I have a friend that's getting ready to buy a new car and he needs to sell his 2003 Chevy Z71 K1500 Suburban with 106k miles. We have briefly discussed price but stopped short of a specific number. I tossed out trade in value and maybe a little extra. So what I am wondering is, has anyone every bought a car from a friend in a similar situation and how did you agree on a price that is fair to both? Listed below are some of the options and work he has had done. He is also the only friend I would ever by a car from. He is very particular about the maintenance and always has the car cleaned and takes care of it. The exterior condition is almost perfect.

It has every option available- Pioneer Nav/Stereo system, Rear DVD w/ 2 sets of wireless headphones, XM radio, Bluetooth phone, Towing package, sunroof, leather, heated seats, front and rear temp controls, remote control for stereo system and iPOD interface, 3 aux power outlets, Bose speakers.

Recent Maintenance - brakes and rotors, new rear differential, new catalytic converter (at 90k miles), full A/C service 1 yr ago, 4 new tires 2 yrs ago, new windshield last year, new water pump last year.

Just hoping to get some thoughts from folks in here. Are there any mechanical nuances that I should be aware of with this year?

6/21/2011 3:13:01 PM

I would have him take it to carmax to get a written offer, that is the only firm objective way to value a vehicle. Maybe take it there and another place that gives firm offers to buy, I think there is a place out hwy70 past carmax that does.

Anything else is just a guess or approximation.

6/22/2011 11:19:06 AM

Gotcha - thanks for the info.

Anyone have any comments on common issues with this year?

6/22/2011 12:34:28 PM

If it's any help, I recently sold a 2008 VW GTI (autobahn package,31.5k miles) for $17k, and Carmax had only offered me $14.5k a couple months earlier

6/22/2011 12:41:17 PM

i was about to say. Carmax is typically well under value so you'll probably rip your friend off 20% or so (at least in my experience, backed by the comment above).

6/22/2011 1:34:29 PM

Yeah - at this point I think it would be fair to meet in the middle of the private party vs. trade-in amount.

6/22/2011 2:03:09 PM

if you want to be fair about it, then your friend needs to research the market and decide how much he thinks he can get for the truck (or how much he wants). Then you need to decide if that amount is how much you want to pay for it. There can be slight negotiation, but you need to treat it as a regular private party purchase between people who don't know each other from Adam and not a deal between friends.

You can also low ball him if his price is high, but don't be upset when he rejects your offer. If he accepts your offer, he also should not be upset that you low balled him. He has the choice to accept your lowball or reject it. If he accepts it, then it's on him if he is upset because he had the right to say no.

6/24/2011 9:31:00 AM