Scion tC Forums banner

Trading in my AT Tc for 5 spd.

3232 Views 20 Replies 12 Participants Last post by  blazin_chengy
Hey guys, well I got my tc about 3 months ago and am gonna trade it in for a 5spd. My Uncle is head of sales there and am gonna ask him what he sugges I do before bringin it in for them to check out the car. I just wanted to see if you guys have any suggestions. Im planning to detail my engine and do a quality wax and tire cleaning and work just clean the interior. Those are the basics I will be doing. If anyone has traded in or knows anyone who has and have any suggestions I would apreciate it. Thnx!
1 - 20 of 21 Posts
Honestly, unless your car has dents, anything more than a quick wash and wipe down is probably a waste of time. The dealer is not going to care whether your car's engine sparkles.
what are they gonna care about?
as a dealer, i look at a few things on a trade in.

mileage is the big one.
repaint / body work that has been done (yes, we can tell).
repaint / body work that needs done
mechanical condition

i dont care if your car is waxed, detailed, and steam cleaned. it wont fool me into missing other stuff, and it wont increase the value. we send all trades in to be reconditioned anyway. a quick wash and vacuum will be sufficient so the appraiser can easily see that there is no damage. other than that, good luck. trades that soon after purchase usually result in negative equity. chances are, this trade to a five speed is going to cost you a bit of money. at least tax and license again, plus any negative equity you may have based on the car's value against what you owe on it (14 day payoff is a handy thing to give your dealer). be prepared to be unhappy. i have been working my a$$ off for a close friend to get her into a five speed and out of her auto, and she has had it for a year to pay down the note. and i had to get really really creative to make it work.

best of luck.
See less See more
Originally posted by moriarty in your other thread about the same sh!t.
the trade for a tC is kinda strong. i know ( and shouldn't post publicly) what they are buying used tCs for at auction and it is pretty strong. you might lose a bit, you will lose your tax and licence AND you will need to pay for that again with the new car.


Here are the options that you have, and they are all good.
(listed according to how much money you lose. low to high dollar loss)

1) suck it up and keep your automatic
2) sell the car private party for what you owe, or at least try.
3) sell your car to CARMAX. sometimes they really hook up the seller.
4) trade it in for the manual tC at your dealership.


In the ABSOLUTE best case, you will break even. but, this is unlikely. Bottom line, unless you know somebody at the dealership that you can call a friend, you are going to lose some money.

you should probably wait a little bit, maybe a year or so to bring down the amount you owe. Then, try to trade into the manual tC.

good luck.
Other than trade it! Thats the only thing to me
Why are you so eager to change your transmission?
if you do trade, tell me how much money you lose
Well, when we first got this car, I thought I'd hand this car over to my younger brother when he gets to college in 3 years and I will upgrade to an STI. So, my father said since the car will stay in the family, he wans it to be auto. But, Im really enjoy drivin the tc and am thinking of keeping it instead of handing it down. First it will save me n my parents money by me keeping this car, cuz I wont be looking to buy an STI in 3 years.Also, itll give my brother a chance to get a new car as well when he gets to college.So, I don wanna keep auto for the rest of the time, since I enjoy drivin 5 speed more. But yea, Im busy with finals rah now so once Im done im taking it to the dealership and gonna ask my uncle wat he thinks is the best way to go. If imma lose to much money then imma jus pass on it and look to get the STI once im out of undergrad.
It must be tough deciding which free new car you want.
I work for my money and pay half the monthly payment on mah tc and half my insurance and my parents cover the other half, so im not getting the car for free at all. For a 19 year old paying for half a new car, I think thats pretty good. jus an FYI to basilisk4 and im not full of myself or notin . . .
Yeah, I shouldn't have said anything.
Originally posted by beezy@Dec 4 2005, 05:49 AM
I work for my money and pay half the monthly payment on mah tc and half my insurance and my parents cover the other half, so im not getting the car for free at all. For a 19 year old paying for half a new car, I think thats pretty good. jus an FYI to basilisk4 and im not full of myself or notin . . .
I'm 20. I pay for it all.
See less See more
Originally posted by beezy@Dec 4 2005, 02:49 AM
I work for my money and pay half the monthly payment on mah tc and half my insurance and my parents cover the other half, so im not getting the car for free at all. For a 19 year old paying for half a new car, I think thats pretty good. jus an FYI to basilisk4 and im not full of myself or notin . . .
I was making full payments on my 99 Eclipse RS and 03 SRT-4 at 19 going on 20. Insurance to boot. What's your point? I would consider a brand new tC for 8-10 thousand a steal.
Originally posted by beezy@Dec 4 2005, 02:49 AM
I work for my money and pay half the monthly payment on mah tc and half my insurance and my parents cover the other half, so im not getting the car for free at all. For a 19 year old paying for half a new car, I think thats pretty good. jus an FYI to basilisk4 and im not full of myself or notin . . .
^^ Still spoiled, Im 19 and I pay every penny for my 06 tC and every penny for my insurance also...Also I have to keep a lot of money for my family which I have to keep food on the table for...
to all u guys givin ur stories of payin ur own car, first I was addressing basilisk4's comment that I was getting my car for free. I gave my background to prove to him how I am not getting the car for free. what are you guys trying to prove?
yeah what are you trying to prove? he asked a simple question. you want to evaluate someone's life and judge if they're spoiled or not? i have an easy way to do it. its called have your own children and then do it how you want. i want free cars or half payments. who doesnt? if you have to hunt deer with your bare hands so your family can eat, does that give you some special ability to smash others who happen to get something for free or at an easier cost than you? if it makes you feel better, then invest in a good heavy bag to work out your life's frustrations instead of using other people as a personal punching bag. political or sociological statements can be forwarded to you local newspaper's editorial section
See less See more
^^^ Eric is right. This is why I shut up about this after my initial comment.
1 - 20 of 21 Posts
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top