I am in SoCal and will be trading in my leased 2021 BMW X3 with 13,200 miles. Trying to figure out what a good price is for selling it back to BMW dealer. I looked at Kelley Blue Book trade-in value and they say $42k to $44k. I got a few online quotes. One was $35k and two others were $39k. I see Carvana selling a very similar one for $49k online. Local BMW dealers seem to be around $47k. Personally, I would like to get $43k but not sure if the $3k-$4k gain that leaves for the BMW dealer is worth it to them. Anybody have any thoughts or experiences?
I can buy it out and sell it myself too. I am asking this question to help decide whether it is realistic to get the KBB price or not. That would be good enough for me. Thanks.
No because of other costs you don’t see. Let’s say they spend $1000 on reconditioning/photos/marketing and then another $1500 to CPO it (probably a low estimate), now they are looking at $1500 assuming it sells for $47k. No one is really making much on that, so what’s the point to take the risk. Same experience with my M4. Similar examples are being listed for $70k-$72k, but I sold it for $64k and the dealer has it listed for $74k, which I am sure will drop or they will sell it for less unless someone wants an overpriced M4 with 2 filled-in chips on the windshield and a small crack on the front bumper.
But cast a wide net, I got appraisals anywhere from $57k to $67k (most were low $60s). Only reason I passed on the $67k offer was that I would have to buy it out and pay taxes, which turned into a smaller profit than selling it for less to a BMW dealer. I called 5 BMW dealers before the last one offered $3k more than the next closest offer.
Also do what @trism suggested. It is amazing how much lower KBB’s offer is when it is their money on the table.
Good call. KBB is $42,270. That is a very helpful data point. Too bad I can’t just do it through them (assuming that the dealer they have is not a BMW dealer).
@wam22 – I completely understand. I tried not to use the word “profit” and used it in quotes in the title for the reasons you mention.
If I pay it off and get the title, can a third-party then buy it from me in such a way that I avoid the sales tax (9.5%)? In CA there is a 10-day period but I don’t know if there are any “gotchas” in that scenario when working with a local reseller or dealer.
I have read that thread. I was wondering if there was something about selling to a non-BMW dealer (e.g., Carmax) that would be different since they don’t want to pay tax either. I will ask one of the “instant offer” companies what they can do too.
Really excellent idea. So far, the “response in 30 minutes” never appeared (3 hours later). I will keep looking. Strongly considering just titling it in my name, selling it on Craigslist, and applying for the tax back.
California rules say that private transactions incurs Tax each time. (if traceable of course)
So I buy something and sell it to you on say Ebay, both of us pay tax.
Here’s the quote
The sale of a vehicle to a lessee by a lessor may be considered a nontaxable sale for resale
As the lessor, or seller, you may accept a resale certificate from a purchaser who intends to resell the vehicle.
Not sure what you read, but I don’t see anywhere that states it needs to be sold to a company with a dealers license. It just says it needs to be sold to a 3rd party within 10 days.
Well from my experience with the CA FTB, they won’t accept you selling it to someone else tax free unless it’s for the purpose of resale, and resale is pretty well defined in many places.
But you can always try, it’s not my money you are risking.
