Trade-in Guilt

You ever trade a car in that is such a pile of junk that you actually feel sorry for the dealership? Goodbye Jeep GC, hello Toyota 4Runner.

No, car salesman and dealers steal daily from customers and make them feel good about it.

Which one was a pile of junk ?

I traded my 2003 tundra in with 278k. It was whipped. Got 2k with new floor rubber mats

With a Jeep GC, they most likely know what they are getting into. Congrats on the 4Runner.

278k...sheesh this one is a pile at 60k. Think the tranny is on its way out. Heck, I figure they'll just auction it off and pass the problem to someone else.

I'm pretty giddy about the expectation that I won't be visiting the dealership every 6 months to get something fixed.

Congratulations, Samson. That's purty….

Too bad you couldn't find a red one.

Yup my 2003 tundra

Ive honestly never traded a vehicle. Sold one before I bought another. I did feel kinda bad when I sold a pair of Honda Shadows to a young couple to buy my Harley. The girl totalled one when dhe hit a coyote and her husband wasn't with her because the starter wasn't working on the other.

Don't worry about the dealer, worry more about the poor sucker they over charge for it.

Indeed, don’t worry, it’s inconceivable that you have any reason to feel bad for the dealer. The dealer always wins.

If it's not too old, with only 60K the next buyer can get an extended warranty. If it doesn't blow up in the first 30 days or first 1,000 miles then they might be OK. Of course they will pay far too much for it if they buy from a dealer.

If you continue to have remorse, then please direct it at the low income person with poor math skills that will be driving any high milage vehicle that gets traded in such as the above mentioned Tundra. Most likely someone will end up paying a tote the note dealer $400 a month or more to drive it until it gets repo’d, and the next person will give the dealer another down payment and start making payments of $400 per month. This cycle will continue until the vehicle is totaled in an accident. Even if it drops a tranny a dealer will have the cheapest repair done as possible to keep the $400/month coming in for as long as possible. The tote the note dealer will in all likelihood end up making a net profit between $12,000 to $18,000 when it’s all said and done on a car that's only worth $4-$6K if you were to buy from an individual.

Far too many preowned dealers will spend $100 on a showroom fresh detail to make it shine like new, clear any engine codes and pay an unscrupulous shop $20 extra to pass inspection. They might pop a few dents, top off the oil but they certainly will not change it. Any repair expense and a large part of the acquisition cost they have in the vehicle will be covered by the low income person’s down payment. For the most part, it’s a deplorable business.


Low income individuals that can afford $400 per month for a payment would be so much better off to take the Dave Ramsey approach and save up their money and pay cash for a sub $2,000 vehicle, drive it for a year while continuing to save the $400 per month they would otherwise be paying to the deplorable dealer. Then in a year they would have $4,800 plus another $1800 or more from selling the fully depreciated vehicle they have been driving for the last year to spend on a better preowned car or truck from an individual. Repeat this for another year or so and they will end up with a dependable, paid off vehicle.

Blue Moon

Don't worry, you will - in the form of recall notices.

Congrats! I traded my silverado in for a new 4Runner last month

Pretty 4Runner!

I had a small Chevy Cavalier that was leaking fluid. Took it to RIP off mo fracking Pep Boys and said it's a head gasket or something like that. They the work and told me it was ready to pick up. I get there and tell me block is cracked too but we changed gasket so pay us.. Thieving a holes. I drove car across street and traded it in. Salesman asked about cars condition and I told him I drove it here. Got maybe 1500 with a lot of miles on it and cracked block for trade in.
I win.

I don't think you ever said what was wrong with the Jeep Grand Cherokee. There is something very important to remember about cars. Somewhere there is someone that thinks that any particular car is a POS. It's amazing how many recalls there are that you don't hear about.

Bad sensor, bad oil sending unit, tranny issues, broken a/c actuator, broken rear hatch motor, broken glove box latch, broken seatbelt (stuck in place), suspension shot according to dealership....plus all the recalls. Now it's lurching on cold starts. 2014.

Very nice !!!!!!

My neighbor had a Grand Cherokee about 20 years ago that he commuted to Port Arthur to the refinery about 80 miles. Kept it about 15 years and had 345K on it.

Love the 4Runners. I presently own 4 Toyotas and traded a 2010 Camry off on my last purchase, a 2019 Camry for my commuter to Beaumont. The 2010 had an issue with mice/rats chewing up wiring harnesses and I had replaced 2 when a full size rat chewed thru the firewall and ate the A/C harness, got stuck and died ... in July. My son tore the dash off and half the other firewall connected harnesses and ducts to get to it ... on about day 4-5. It was epically horrible ... I traded it in with 205K on it for $2500 and felt lucky. No guilt as I was up front with them.

BTW I love the new Camry.

In regards to the Jeep GC; maybe 2014 was a bad year or they are just junk. For the price; the GC felt and drove great, but I am done with my wife's 2014 due to many recalls and mechanical & electrical issue's. I am going back to Toyota and will never purchase another MOPAR product. Been there and done that!!!