Cars so nice, they traded 'em twice

August 14, 2009 12:10 PM

I see that trading two cars in for one is legal and done fairly often. Does anybody have experience and/or tips with this sort of thing?

Now that my partner and I are living together, we seem to have one car too many. I will be working within walking or busing distance of home for the foreseeable future, and have easy access to family/friends/car-sharing services, so even if things go south this will probably still be fine. Both of us have cars that run well but are getting older.

So is trading both our cars in for a single better one a decent option? When's the best time to do this? Should we try to take advantage of whatever is left of Cash for Clunkers, should we simply try to sell one or both privately, or should we aim to do both? Will dealers not care if we only pay, like, $2000 over what we trade? (Obviously I am new to this whole "they like it when you hand them some money" thing...)

Some factors:
--We're in Wisconsin.
--We both own our cars outright.
--We're not necessarily looking to do this, like, tomorrow.
--The Blue Book values for my car (2000 Honda Accord V6, leather and the works) are $3400 trade and $5100 private; if my last experience was any indicator, it'll probably take all of a day to sell it on Craigslist.
--I'm not sure of the specs, but the Blue Book values for his car (2003ish Hyundai Sonata, pretty basic) are probably significantly less; he has much lower mileage and at least a couple years on mine, but his car has a lower trim package, lots of brake noise and visible dents, etc. It's in okay shape, but people probably won't jump on it like mine.
--We'd like to look into something with a bit better gas mileage. Nothing fancy, but I'd say something right around $10,000, maybe a little higher, would be nice -- a hybrid Civic or a RAV4 or similar.

Thanks!

posted by Madamina to Shopping (3 answers total)

Your Accord isn't eligible for Cash for Clunkers, and your Sonata is only barely eligible: unless you're planning on getting a high MPG car (28mpg or higher) to get $4500 for it, you may well get more money selling it on Craigslist, even in fair condition, than the $3500 offered by Cash for Clunkers. Those with much older cars and SUVs can get a great deal with the Cash for Clunkers program, but with your newer cars, I don't think it would benefit you much.

Taking cash for clunkers out of the equation, my wife and I did this same thing two years ago. She sold her pickup, we bought a shiny new high MPG Honda Fit, and then I sold my Trooper on Craigslist soon after. We both were taking public transportation to work at the time, we both liked the Fit, and with the trade-in values of both cars, we got something new, gas saving and reliable for not a whole lot of money. It all seemed to work out well -- it wasn't much of a hassle since we both generally took public transportation, we payed less for insurance and gas -- and we were very happy with the arrangement for around a year.

Then my wife changed jobs -- to a job where she had an extensive commute. Many days she'd have the car from 6am to 7:30 or 8pm. And it drove me crazy, since I wasn't able to run errands that might require a car in that empty space between when I got home and she got home. I ended up regaining my sanity by buying a cheap used Volvo on Craigslist, even though in reality it doesn't get all that much use, and we're back to being a two car family again.

Given that you're in Wisconsin, you should seriously consider how well going down to one car will work during the winter, when there may be times of year when walking medium distances is less practical than driving due to the weather conditions. You may find that it'll work out just fine for the next few months, and then be absolutely miserable. I'd recommend waiting until December and then spending a month with the Sonata "on ice," where you agree to use only one car as a trial run and seeing how frustrating it is for you.
posted by eschatfische at 1:06 PM on August 14, 2009

Personally, I would never trade a car in. I'd sell it privately. You will simply not get the deal you think you are when you trade-in. The dealers know how to work the numbers against you. Sell it. Use the cash toward purchasing another car, if you want.

Personally, though, I'd keep both cars. One never knows when you both will need individual mobility.
posted by Thorzdad at 1:59 PM on August 14, 2009

Response by poster: Thanks for both suggestions so far. Just a quick note: before owning this car, I was actually carless for two years or so with my previous partner; we'd shared a single car before that. I'm well aware of the fun and excitement of being carless in Wisconsin during the winter (and other times), so that's not really an issue.
posted by Madamina at 4:21 PM on August 14, 2009