trading my car in... how far should I go?

[tripperfx3]

I'M hopefully trading my 05' wrx in at the end of the month for a new focus st. Unfortunately due to having a 21 month old and a busy schedule thanks to the Navy my wrx has been rather neglected. I also want to get the most money out of my trade. It has a few dents thanks to my wife being in Arkansas when the tornado leveled Joplin and she hit a dog or very large raccoon on base at 5AM in Pensacola lol. That being the majority of the damage it also has a good bit of swirls, RIDS, etc. How far should I go in detailing it? A full correction with 105/205 or just a simple one stage, some glaze and a sealant? Will they really notice a near perfect finish and get my money out of it?

[CarolinasFinestDetailing]

Honestly...it'll prolly go to auction. It's cleaned up there somewhat. Save your time and do an AIO. Maybe spend a bit more time on really bad spots. Also, thank you for your service!!!

[Firehouse Mike]

If you're trading in at a major dealership, it will probably go to auction unless it has super low miles and NO mods. I worked in used cars for a while at a dealership here, and they really didn't care how pretty it looked, just mechanicals and body work.
And second that for your service :iagree:

[Levithan9]

Most cars that are older than 3-4 years from the current date are going to the auction house. They ususlly end up at some BUY HERE, PAY HERE car lot.

If you really wanted to make more money, clean the ever loving s--t out of the car, and sell it to an individual. A clean WRX will fetch a great price.

As we say in the automotive industry...THERE'S AN A$$ FOR EVERY SEAT, AND IN EVERY SEAT, SITS AN A$$.

[tripperfx3]

Thank you all for the quick replies and for the thanks yous! I do love my job and knowing that while I may only be a single cog in the defense of our great country I'm proud to be that cog :).

I know that you'll always get a better price selling it to a private party and from what I've seen the market for the 04-05 WRX's seems to be good. I don't see many of them on autotrader or on the forums. That being said I've had bad experiences with selling my cars privately and it truly is a hassle. There are a few things missing from the car like one of the fog light bezels from my wife hitting the dog/raccoon and the instrument cluster bezel but those are 2 things I've already got on order (only paid 66 bucks for the 2 of em, so why not?) Other than that the dents and the cracked bumper are the big things. I just had a compression test done and its hitting 152-155psi on all 4 cylinders, so the engine and trans for that matter are incredibly healthy and good to go for another 130k miles and despite the dents and dings it seems to present well. The gate guards here always compliment me on it.

Interior needs a good clean up, but I've got some folex and a heated carpet cleaner, so I'll just use that to extract. There are a few scratches that aren't to bad, but are noticable, so I'll pick up some 2000 grit and get those gone other than that as y'all have suggested I'll just go with a simple single step and some sealant. If I'm feeling motivated I may do a glaze to get some stuff "filled" and hope it doesn't rain before I trade it in and it is going to a big chain Ford dealership and it is modded. I've worked for dealerships before as well and figured it would just go to auction.

This dealership is also known for giving 120% of fair KBB value for your trade. Which I believe comes out to $6300 for my WRX which is fine by me as long as they give me the price listed on their website (which includes all rebates and I've got great credit and will have to finance, so I should be eligible for them all). I spoke to their GM actually (he is very hands on with sales) and was very impressed by him and I'm not easily swayed or sold, so I've got a good feeling and good recomendation from a gentleman thats bought 3 cars from this dealership, so I've got a good feeling it'll work out.

Sorry for the story and thanks again for the replies ladies and gents!

[Levithan9]

Before you trade it in....do one last donut...one last cookie, one last burn out.

Do it for God....do it for your country.....do it for America!!

Nothing says "I love America" more than buring rubber and acting reckless.

[Wed Turner]

If you aren't trading it in for a few weeks it doesn't hurt to take a few pictures and toss it up on Craigslist just to see if you get any interest. With the mechanical check you have done and the detail work you are looking at doing someone should appreciate that. You could fairly easily make $1000 more and that will be that much cheaper of a car payment. If the day comes and your new car is ready just take down the ad and go with the original plan.

As others have said, thank you for your service. And post up pictures of your new ride when you get it. I love those Focus ST's.

[HateSwirls]

I found out I got more money selling my truck outright than trading it in.
That way you say how much you want for it rather than a dealership telling you what they will give you.

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[zmcgovern45]

If you're trading it in... give it a thorough wash and clean the nooks and crannies and call it good. Those guys won't care if it is polished to perfection or just "clean". It is not worth anymore to them one way or another.


If you're willing to try to sell it on your own, then spend some time to get it looking better than other options around and it will sell in no time. My last car was a 2001 Honda Civic with 130k miles on it and I sold it in less than 12 hours to the first person that looked at it (and had many more scheduled to see it if that deal fell through) for significantly higher than the KBB recommended price. The new owners said it was by far the cleanest looking used car they had seen since they started looking for a car for their son and it was a no brainer when they saw it in person.

[Klasse Act]

Thank you for your service and enjoy the new ride, really sharp ride! Are you getting the Recaros and HIDs, forgot the package name. Also, which color?

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[MattPersman]

Yes if trade it, it doesn't matter that much just do a basic cleaning if trying to sell yourself do everything possible, clean cars sell way quicker

[Jaretr1]

I remember when I traded an RSX I had, the dealer litterally could have put it right on their lot and it would have already been cleaner than any other used car there.

I would not kill yourself if you are going to trade it. Not even sure I would correct anything, just clean it. If you decide to sell it privately, a little effort might help improve the chances of it being sold, if not the value as well.

[tripperfx3]

Thank you all for your responses and your support for me and my fellow shipmates and service members! I went to a dealership nearby to get a quote and heres what happened. This is a copy and paste from what I put on another site about my experience:

Thought I'd give a little update. Went down to a Sheehy dealership near base on my lunch break since they have a new ST3 and I wanted to get a quote on my trade in. When the sales woman came back with the break down of the price including what they were offering me on my trade it said they were offering me $500 dollars... I damn near raged on her... The manager came over with the carfax report and it showed my title was an ELM or exceeds mechanical limits title. This mainly pertains to REALLY old cars that only had a 5 digit odometer, so when ever the car hit 99,999 miles it would roll over to 00,000. This has not been the case for God only knows how many years, so why the Arkansas DMV (which is where my car is currently titled) didnt catch this is beyond me, but my wife apparently marked this while filling out the paper work for the title while I was in Pensacola for training and this was the case. It can be fixed but unforunately it will take 6 to 8 weeks to get my new title in. Her and I will be filling out the paper work and sending it all in tomorrow.

With that being said I may just go ahead a do a full detail on Sunday and just maintain it and once the new title comes in or it get near the time for it to come in I'll throw it up on craigslist or autotrader. The dealership said they'd give me $5000 if the title was clear. I was planning on negotiating it up to at least $6000. This dealership is supposed to be giving you 120% of KBB fair trade in value for your car which would be a little over $6000 so I wouldn't take any less from them. May just throw it up for a no haggle $6500 in hopes of a quick sale. Mechanically its great and it really just needs a front bumper and some PDR to be damn near perfect.

[Pureshine]

One of my best friends owns a VW dealer they don't give a rats azz if you wash it or do anything they will have their detailers clean it. It doesn't raise the value at all. If you sell it on your own then yes it does help.

[dfoxengr]

What wrx is it? A Wagon?