MRGTX

I have a plain-Jane 2009 GT deluxe with the appearance package... I love the car but like many of us, I have a mild case of 5.0 fever and I just wanted to check out what the car might be worth to sell or as a trade as I toss the idea around of picking one up.

I can't be the only one doing this these days.

I have less than 13k on the car at the moment, perfect shape, no door dings or scratches, complete maintainence records including 3k mile/synthetic oil changes...(and all fuel fill ups with mileage calculations...for whatever that's worth) and the car really has been flawless for a whole year with no return visits to the dealership necessary...so it would qualify as "excellent" condition... this is what I found but I suspect that the values are unrealistically high, especially with the 5.0 on the way. I'd appreciate any opinions-

NADA:
Clean trade-in: $21,825
Clean retail: $25,150

Kelly Blue Book:
Excellent trade-in 21,450
Excellent Private party- $23,660
Excellent retail- $26,260

While I like good news like this...I'm very skeptical. Are these realistic numbers? Thanks for any input and opinions!!

Orion_240

your car is NOT "excellent". With that many miles you need to choose the next lower rating "Good" when using KBB.com. Excellent is for showroom cars with almost no miles.

Those numbers sound like they need to be updated. I doubt you'd be able to sell you Mustang for that much. Of course if you were shopping for one I'm sure there will be plenty of Mustangs that are that expensive, but that's just an asking price.

joutcelt

generally speaking cars are not in excellent condition after a year of ownership. I suspect that if u were to trade ur car in for a 5.0 u would not get the ideal trade in when they first come out. You could try and sell ur car out right but then again the economy is still tight. Hopefully you owe less than what the car is worth. I have an 07gt premium that will be paid off in june. I have thought about trading it in but im gonna keep this car for awhile. Something about not paying 600 a month sounds great!!

07gtdude

Hardly any used vehicles are "excellent" condition. Unfortunately yours isn't one of them, although it sounds like you take great care of it. Its just one of those things man. Repost the numbers of your vehicle with "Good" condition.

MOOK3456

KBB calculates mileage separately. The condition section refers to mainly interior/exterior/basic mechanical condition.

@OP the number may be a "tiny" bit high. But a local dealer has a 2009 GT with 7500 miles for $26k...So privately sold, sure you could get 22-24k. Alot depends on where you live too I suppose. As far as the trade in #'s ignore them. Not likely to find a dealer to take it for over 20k.

jerjan

Those prices seem very high for the real world. Especially since the economy is tanked and dealers are deep discounting their inventories.

Art161

I think you will find those numbers going down once the 2011 model is available.

MRGTX

Thanks for the input, guys...perhaps I misread the "excellent" description but I suppose there is some dust in the engine bay. but yeah, It has been driven for a year... so...

"Good" trade in $20,300... I'd take it.

Orion_240

that's not how it usually works, unless the dealer is your brother!
They will offer you about 50-60% of what you feel the car is worth and expect you to bargain about halfway up to your price before you cave in.

BTW, from what I've read the book prices are supposed to be based on actual selling prices, not the asking prices. In this economy I'd automatically take 10-20% off the asking price for my offer.
I've heard that Carmax doesn't bargain off its posted prices so they might give you a better idea of prices.

ptaylor_9849

A car is worth what someone is willing to pay. These books are ball park figures. Usually, dealers want to use Kelly Blue Book while figuring your trade but then they use NADA when pricing their car. That's because KBB is usually low and NADA is usually high. If your car is as mint as you describe then I would suggest selling it yourself. A dealer will pay you 17k today for your trade and they will have it on their lot tonight for 23.9K. Moreover, don't let people steal the car from you by blaming the economy. I just got three offers on my 07 GT with 20k miles for twenty seven thousand bucks and I refused all of them. If they want the car bad enough they will cough up the cash. However, it would help if your car stood out a bit. Plain Jane doesn't sound too appealing!