Hey guys. Me again... So as some of you know I picked up an 03 Le Mans Sunset with 73k miles like 3+ months ago. For the hell of it I was just looking at some 07's and again for the hell of it I looked up its KBB trade in price.

My 03's KBB trade in came out at $10,000 with good condition and the 07 came out as $12,600 in good condition. My 03 doesn't have too many miles for its age and the 07 had almost the same amount of miles as my 03. Both at like 75,000 miles.

Than than I checked how much extra cash I have to throw at my car right now, which came up to be like $3,000.

So my question is, since they probably get the 07 Z's for so cheap at that many miles through a trade in, do you think there is a chance that they'll take my 03 Z and $3,000 for the 07 Z?

I don't have to have that specific Z. I would love to have any HR engine Z including a base model. My 03 is a touring model.

So My Z has pretty low miles for its age and the Z I want to get can be a base model with slightly high mileage for its age, which is what kind of what gives me some hope.

Anyways please vote I don't dislike my current Z for any reason. If I am unable to pick up an 07 with what I offered than that's simply fine with me as I love my current one. I thought I'd just give it a shot.

UPDATE on 9/3/2012:
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So I went to 2 dealers today. The first one tried to low-ball me and stuff, what a surprise huh?

The second one went well. It was a red 2007 350z Touring model. The guy offered me 10 grand on the dot for my current one, which is the KBB trade in value. So anyways he says you need to add like $6,000 more. Than I said something like, "You are offering me 10 grand, which is the exact price on KBB for trade in, so I bet you payed somewhere around $12,600 for that 2007z since that is the KBB trade in value. If you were to take my offer, you would probably sell my car for 12-13 grand and on top of that you will have 3k cash." He said that's not exactly how it works and that he payed like $15,000 for it and stuff (which I highly doubt), but anyways he wanted my number just in-case. So what I am saying is that, hopefully with patience, my plan should work out.

For those of you who don't understand what I am trying to do and think trading my car in is stupid, here is the plan I have in mind. If I sell my car privately, which will be like 12 grand or so, and add 3 grand on top of it, that's 15 grand. So this means I have to buy a 2007z for 15 grand, which is hard to do. And i would have to find a new Z and buy it fast because I don't have any other car.

BUT, if what I am trying to do works, I am not loosing out by trading in because they get the 2007z for like 12-13 grand, where I would be able to get it for like 16 or so if patient. On top of that, I don't have to worry about finding a Z fast to be able to get to work.

For 3 grand I'll be getting a 4 year newer Z, HR engine, better tranny, and lots of other upgrades since the 03 models. Not bad if you ask me.

Let me know what you think.

 

It may be possible but i dont think so....

 

If you go through a dealer maybe not....

Sell your Z privately, then Yes!

 

I don't know for sure, but ANYTHING is possible. My dad recently traded in an 06 Explorer with 80k on it for 10k towards a new F150, all at a Ford dealership. Anything is worth a shot, and since you're in no real rush to trade up, it gives you the advantage of not getting mad if you're forced to walk out. I'd do the same thing if I were in your position! A newer car, even with the same mileage, would be nice - plus you'd get to snag an HR!

 

just keep it. **** the hassle or get a 370

 

Not really a hassle. Like it has been said earlier, I am in no rush as I love my current one... I guess i'll give it a shot a couple times and see how it goes. After a couple tries, if it hasn't worked, I'll be able to tell by their reactions if I have a chance or if it is just not worth even trying. I can't afford the 370z bro. Or else it would have been considered :P

I think this will be something cool to try out

 

I doubt it. The price difference between the DE & HR cars is pretty significant but hey it may be worth a shot. Maybe they wont know what they have.

 

id say just keep it and if you sell it then sell it privately youd get way more than what d@mn dealer would give you. trust me

 

Updated the first post on 9/3/2012 ^^^^

 

I don't see why it shouldn't work. In my area there is a negligible difference in price based on the year model. The big price differences seem to be based on miles on the odometer. I've seen 04's sell for more than 08's. Of course, if the mileage is equal I would naturally expect the newer car to be a bit more, but not much. If you shop around, $3,000 should be more than enough to cover the difference.

 

You can find an insanely high mileage 2007 HR BASE for probably that low. Other than that, I doubt you can find a decent quality / trim / mileage one unless you are spending around 18k+.

 

Here's something interesting for you. After reading your post I decided to check out my KBB app to see what the price difference was between my 2006 enthusiast with 65k miles and a 2007 enthusiast with 65k miles.

(all prices are in private party)
2006
Excellent 15,5 Very Good 15 Good 14,6
2007
Excellent 15,4 Very Good 14,9 Good 14,5

I thought this was very strange that a car one year newer with the same miles and a better engine would be worth slightly less than my current car. I wonder if the rev-up only being for one year has anything to do with it OR it might be because a car one year newer should have less miles. Not entirely sure, just thought it was interesting and worth noting.

 

Yeah it's because of the miles. Take off about 12,000 miles from the 2007 and it will instantly be worth $1,000 more. You would think the HR should be worth much more, but for some reason it isn't. Economy is a b!tch and sometimes it works to your advantage(or mine in this case).

So like I said, my 03 has like 77k miles. It is possible for my plan to work out because the 07 I will be getting will have similar but slightly less miles, which is what gives me a chance of this plan workin out.

 

^ That. KBB does not tell you that the dealer needs to make a profit, to pay the salesman, keep the lights on, and feed the 9 kids at home. The numbers look right on paper, won't work in real life. There is nothing in it for them to take your old car + $3k and give you an 07 based on fair market value.
BTW, If the dealer is willing to do it, be very very careful. Chances are the last owner dumped it at low $$ for a reason.

 

Wishful thinking on your part. Dealers aren't in the business of selling car at "trade in value". Keep your car if it's in good condition. I've owned both 03 and 07 and the difference is neglibable.

 

So which one do you own now and why?

07>03 by a huge margin

 

i think you should do it if the $ works out for you. i love my 08, but then again ive only rode passenger in a 03 350z. in the 08 i feel as if its been fine tuned and all kinks worked out but hey im no mechanic.

 

In reality, 07>03 by a very small margin and driver skill easily overcomes the difference 90% of the time. In STOCK form, while the difference seems large on paper it doesn't quite work out that way in the real world. There is a SLIGHT increase in top-end power with the HR, but I've watched plenty of stock DE cars smoke HR cars. Unless you are talking a 50+ HP difference (which is WAY more than the 13 HP we are talking about here) the deciding factor will almost always be the driver's skills and reaction times. Plus to me, the DE seems to have a bit more low-end torque, where the HR seems to have a bit more to it in the upper rpm range. Now once you start making mods under the hood or in the driveline, then all bets are off because one is no better than the other if equal mods are done correctly.

$3,000+ is a lot to pay for 13 extra HP that only kicks in at very high revs that you will not usually run on the street. I've also noticed that in my area there isn't anywhere near that big of difference in price between the 2 variations. What DOES affect the price is the mileage and trim package (touring, track, enthusiast) and whether or not it is a ZR (which brings a premium price). An 03 + $3,000 for an 07? You could easily do that, but why would you want to unless the 07 is in much better condition???

 

im sorry but there is a huge difference between an hr and de stock fore stock not knocking the de i had an 03 and loved it and would've still had it if i hadn't totale it. I've had an 07 touring fore a year now and i love it. This debate has been beaten to death but i figured the op may not know the difference, with a good driver stock de are good fore low 14's high 13's, stock hr's are good fore mid to low 13's with a good driver . a stock hr is on par with a stock e46 m3. op good luck on your purchase

 

Based on your username you must be smoking something..