Originally posted by wsoon:
I am currently driving a June 2001 Mazda 323 1.6 Manual with paper value about $32k
I am considering buying a brand new car from a PI and was offered $33k for trade-in. (ie. paper + 1k body)
Shall I
a. take-up the PI offer
b. try and sell the car to another party or by myself.
Hope that you can help me with this
Chances are:
a) If you take up the PI offer, you might be able to bargain for a higher trade in price since he is earning on the other end by selling you the car.
b) You might be able to sell the car at a slightly higher price by selling to a 3rd party but do remember: the PI agent may not offer you a good trade-in offer as a result.
Have you tried calling other dealers to check out how much your car is worth? If the difference is not great, might as well sell to the PI agent who will do the paperwork on both ends for you, settle all the financing and full settlement and chances are you will be able to drive the old car till the very day your new car comes in. Saves a lot of trouble in my opinion

My 2 cents worth.