Advice On Selling...

[Cruizin2k]

Recently I've been trying to trade or sell my cruiser but this time I need some advice what I could do.

First Of All, lemme tell ya why I'm selling it or trading it in because I want to get the GT Cruiser or the Limited 180 HP Turbo. I'm having no luck with the trade in values, the dealers are giving me poor estimates on trade in value, but however it doesn't meet all my needs but I think it would be a good idea if I could TRY to sell it my own but I'm not sure for how much, Estimated on KBB website.. was estimated $14,455 but I'm willing to sell it for only $15,000 with some mods on the pt, But I should let them make best offer but.. I don't know what to do. Help Pls?

wanna know what I was estimated from the 1st Dealer.. then 2nd.. then the 3rd Dealer..?

Well, The 1st and 2nd Dealer gave me the same value (in town) and gave me $12,400 - Then the other one in Alabama, gave me 11,486 - It should be more, my PT is a 2002 and only have 21K Miles on them.

the payoff is like $15,802 for Trade In.. so

I'm hoping to get some advice from you guys on what I should do and I think selling it my own is worth a try, do you think so?

The GT.. is kinda pricey for me but I think the Limited 180 HP Turbo is the way to go so its much lesser so I could upgrade it with stage 1 and do some mods to it, I know whats the difference with the GT and the Limited Turbo - Any is fine but I think the Limited Turbo is the way to go.

[quicksilverdon]

My advice - look at what PTs are going for - pick up a cars for sale free mag (usually at supermarkets, etc), browse online car places (Autohopper, Autobytel, etc) and classifieds in the newspaper. What you want/need may or may not agree with the market. I have seen "steals" for sale recently - not trying to discourage you, just saying gather facts.

[CREWZIN]

Sorry 2k, but gotta agree with QSD. The re-sale value of the PT is not good. They are all over the place, plus Chrysler is still giving thousands in rebates and low financing on new ones. You were talking about "mods". Mods hardly count on a re-sale unless you just happen to find the right person that cares for exactly what you added on. Your better off taking off what you can and selling the mods separately or using them on the new PT if possible. Good luck on your sale.

[Hooligan]

I have to agree with QSD & crewzin, with the rebates you can get a fantastic deal. Many PT owners are trading up to GT's or Turbo LITES and the market is flooded with low milage 01 & 02's.

The reason I have only put a few MODS on mine is so I can use them on the next PT or they are low key. Not everyone has the same taste as I do, so i'll remeove what I can use.

Sorry, we can't give more encouragemdnt. Probably your best bet is to sell it outright, if you can. Chances are that you'll get more than a dealer will allow you.

[stirfry]

[8D]Your's is a 2002 Limited, Right. It depends on where you live, and how many are out thier. But with right buyer you should get 15,000 and if you have some modes like top stero or wheels or DVD. well I would think more. Don't under estimate impluse buyers, that's what dealers depend on. So clean the car up real nice, and park it somewhere safe, and visible and post a sign. Plus put the add in. You should get some bites. Ask $500 more than what you might expect so you have room to bargin down. At least you'll get a reality check on the markets stand point,[|)] not the dealers.

[Dalite]

At 12k miles, trade-in on my 2002 TE was under $12,000. At 18K miles, it dropped to the $7,000 range.

Take the $12,000 and go with it, you are well ahead of the game. Make sure you get GAP insurance on the deal, cause your $27K GT will be worth around $18K when the front wheels leave the lot after you purchase it.

With the GAP insurance, at least you won't have to pay a deficit balance of $9,000 if it gets totaled before the first payment is due.

Use the estimated prices from the used car guides on the public on an outright sale. If you mention Kelley or Blue-Book to the salesman, he will merely laugh at you (if he is polite), or show you the excess used cars that they take to the auction every week, where your 2002 LE would bring the dealership around $6500.00 (on a good night).

It isn't just the Cruiser; the low interest rates have the market flooded with trade-ins. It is cheaper for the buyer to purchase a new car, as opposed to a used one - especially is the used one is only a year or 2 old.

My 2 PTs (2002 TE and 2003 GT) have averaged around $1000.00 depreciation per month of ownership. Both were purchased new.

At around 18 months, the car has depreciated to it's actual value, and starts to stabilize.

This is the way the market establishes the actual value of goods; minus inflation.

Using the numbers crunched by the car market, an 18 month old PT Cruiser costing $27K new is worth around $9K (as long as it hasn't been driven much over 1K miles per month). Actual worth of the car new is estimated to be less than $12,000 - adjusted for inflation.

When you consider a young couple, recently married could decide between a 16' by 80' mobile home that they could live in for the next 20 years or a car that is guarenteed to loose half of it's value in the first year, you begin to see the futility of the entire situation.

It looks like the money situation is gonna get a lot worse before it gets any better. Spend all you want, we'll print more.

If you want to see the salesman squirm, try to get them to lease you a new PT for 18 months at less than $1000.00 per month lease payment, with zero on the down stroke. Then try to get him to explain whay the dealership can't write that kind of deal. (they don't want to be buried by the depreciation in the first year).

[PTGT_Boy]

It might be wiser just to pay of your current 2002 cruiser, picking up extra debt isn't fun in life (unless you make alot of $$$$$, and have nothing else to spend on).

If you wait another year or 2, the newer PT's are comming out. Of course, the wait might seem like torture, but it might be a worthwhile wait to see what's the new line up of PT's are available. MAYBE there might be a SRT-4 or SRT-6 series that dwarfs the current GT models. Patience can benefit you here, than succumbing to the urge to get a GT now.

Back in 2002, I wanted to buy a PT Cruiser, but knew a turbo series was comming out, so I waited 2 years till I got an 04 GT (I didn't want 1st year turbos []). Long behold, my patience paid off, the 04's can get Stage 1 with just a swap of the PCM.

Be patient now, than see whats new around the corner in a year or 2. Who knows, I might be jealous because you waited and bought the 06 PT GT with 300 HP (Just pure speculation, no facts to back up this claim).

[quicksilverdon]

Just had a thought to cheer you up - be glad you don't have an 8mpg mega-SUV to unload. [)]

[Jimbo]

I was in Vegas and look in the paper and they had a 2004
Cruiser list for 22,000 and with the rebates and a lot of
other BS it was priced for 13500. Now weather it was there
when you wanted it is another story.Most people ,believe
that the Cruiser is a cheap car to buy, because of adds like
this.

[wheresgrant]

I agree with the dealers. I just bought a 2002 Limited with 14,819 miles. The Dealer wanted $15K I talked him down to $13,300. The depreciation in a used Cruiser was my primary reason for buying pre-owned. I also priced a new "base" with pwr windows for $14,995. Your best bet is finding someone privately who wants that car.