My shady dealer tried to tell me that i didn't get the price i wanted for my trade-in(green 97 civic Ex) was because green has a 1000 dollar less resale value than other cars. i told him he was full of **** and asked him why i wasn't getting my GG E for 1000 dollars less. i didn't like my dealer(at all), but love my E. has anyone ever heard this about green before :?: :?: :?: :?:

I have a green 97 EX Civic too, (kept it - didn't trade it in), but on a whim blue booked it with my Credit Union.

Funny thing, the color was never a factor.

I think the dealer was full of it -

Some colors are worth less due to fading of color, but I can't see that with a green one. Usually it is the lighter colors that fade.

I would guess he would be talking about his resale, but that really should not matter, they have plenty of room to work on trade ins.

I think you are being jerked around.

Historically green has been one of the harder colors to sell and didn't have as great a resale value. That, however, did change with the advent of SUVs, especialy those in Hunter Green. Was the dealer an older person? Think about it, green has only been popular for about the last 10 years.

The trade-in is one place the dealer loves to stick it to you....

They are feeding you total BS !

I don't know about resale value but when I told the ball and chain I liked the guacamole green E she put her foot down and said in three to five years it will be like an avacodo green appliance. Some time the b&c makes sense :lol:

my dealer was 25. BTW i love my Galopagos Green 4WD EX

Know how you feel. I took it in the shorts for a $1000 loss on my black 97 Civic EX coupe. I was told it was because it had 108000 on the clock. Even when i showed them a NADA and Kelley blue book printout showing the deduction for mileage, they still looked me in the eye and gave me a $1000 under trade-in. Oh well, I least i got a car I really wanted.

I got more than my car was worth. Cuz it was a FBP SI. DOHC VTEC with Leather. Took all engine mods off, and put it back factory. I luv my E, but I miss my SI.

wow...shocker...a dealer lying in order to get more money out of you?...what a shock...come on !!!....they all lie ...its about money....money.......its war...us verses them

[quote:630329eed9="JE_ELEMENT_TN"]I got more than my car was worth. Cuz it was a FBP SI. DOHC VTEC with Leather. Took all engine mods off, and put it back factory. I luv my E, but I miss my SI.[/quote:630329eed9]

I'll offer my thoughts from a dealers perspecitve and you can take them for what they are worth, JMHO. Your 2000 Civic SI is certainly worth "all the money". We can allow retail book for a Civic SI (old body style) and still turn around and sell it in less than a week. They are that popular. The new body style SI is a completely different story. I don't care what NADA, credit unions, KBB or any book might say......I wouldn't give anywhere near that number because they don't sell. Plain and simple.

As for the color affecting the trade in value....yes it sometimes does. A green Civic would be fine for my dealership, as we cannot get enough pre-owned Civics. Would I give the same trade in for a green Accord or green CRV....NO. Why? Because it has been proven that these cars won't sell as quickly as a better color. Maybe not a $1000 difference, but certainly less. It's very similar to the Inca Pearl color that Honda came out with for the Civic line. It's a love-it-or-hate-it color. Most people hate it. Therefore I would not give the same for that color.

ok suppaman. then why doesn't honda sell its brand new green vehicles for less?

[quote:1288a7dc49="dexter19"]My shady dealer tried to tell me that i didn't get the price i wanted for my trade-in(green 97 civic Ex) was because green has a 1000 dollar less resale value than other cars. i told him he was full of **** and asked him why i wasn't getting my GG E for 1000 dollars less. i didn't like my dealer(at all), but love my E. has anyone ever heard this about green before :?: :?: :?: :?:[/quote:1288a7dc49]

Out of curiosity. What did the dealer offer you for your Civic EX?

[quote:dc6e80a48d="dexter19"]ok suppaman. then why doesn't honda sell its brand new green vehicles for less?[/quote:dc6e80a48d]

Good question! Honda sells all their vehicles to the dealerships for the same price, regardless of color (even the dreaded Inca Pearl Civic's). But yes, on certain models I would certainly sell a vehicle of a less than desirable color for much less than a "hot" color.

It just so happens for us, our Elements sell as fast as we get them, for MSRP. Yes, there are a few that do occasionally get a discount, but 95% pay MSRP (regardless of the color). In fact, I was directed to this board by one of our customers, who got a discount and has been one of our greatest customers.

jerry,
1750. now granted it had a lot of physical blemishes(scratches and dings). and 100000 miles, but i know they will clean it up and sell it for 5 grand

I just don't buy it. If green cars are harder to sell, it begs the question why manufacturers make green painted vehicles in the first place - after all, they'd sell faster if they were red or white instead. You could be pretty certain that a manufacturer that goes to the kind of lengths that Honda did in developing the E would have good research about what color to paint it for best effect.

This is all about the dealer trying to make the sale on the best terms for himself that he can, and using any excuse he thinks he can get away with to do it.

[quote:e57ae7a749="dexter19"]jerry,
1750. now granted it had a lot of physical blemishes(scratches and dings). and 100000 miles, but i know they will clean it up and sell it for 5 grand[/quote:e57ae7a749]

I would expect that a 97 Civic Sedan with 100,000 miles, in reasonably good shape with no re-paint or obvious body damage other than dings...should bring arount 2500-3000.

That brings us to "other" factors...does the a/c blow cold? Are there service records available? When you brought the car in, was it clean or does it look and smell like a fish truck? :D

All of these things effect the trade value. Not to mention the fact that some dealerships will try to "steal your trade". The salesman is usually compted on the "UA" (underallowance)

I had a customer that came in Saturday and she had a trade, 94 Civic EX Sedan, 198,000 miles and the car loked like CRAP! Body damage, interior trashed...we offered her $800. Needless to say she was offended, "I mean after all, KBB says 1700!". OTOH, I have a 95 CX that we are trading in tomorrow...this car is very clean, with 133,000 and we are doing 1500. KBB lists this car at 850.

Doing trades sometimes is like trying to nail down jello. You really have to know what you are doing or you can take it in the shorts.

Remember when Kelley Blue Book was the final word on trade-in prices? Sure, you'd haggle over the condition and/or options, but by and large, you could take the wholesale KBB to the bank when you were trading a car in. Problem was, at the time, KBB prices weren't publically available. You had to know someone to get the info...

Now, dealers tell people (mine did, anyway) that KBB is not what they go by. You really have to keep shoving the printouts of the web page at them to get them to capitulate and give you a fair price.

Mine told me that he couldn't give me the KBB trade-in for my 2002 RSX-S because it was 'too new' and that the color (Arctic Blue Pearl) was less than desirable in this market. Well, I called BS on both counts and he backed off after a few trips to the manager, complete with 'I'm going out on a limb for you and you need to help me' song and dance.

I was taken by surprise at the old-school techniques used and was ultimately very unhappy with my customer experience which was reflected in my survey.

I still wonder if this is a Honda thing, or if the entire car selling culture has shifted back to the dark days of outright lies and hucksterism. The only thing that made me complete the deal was the pre-arranged AAA price I got. The surprising thing was that I got this treatment from the fleet department.

peace,
-jdef

[quote:e757eea710="jdef"]Remember when Kelley Blue Book was the final word on trade-in prices? Sure, you'd haggle over the condition and/or options, but by and large, you could take the wholesale KBB to the bank when you were trading a car in. Problem was, at the time, KBB prices weren't publically available. You had to know someone to get the info...

Now, dealers tell people (mine did, anyway) that KBB is not what they go by. You really have to keep shoving the printouts of the web page at them to get them to capitulate and give you a fair price.[/quote:e757eea710]

In some regards, the dealer was right. KBB really isn't the final authority any more on trades. They are a good guide, for sure, but getting KBB values isn't what it used to be. If we have a car that isn't going to make it to our lot, we use Black Book. This is what the local auctions "pay" for used cars. If we have a car that might make it to the lot....and more and more are NOT making it to the lot, we will use a combination of KBB and Black Book. Still after all of this figuring and SWAG'ing (SWAG-scientific wild a@@ed guess :D ) we can come up with a number for our customer. we also have the luxury of having 35 dealerships, so odds are we can call another dealership and ask them what the value is.

Here is an example. Last week we had this guy who came in with his new fiance. He is about 25 and making very good money. He has a 02 Vette and a 6 month old BMW 3 series M3...sweet car. He owes 63,000 on the BMW. Our BMW dealership said that the car has a worth of 38,000...why? who knows! We call a local "high end buyer" who comes in to look at the car (he gave us a price of 43,000 on the phone)...he takes one look at it and sees that is has had right side repaint! He turned and walked away...didin't even want to touch it. So, this guy is at least 20,000 up-side down on a trade.

Our guess is that the finace is turning up the heat for a large house and this guy is trying to unload this car.

[quote:802c22f254="za9ra22"]I just don't buy it. If green cars are harder to sell, it begs the question why manufacturers make green painted vehicles in the first place - after all, they'd sell faster if they were red or white instead. You could be pretty certain that a manufacturer that goes to the kind of lengths that Honda did in developing the E would have good research about what color to paint it for best effect.

This is all about the dealer trying to make the sale on the best terms for himself that he can, and using any excuse he thinks he can get away with to do it.[/quote:802c22f254]

I can't speak for that particular dealer, so I can only give my thoughts. This could very well be the case (they just wanted to steal the trade). I think Jerry hit the nail on the head when he said trying to trade for cars is sometimes like "trying to nail down jello".

It sounds cliche and all, but every online guide, book, or credit union quote should be taken as that......a guide. There are vehicles that will bring more than what the guides say and there are vehicles that will bring less than the guides say. It is also important to note that unfortunately the trade in value of most vehicles is based a great deal on the dealer's opinion of that particular vehicle. Every dealer has a different opinion.

By shopping around, being honest and letting the dealer know you have a trade that will UNDOUBTABLY be part of the equation, you should be able to reach an agreement that both sides are happy with. If you aren't happy, then don't compromise until you are content you have a fair deal.

I appreciate the explanations. I can even understand the auction price. I know that by trading a car in that I am already taking a lot less than I could potentially get by selling it myself.

I guess the reason I was so surprised was the near hostility I was met with at both dealerships I visited. I purchased an Acura a year ago and it was the most pleasant, painless direct car purchase I had ever made (I have purchased thirteen new cars).

Finding out after-the-fact that we had been lied to outright was really disappointing. I felt violated. And I feel like an idiot for essentially being naive about this purchase after so much previous hard-won experience.

Anyway, I still am very happy with the Element and will be more ready next time...

peace,
-jdef

kind'a sounds like crap... i turned in my 97' civic, green, and recieved over bb when buying my GG E...... if u don't feel comfortable with your sales person,,, walk away......... :mrgreen:

[quote:f4d1cd76ed="misfit"]kind'a sounds like crap... i turned in my 97' civic, green, and recieved over bb when buying my GG E...... if u don't feel comfortable with your sales person,,, walk away......... :mrgreen:[/quote:f4d1cd76ed]

Agreed :oops: and then call the dealer so they can resolve the problem internally, ie, eliminate the bad apple.

Originally posted by za9ra22
I just don't buy it. If green cars are harder to sell, it begs the question why manufacturers make green painted vehicles in the first place - after all, they'd sell faster if they were red or white instead. You could be pretty certain that a manufacturer that goes to the kind of lengths that Honda did in developing the E would have good research about what color to paint it for best effect.



Yeah, but manufacturers don't make the same proportion of each color--they make more of colors that sell more quickly. They make green cars because some people like them, but they make more of colors that appeal to more people (personally I like GG). Ever notice that Edmunds has a "color adjustment" line when valuing both new and used cars? It takes into account that not all colors sell at the same rate.

You may as well argure that manuafacturers should stop making manual transmissions because they're harder to sell (since 90% of drivers can't drive them). Oddly they still make them for the buyers that want them.

Staggie, that's exactly my point - manufacturers make green cars because they know there are people who want green cars, and if it's true of the car when new, it's true of the car when used - that whatever proportion of customers it is that likes green, those customers would be happy to buy green. Thus a dealer who wants to knock $1000 off the value is using the color as an excuse for doing it.

As for the explanations - sure, dealers will value based on subjective criteria where they can because unlike KBB, it gives them wiggle room... usually at the customer's expense if the comments found here are anything to go by.

the first year only. Apparently, very few were sold and the color was dropped soon after. How many green Cruisers have you seen? :?

:( I'm sorry you had a crappy dealer. I can't say enough good about mine. :)

But then, I had no trade-in, and it was the easiest sale the new guy had ever made. I drove onto the lot, saw the SOP and said 'Where do I sign!' :lol:

They've been helpful ever since. However, I was under the impression my SOP came with the 6 Disc In-Dash CD player, but to my dismay this past weekend, I don't have that. :?

But the guy who told me that, the new sales guy, is checking into it, but he did use the word, Assume.. I hate that word!!!! :x

Oh well.. Again.. Sorry for your crappy dealer..

Kerr
EX AWD SOP E
Wheel locks, Mud flats...
Adding later: Running boards, fog lamps, roof rack, interior cosmetics, trailer hitch, & snowboard attachment ...

We had a green jeep cherokee in very good and clean condition with a KBB trade of $3500. the dealer offered us $2000, which was offensive to say the least. of course they called my wife and asked her to bring it in for an appraisal when i was at work and unavailable and i think they were feeding her lines of garbage. we said no thanks and put an add in the paper. the next day we had 3 calls and sold it to the second person who looked at it for $4000 cash. people kept calling for the next week every day that the add was in the post. i'm sure if i'd have been tough i could have gotten an extra $500 - $1000.

anyhow, it worked out well for us and the buyer because dealers were selling identical cars with more miles for $6500+. and we ended up with an extra $500 that we weren't counting on.

morale of the story... screw the dealers. they don't need any higher profit margins than they already get. take an add out and sell it yourself.

Shawns,

Glad to hear a good story about selling your own car. I've got a '97 Saturn with only 49K on it, but it's old enough that a dealer will definitely lowball (of course they always do that). I'm a little leary about selling it myself, but the extra money towards my E sure would help.

I traded a 98 dakota for 13500. cdn. The sell in on lots for around 17000. I tried to sell on my own be no luck. The problem, I think was that I cant offer financing. A dealer will sell it to som kid with 18 percent.

we traded in a 97 civic ex coupe auto white 81k miles for $4500. the car was in a minor accident and the paint was fading.

dealer gave $7000...