract from what he gives you. If he gives you $12,000 your down payment would effectively be $6,000.

Typically the dealership has financing options and you can get financed right there. If you want you can go through your own bank.

As far as AT/MT go, what do you have now? In a 335 coupe, I would highly recommend MT but I'm not you!

Here are two links - the first one is Kelly Blue Book so you can see what your current car is worth. The second is an auto loan calculator that simple to use to you can setimate payments:

http://www.kbb.com/
http://www.edmunds.com/calculators/car-loan.html

[ChasVS]

Take your car to CARMAX and have them make you an offer. CARMAX will buy your car outright regardless if you are buying from them or not. That way, you'll have cash in hand to go with a new car loan.

By selling it to CARMAX, the BMW dealer won't be able to play around with the trade in value of you old car and purchase price of the new car. The more you try to reduce the price of your new car purchase, the less they'll offer you on your trade in... Better to have just one deal to be done on the new car purchase.

[GChase]

Sell your car privately. Carmax is a good place to start just to get a minimum quote, but ultimately you'll want to sell it privately to get a good ~$2k or so more out of your car.

[AndyR83]

Trading your car in is convenient, but in exchange for that convenience you will get less money for it. Selling it to somebody will get you more money. Some folks are patient, and willing to go through the effort of selling a car to get that extra money. Others don't want to be bothered, and just take a little less for it in exchange for not having to conduct the sale. I would first suggest you make a decision in that regard.

When you look up the value of your car using the links posted above, you can choose to see the trade in value or the private party value. Private party value is what you can hope to get if you sell it to another person.

When selecting your financing options, be sure to make an informed decision. The dealership might offer you financing and, on paper, they can make it look like whatever they want. Be sure to find out what interest rate they are offering, and if they have any special incentives (i.e. 0% interest, 0.9%, or something like that.) In this economy, you should be able to find a nice interest rate if you look around a little.

[N8N]

Originally Posted by Mpy18

Hi everyone.

I bought a 2006 325xi in September of 2011 and I bought it for $19k.

Now I am already getting a slight itch to get a new car. I have looked at Genesis Coupes, 135's and Maximas. Originally I didn't want to get a 335, (dumb right?) because it would've been too similar to my current car interior wise. Didn't see it being worth it.

But then I thought about it for a bit, and I am ready to get myself a 2008/2009 335 Coupe in White with Navigation, Premium seats and Cold Weather.

With Coral Red.

Should be pretty different in there now

First off, 2008 or 2009, which one and why?

2009 no doubt. 2009 introduced the new CIC idrive which is a definite upgrade. 2009 actually seems to be the sweet spot as that also seems to be when BMW started decontenting the cars in an attempt to keep the price down - my '09 already has the lighter plug under the glovebox deleted, but still has the nets on the back of the seats, all the anchors in the trunk, alarm prep, etc. that disappeared later on.

Now should I sell it to a dealership or should I sell it privately? I have third party HID headlights and fogs, metal foot pedals, rear spoiler and WeatherTech digital fit floor mats (Will they fit the 335 coupe?) Should I sell it with these or strip the car out of everything I did to it?

And the best question of them all, automatic or manual in new york?


Thanks for reading

If you're asking, I think you want a manual. That seems to be the rule.

A 335 coupe will already have xenons so you don't need to worry about those. Pedals should fit. Spoiler will fit (assuming your current ride is a coupe.) Floor mats would fit only if your current car is a coupe and your hypothetical new 335 coupe is an xi like your current car.

[marshall834]

Originally Posted by AndyR83

When selecting your financing options, be sure to make an informed decision. The dealership might offer you financing and, on paper, they can make it look like whatever they want. Be sure to find out what interest rate they are offering, and if they have any special incentives (i.e. 0% interest, 0.9%, or something like that.) In this economy, you should be able to find a nice interest rate if you look around a little.

Good point.

I'd like to add that most dealerships like to negotiate price in terms of monthly payments i.e. "What can you afford monthly?" This way they get the maximum value of the car because they can push your payments way over 60 months without decreasing the cost of the entire car.

Instead, negotiate the price of the car in total. That way you're actually saving money rather than paying for a longer period of time + higher interest rates. Just so you know, a good rule of thumb is every $1,000 down decreases your payment by ~$20/month. That of course is subject to your terms but it's a start.

Go in knowing the maximum you'll pay for the car keeping in mind they need to make money too and walk out if you think its unreasonable. They'll try to create a sense of urgency with you "manuals are hard to find!" or "a couple came in requesting that exact car!" They will call you the next day with a better offer. Guaranteed!

[AndyR83]

Very true. If anybody starts talking numbers and the number they are using is the monthly payment figure, redirect the conversation to the total price of the car. These guys are experts at making you think they're giving you an amazing deal by playing with the numbers to make the monthly payments smaller. In reality, they're just extending the length of the loan out to 72 months, shuffling some money around from one part of the deal to another, and using some slight of hand.

It's also a reasonably good idea to negotiate the price of the car before you tell them you want to trade yours in. They'll ask you right up front if you're trading, and they'll use that as a bargaining chip when negotiating with you. Tell them you haven't decided about trading, and to proceed with the assumption that you won't be trading. Then, when you've negotiated a decent price for the car, tell them you decided you do want to trade in your car after all. The trade-in is just another place they can pull some funny business with the numbers to make it look like they're giving you a great deal.

Oh, and here's another slightly mean trick that I used with my last two car purchases. Look up the dealership's hours. Show up 20 minutes before closing time on a Friday night. They'll all want to go home, be glancing at the clock every 5 minutes since you're keeping them late and they just want to get out since it's the weekend, and are much more likely to cave to your demands just so they can get out of there!

[Mpy18]

I checked pricing on a 2008 and 2009, and there is too big of a difference in price. I was looking to spend 23-25k max. So it is a 2008 coupe.

What should be a reasonable price I should shoot for for selling my 325 (Look at previous posts to see car condition) and buying a 335?

[MilehighM3]

Another perk of trading the car in is tax savings. You may get a little less price wise, but you only pay tax on the difference in sale price. It's not always a deal breaker on a car that's worth ~10-12k, but it's something to think about. Plus, if you find the car you like it's always easier to trade it in and walk away with the car you want on the spot. Less headache trying to sell yours first. You can always go to carmax first, their offer will be good for 30 days. They don't always give you the best purchase offer and will discount your cars value with any non-oem parts. It'll give you another number to use as a bargaining chip when you're negotiating your trade in value with a perspective dealership though.

[N8N]

23-25 is just about what I would expect you would spend on an '09, why do you say that's a deal breaker? More than that had better be CPO and from a BMW dealer...