[Sablewagon]

I'm going to college this fall (yes, ME, possibly the oldest guy around TCCA) and I need a gas-miser vehicle to drive, but one that can still haul "stuff". We have a new Grandma Marquis, which I won't use to run the wheels off of, and my Sable Wagon is getting old. The trip to college is about 40 miles across a barren area of northern Illinois. So, I thought I'd see if our local Ford dealer might be eager to sell a 2004 Ranger 4 cylinder pickup he's had on his lot since last October.
Here was his "deal":
MSRP----- $15,000
Rebate----- $3,000
Trade-in--- $800

Just for what it's worth
KBB.com estimated the trade-in value at between $2850-$3200:
http://www.kbb.com/kb/ki.dll/kw.kc.ur?kbb....ble&10;ME;L4&&&

http://www.kbb.com/kb/ki.dll/kw.kc.ur?kbb....ble&10;ME;L4&&&

Ford's website invokes "Intelliprice" which estimates the trade-in value of my Sable at $2825-$3334


Improving the Auto Shopping Experience


** Take this appraisal to the dealership to receive a firm offer for your trade. **
A sales person will contact you to make an appointment

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Customer information:
Name: Xxxx email Address: xxx
Day Phone: (xxx) xxx-xxxx Evening Phone:
Appraisal Report No.: 200716677 Expires: July 16, 2004
Trade-In Information:
Year Make Model Series Style Engine Mileage Estimated Value
1995 MERCURY SABLE LS 4D WAGON N/A 85600 $2,825 - $3,334
Trade-In Equipment:
Air Conditioning, AM/FM Stereo, Anti-lock Brakes, Cassette, Cruise Control, Leather, Power Door Locks, Power Seat, Power Steering, Power Windows, Premium Sound, Premium Wheels, Tilt Wheel,
Trade-In Condition:
Exterior Body: Good, Glass: Good, Hail Damage: None, Lights: Good, Paint: Still Shines, Rust: None, Spent on Collision Repair: None, Unibody/Frame: Good,
Interior Carpet/Mats: Good, Door Panels: Good, Upholstery: Good,
Vehicle you plan to purchase:
Year Make Model Style Color
2004 FORD RANGER XL REGULAR CAB UNDECIDED
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Needless to say, no deals were struck that day. What a waste of my time! :angry:

 

[rudedog]

Hey SW I just got the title for a 1989 Escort, that I've been having the most extreme time getting the title for!!

The car was sold to me because the owner couldn't afford the repairs on it. i worked for ProCare at the time as a tech. One of my other co-workers checked it out and recommended replacement of the alternator and battery. Our price for the alt. was $160.00 from AutoZone, retail to the customer was .42% above that. The battery was $119.00(interstate), thats so $346.20 PLUS .5 LABOR to install the battery AND 1.2 LABOR to install the alternator. Our labor rate at the time was $85.00, ssoooo.. $42.50 for the battery and $102.00 for the alt., that ends up being $490.70 !!!!!! OHH!!!!!! PLUS, the electrical diagnostic fee which was $29.99, so now total before tax we were looking at $520.69 Just for an alternator and battery!!!!!!!!

Needless to say, she had a major fit!!!! She told me that she was going to see if her dad would pay to fix it for her, but she would have to wait about a week because he was away on business and he lived in Massachusetts (she was down here for school). Well, about 2 days later the trans on my '86 taurus went out on me and had to let it sit (could not afford to fix it). On a whim I asked her if I could borrow her car to be sure that was her problem. The other tech I worked with was mis-diagnosing a lot on purpose because we were REAL slow. So I drive the car for about 2 weeks before she finally calls and says her dad will not fix it. She wants us to keep it for another month because she's leaving the country. Well, after like almost 4 months I finally get in touch with her and ask if I can just buy it and she says sure. She goes to the courthouse and they tell her that she needs the original title(which was destroyed). After 3 years of playing with the courts' "red tape gun" I finally got the title.

 

[henrysel]

There really isn't much worth in car that's more than a few years old as a trade-in.

Don't know why everyone likes to quote KBB.com, they're not realistic prices so they're good for the dealers to use, but better numbers are from nadaguide.com

Punching in your car yields a retail price between $2000-$3500 and there isn't even a listing for a trade in price which means there's no market for it as a trade in hence the $800 price. Most dealers seem to have some kind of small floor price. I was offered $600 to trade in a '95 Contour with 98k on it earlier this year. Needless to say, it was worth more as a tax write off donation than the effort needed to make it saleable and to go through all the hassle of that.

You may be better off with a used one. Try autotrader.com or carsdirect.com

 

[spridget]

Correct me if I am wrong.

You said a 1994 Ranger 4 cylinder pickup he's had on his lot since last October. . Do you mean 2004 with an MSRP of $15,000?


Anyways.... The dealer is trying to **** you because he's taking a loss on the truck that has been sitting for so long.

And don't use KBB to get values. KBB estimates very high for used trade in and private sales.

Try another dealer. And BTW - my '99 Ranger 4cyl 5spd doesn't get much better mileage than my '99 Taurus. The Ranger gets about 23mpg and the Taurus gets 20mpg.

 

[firespirit]

$800?! :lol: Sorry man, but when the Intrepid took a last stand and died at the Dodge dealer's parking lot, they were ready to give us a $1,500 trade in ('95 Dodge Intrepid, 106K miles, perfect condition.. except for the fact that the engine was blown, transmission lines were leaking and the headlights were held on with ducttape :lol: ) on a '99 Taurus SE... However that deal fell through because we couldn't get financing on the rest of the car, because obviously we don't have that kinda money up front, we woulda just replaced the motor!

__________________
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[TrueBlue]

No way. They're taking you for a ride on that one.

 

[Sablewagon]

Originally posted by spridget@Jul 9 2004, 02:24 AM
Correct me if I am wrong.

You said a 1994 Ranger 4 cylinder pickup he's had on his lot since last October. . Do you mean 2004 with an MSRP of $15,000?


Anyways.... The dealer is trying to **** you because he's taking a loss on the truck that has been sitting for so long.

And don't use KBB to get values. KBB estimates very high for used trade in and private sales.

Try another dealer. And BTW - my '99 Ranger 4cyl 5spd doesn't get much better mileage than my '99 Taurus. The Ranger gets about 23mpg and the Taurus gets 20mpg.

Oops!!
Mea Culpa!

Fixed it.
Thanks for the eagle eye!

Ford's own website offers a trade-in estimate by using "Intelliprice". Their figures were right on top of Kelly's. That's why I used a couple of different sources for my estimates.
My Sable Wagon is a doggone nice car; it still shines up well, runs sweet, and everything works on it. It's an LS with the "462A" package, which means that it has about every option there was, except a power passenger seat, CD player and sunroof. Like I said, it does have 85½ thousand miles on it, though, and I'm going to be driving 40 miles each way through some pretty bleak and barren areas to school over the winter. I'd hate to become stranded out there. And, gas mileage is a concern, as well. I also need something with hauling capacity, hence the pickup truck. So, a new set of 4 wheeled reliability was my objective. But, their price is way out of reason. The money they expected would buy lots of gas and repairs.

 

[Guest]

I've seen those rangers advertised for under 10k. You can definitly get a better deal than that.