[crv383]

I get these letters all the time.......and no, I've never inquired at the dealership.

To me, common sense says, that the fact that anyone is supposedly offering more than original sale price of a 2 year old car today, should tell one "if it sounds too good to be true, it is probably bogus".

A car is rapidly depreciating asset......as in the moment it's registered/driven off the lot.

 

[williamsji]

Been getting offers like this for years from one or more Honda dealers (they have your mailing and vehicle info, via their computer access to Honda's database).

My father in law also gets these fairly often from Toyota for his Camry. I'm sure other brands do the same, more or less (depending on the particular dealer and what their current sales shortfalls are).

To answer your question... NO....we always throw the letters in the round file.

All they are doing here is trying to create sales churn... because they need sales revenue (and face very low margins due to internet dealer on dealer competition). See.. they probably make more off your trade-in then the sale to you of the new vehicle. Regardless.. it's one transaction that creates two sales revenue opportunities for them.

Honda of course (or any brand) like this approach and supports it because it helps lock in more brand loyalty. Honda probably even gives the dealer some form of credit against invoice for succeeding in this because a successful transaction means new vehicle sales for Honda.

In my view.. the only reason to respond to such a letter is when you actually are planning on getting a new vehicle. The reality is, even without a letter.. if you go to a reputable dealer on your time table, you very likely can gain the same proposed deal, or even better.

 

[williamsji]

A car is rapidly depreciating asset......as in the moment it's registered/driven off the lot.

Though in fairness, Hondas hold resale value better then most... which is why Honda dealers love getting a successful trade+new_sale from these promotion letters.

Historically, I stopped private selling my old Honda years ago because I found that going to a reputable Honda dealer would result in almost the same net value in trade (because of it being a Honda v Honda transaction) and the dealer not being a greedy @#$%, with none of the hassle of a private sale.

That said.. I have had some less reputable Honda dealers try to low ball me on the trade... and I simply tell them no thanks, point out the error of their ways, and make it clear I would never do business with them, sales or service. Happily, I have a fantastic dealer (among a half of dozen within easy driving distance) that I have purchased multiple Hondas from.. and they are always fair and equitable with me. In fact.... they typically offer me a bit more then I would ask in trade on my own (based on KBB).

Circling back to the original poster... find a good reputable dealer when you want a new vehicle and ignore the letters, is my suggestion.

 

[NeverOld]

I agree with all that has been written above and I thank you for your responses.

I agree that knowledgeable buyers, especially using the internet, could get a good or even better deal.

I was not underestimating the dealer's reasons for sending these letters out - sales and profit. The questions were asks mainly to see if anyone completed the transaction or at the very least went in to actually see the bottom line dealer offer. Just out of curiosity, I wanted to know if the dealer reduced the amounts stated due to condition or mileage and by how much and was the new vehicle discounted or was it sticker price only.

BTW I have no intentions of selling my CRV.

 

[sirwired]

You can certainly see what they are offering on trade-in, but a 'generous' trade-in offer is likely to be accompanied by full-MSRP on the new-vehicle purchase. And if you just wanted to sell them your car and buy a new one somewhere else, they'd find all sorts of expensive 'faults' reducing the trade-in value.

Certainly they don't do any sort of considered analysis when sending out those letters. I once got one on my then 12-year-old car advising me that cars "just like mine" were in "High Demand."

"McScammy VW? Do you have any 12 year old manual transmission station wagons with over 150k on the clock? Please?" - Said Nobody Ever

(And they knew exactly what I had; the postcard had the correct model and car pictured on it, and they had serviced it recently, so they were well-aware of the mileage. I'm sure that had I taken them up on it, the thing would have headed right on a truck to the auction house.)

 

[racoon]

Years ago I was looking for a car and saw an ad for a used car lot that said they'd give you $1,500 trade in on any vehicle you could push, tow, or drive onto their lot. The problem was the prices on the cars they were selling were way overpriced. And yes, they did say I could "trade in" a Match Box car for $1,500.

The dealer is not going to lose money on the transaction, regardless of how good it sounds to you.