Trading in at Mark Dodge

[DeadEnd]

Just like the title says, has anyone ever traded in their current vehicle for the one they ordered? Curious if everything was seamless as it was with ordering. My truck should be arriving in the next couple weeks. Wasn’t sure if it worth the risk to drive the 10 hours there to try and trade the car in or just fly and try to sell privately. Thanks everyone!

 

[DrTron]

I did.
I looked up the KBB trade-in value of my truck beforehand, and they offered me an amount right in the middle of the band, which was really ok.
Make sure you mention any options your truck has that may not be apparent from the VIN, for my truck they forgot to consider that it had the eTorque engine.

Other than that, everything went perfectly. They did all the paperwork including the trade-in online, so the actual handover only included me signing the title of the trade-in and handing over the keys.

Given the fact that my state (probably like most others) only collects vehicle sales tax on the difference after trade-in, I would have had to sell my old truck for at least $2k more to break even (unlikely), plus I would have had to organize some transport to get to LA. That was only about four hours' drive for me, though.

 

[DeadEnd]

Thanks DrTron. Glad to hear the paperwork was all done beforehand. Would hate to drive 10 hours to trade in only to have numbers change or something and then have to bring it back with me plus the new truck haha.

 

[DrTron]

No, that was all done beforehand. They called me when my truck was on the lot and we then discussed things like pick up date, financing and trade in, after which someone from their finance department contacted me and sent the paperwork for digital signature.
No haggling or anything. 10/10 would do again.

 

[Thisnthat]

they have too much of an online reputation to be pulling tricks like changing numbers on buyers....take out some of the communication issues with both them and Granger and most don't have anything to complain about.

If you aren't paying cash, I'd have financing either already lined up or have a backup plan ---which would be the same advice even if you were buying from a local dealer

haven't ever heard of something like that happening with a trade...the only thing that most have relayed is that back earlier in the year they seemed to be on the low side of the trade in range. If you're going to drive 10 hrs, you need to have a trade in value already set before you get leave which they'll be more than willing to give

I live in one of the rare states that allow private sales to offset the sales tax...MD gave me a 60 day/2k mile trade in value ...they asked how many miles I was expecting to put on it so I imagine everybody's situation is handled differently. The way the market is changing they probably aren't leaving an offer on the table that long anymore

 

[jebruns]

I was with Granger, not MD. But once they told me my truck was in, I took mine around to a few dealers in our area for a cash offer. My state also gives the trade in credit for side deals like that. I then sent the requested pictures to Granger and we negotiated the trade in value via email. They had to come up a couple of grand from their first offer to match my local best offer, so I was glad I had that to deal with.

 

[monsuoon]

I also traded my old truck in with MD. Everything was seamless and above board.

 

[LegendaryLawman]

Always worth posting around here to see what you can get.