[jollymonjeff]

After much heming and hawing, probably going to go from an 03 9-3 SS to a left over 07 9-3 SC tonight. $23250 after incentives. Auto and cold weather pkg.

Questions:
How hard is it to sell Saabs privately? We sold our Honda in 3 days at a good price. I am on Long Island.

If I trade in at the dealer, will the trade value of my 03 go against the purchase price of the 07 for sales tax purposes? (8.75% tax!)

What decontented things can I bring from my 03 to the 07 if I sell privately?
I am thinking of the smart slot ice scraper, the fog lights swapped for the blanks in the 07 (techII needed?), the armrest in the back seat which has the secret compartment. What else am I missing?

Would the trailer hitch from the SS fit the SC? I hate to buy another one.

Would my Saab all weather mats fit the SC?

 

[inyrmnd]

After much heming and hawing, probably going to go from an 03 9-3 SS to a left over 07 9-3 SC tonight. $23250 after incentives. Auto and cold weather pkg.

Questions:
How hard is it to sell Saabs privately? We sold our Honda in 3 days at a good price. I am on Long Island.

If I trade in at the dealer, will the trade value of my 03 go against the purchase price of the 07 for sales tax purposes? (8.75% tax!)

First of all...CONGRATULATIONS. I'm sure you'll love your new SC. I know I do. As far as selling your SAAB privately, it should be a hard sale, although since NADA, Edmunds, and the Blue Book, as well as other resources show the resale considerably low for all SAABs. I bought a perfectly good 900 almost 10 years ago for 1500 even. So, it's going to be difficult to get what you think you may deserve. Tough call.

As for the trade in, your ealer should trade the value of your 03 against the final purchase price, so I'd say you're getting a pretty sweet deal (even with the 8.75% tax).

Happy SAABing!

 

[bwik]

Saabs are always sellable for the right price. For a 2003 9-3, guesstimate around 10,500. Give or take 2 grand. That's that.

As for your new car, looks like you are getting a great price. Congratulations.

 

[jollymonjeff]

03 9-3SS to 07 SC

Ok, lets complicate things a bit.

First, each dealer I went to will offer only 6-7k for my car. They are going by the wholesale auction (manheim?) rate which is considerably lower than each of the three big websites (NADA, KBB, Edmunds), which say $7800-8800.
No way I will trade it for $6k. That is just silly. I would keep it or sell privately.
I do think $7800-$8800 is fair for trade in and would expect $8500-10k privately. Dealers are selling similar used 9-3s for $12k.
My 9-3 has 49500 miles and is a base car, no options at all. Average condition. Needs new tires as the originals are finally about done. No mechanical issues at all. light hit to the right of the front bumper resulting in scratches to the bumper cover and a 2 inch crinkle at the forward most portion of the fender at the bumper/headlight/fender intersection.
New headlights, side skirts and mirror trim (replaced under warranty for fading and hazing).

OK, the fun stuff.
Dealer 1 has an 07 SC, automatic, heated seats and roof rails, with incentives we are at $23250 (plus taxes).
Dealer 2 has an 08 SC, automatic, heated seats and roof rails, willing to sell it for "Invoice" minus $4k in total incentives ($2500 manufacturer to dealer, $500 red tag, $1000 loyalty).

So, the two questions are....all three web services are showing invoice about $750 less than the dealer's sheet. Why is that? Is the "invoice" they are showing me really the invoice price? The dealer for the 08 is showing me invoice at about $31300. It includes two sections of advertising fees totalling about $750. Should I be able to get those down?

Assuming the invoice is correct, and my intent is to keep the car for 5 years, am I better off spending 3-4k more for the 08 with the same equipment?

Thanks for everyones comments, and patience with me on this. I have been on the fence for months about it and I think I am ready to pull the trigger.

And yes, I really would prefer a stick, but we may end up driving the commute to NYC each day rather than take the train, so the auto will save my sanity if that happens.

 

[Cosmicflash]

Yes you will love it. I went from an 03' SS to an 06' SC Aero leftover too last Spring.

The trailer hitch should work framwise but the tongue and ball might not be an exact fit as the rear end isn't identical but the frame is.

Even if you trade-in take those items that might switch over. Obviously the mats will be an exact fit--I took the four out of mine as I went with the same parchment interior.

Any spare cabin or air filters will obviously work as well.

Re. your current post:

08' vs. 07'--go for the savings of the 07' because after 5 years both cars would be worth about the same amount of money (not much btw) so you'd be saving $3-4k as you said.

The trade in price they are giving you is about right. The websites trade-in values are typically wrong. You would probably get $8-11k if sold privately.

And that advertising is the difference you saw between website invoice and dealer invoice.

Good luck

 

[Nickshu]

All the "prior Saab's" listed below were sold on Ebay when I was ready to move on. All smooth transactions. Every time I got what I wanted for the car, or more, and each time the car was sold in about 3-4 days. All cases people drove from out of state to get the car. Highly recommend Ebay for selling used cars, others may have different experiences, but mine have all been positive. :cheesy:

 

[Melovesha]

Ok, lets complicate things a bit.

First, each dealer I went to will offer only 6-7k for my car. They are going by the wholesale auction (manheim?) rate which is considerably lower than each of the three big websites (NADA, KBB, Edmunds), which say $7800-8800.
No way I will trade it for $6k. That is just silly. I would keep it or sell privately.
I do think $7800-$8800 is fair for trade in and would expect $8500-10k privately. Dealers are selling similar used 9-3s for $12k.
My 9-3 has 49500 miles and is a base car, no options at all. Average condition. Needs new tires as the originals are finally about done. No mechanical issues at all. light hit to the right of the front bumper resulting in scratches to the bumper cover and a 2 inch crinkle at the forward most portion of the fender at the bumper/headlight/fender intersection.
New headlights, side skirts and mirror trim (replaced under warranty for fading and hazing).

OK, the fun stuff.
Dealer 1 has an 07 SC, automatic, heated seats and roof rails, with incentives we are at $23250 (plus taxes).
Dealer 2 has an 08 SC, automatic, heated seats and roof rails, willing to sell it for "Invoice" minus $4k in total incentives ($2500 manufacturer to dealer, $500 red tag, $1000 loyalty).

So, the two questions are....all three web services are showing invoice about $750 less than the dealer's sheet. Why is that? Is the "invoice" they are showing me really the invoice price? The dealer for the 08 is showing me invoice at about $31300. It includes two sections of advertising fees totalling about $750. Should I be able to get those down?

Assuming the invoice is correct, and my intent is to keep the car for 5 years, am I better off spending 3-4k more for the 08 with the same equipment?

Thanks for everyones comments, and patience with me on this. I have been on the fence for months about it and I think I am ready to pull the trigger.

And yes, I really would prefer a stick, but we may end up driving the commute to NYC each day rather than take the train, so the auto will save my sanity if that happens.

...but most importantly, which dealership, and have you searched for "your car" at other area dealerships (even out of state -- i bought my last 2 in CT).

as for your current car's value, it's a toss up, and sad:

In January I was offered $6500 for a trade of my '01 93SE, which I ended up selling privately for $10k.

 

[Aspen]

Couple of things,

Selling a car privately isn't a lot of fun, so you will earn the premium you get.
The 2008 model has a few improvements in the ECU to enhance shifting and fuel economy, plus the DRLs switch off with the ebrake. Minor things but I would like them.
The 2007 looks better to me, but that is subjective. The new fascia is too Saturn looking to me.