I'm trying to sell my 2002 Ford Taurus, and if I don't have any luck, I'm thinking about taking it to carmax for some quick cash. Anyone have experience selling to them? Should I expect a low offer?

4/2/2006 11:31:38 PM

they offered $550 for my car, the dealer gave me $1500

4/2/2006 11:32:23 PM

$1500 cash or trade-in value?

4/2/2006 11:35:30 PM

trade in. is it normal for the dealer to triple it for trade in? that was the first time i've done that, so I don't know

[Edited on April 2, 2006 at 11:36 PM. Reason : I understand they would give you more to trade it in, but that much?]

4/2/2006 11:36:34 PM

I sold my 2002 ford explorer sport trac to carmax... they gave me 15,500 for it. They were great...my car was in perfect condition inside and out though

[Edited on April 2, 2006 at 11:43 PM. Reason : 3ed]

4/2/2006 11:43:04 PM

You might have decent luck with a 2002 Taurus depending on how many miles you have on it.

4/2/2006 11:50:32 PM

mine was an old ass mazda 929, that may have made a big difference

4/2/2006 11:52:32 PM

Quote :

"trade in. is it normal for the dealer to triple it for trade in? that was the first time i've done that, so I don't know"

they made more money on you from selling you the car - so they "gave" you more for your trade in and only took a small profit on it

4/2/2006 11:55:59 PM

my car was in sad shape. i was lucky to get anything.

4/2/2006 11:59:04 PM

you cant really compare selling to trade in

think about why trade in offers change as you discuss purchasing different cars

4/3/2006 12:25:57 AM

as far as I know if you sell your car to carmax they have a pretty high "appraisal fee". But the fee is of course waived if you buy something from them.

Anytime you're selling a car, you can always expect to make more selling it to a private party, because as people often forget, a dealership is a business and they're not going to give you some kind of miracle deal for your car unless they think they can make money on it.

If you'll post more information about your car I'd be happy to estimate what you might expect to get in trade-in value or in private party sale...

4/3/2006 10:28:18 AM

Quote :

"as far as I know if you sell your car to carmax they have a pretty high "appraisal fee". But the fee is of course waived if you buy something from them. "

not true at all. The appraisal is free.

I sold my 2003 G35 to carmax last year for $21k. It had 48k miles on it at the time, but otherwise was in immaculate condition. They later sold it for $23k. So, I felt that I got a pretty good deal.

4/3/2006 11:29:44 AM

Thanks for the advice everyone... tomloes: here's some info about the car... thanks for offering to help!

2002 Ford Taurus SES Flex-Fuel V-6

41k miles

A/C, CD, PW, PL, PS, Power Driver's Seat With Lumbar Support, Cruise, Folding Rear Seat, Alloys, Tilt, ABS, Automatic, etc.

I am only selling this car because I have another one, and I don't need two cars. It has zero mechanical or other issues, and the body is perfect.

4/4/2006 2:47:17 PM