"new" '08 Durango?

wrt to model year "left-overs": in June 2006 I bought a fully loaded 2005 Durango Limited that was still sitting in the dealer's lot. The dealer was so keen to move that beast that he told me my first offer was too high and to come back with a much lower offer. Freakin' embarrassing to say the least ;-)

The truck, btw, has been simply magnificent. Incredibly comfortable, perfect reliability, zero defects to date, drags my boats through the White Mountains with aplomb (I have the 5.7l Hemi) and it is the go-to vehicle when we need to carry six adults (which has happened surprisingly often).

The obvious difference in my situation from yours is, the dealer you're working with doesn't hold the paper on that Durango. If he was still paying a monthly tab on that truck, I bet he'd be a lot more motivated.

And it doesn't help that your Explorer has almost no resale value.

Under those two circumstances, a $31K truck for $24K may not be all that bad a deal. Bottom line, if you want to do better, is to find a truck that meets your needs/wants already sitting on a dealer lot...

Reply to
daytripper
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I not sure if there is usch a website. You probably not going to get much more off thevehicle sicne they will eb purchasing the vehicle from the other dealership. If you are happy with theprice then buy it. As far as your trade what you have is a wholesale trade in. They not going to give you hardly anything for it and will sell this vehicle to a whole sale lot.

Reply to
Licker

(First-time poster, if the way I write my message doesn't give it away . . .)

I've searched the internet for a couple of days now and can't find anywhere on Edmund's, etc., that addresses my situation very well at all. I hope y'all don't mind me asking for advice. I have no clue. I'm including all the information I can think about that might be important. If I'm leaving out important facts, please tell me.

I've been looking to buy a relatively new, low-mileage Durango. Finally went to dealership yesterday, they're able to locate a "new" Durango within my budget. The "new" ones they're finding for me are '08s, though. Still cool, though, since it would mean that many more miles I can put on it myself instead of worrying about who had it before me. Also, this would give me a lifetime limited powertrain warranty, which would be good. I want to keep a vehicle and use it for many years until I feel like I've really gotten my money's worth, so if it'll last me

100-150k miles for a reasonable price, I'm fine with that.

The question I'm having is how such a vehicle should be priced. I can find all kinds of comparisons on "new" vehicles that are '09s or '10s, but nothing on am '08 that a dealer just didn't sell. I asked them why such a vehicle would still be on a dealer's lot (and there are quite a few of them like that), and most of them are there because either they're V6s that weren't very desirable or they just ordered too many new '08s back before the price of gas went way up and the economy tanked. Or so they said, at least.

We're now talking about a deal on an '08 Durango with the V8 upgrade, third-row seats (not the split, 3-person kind, though), running boards,

18" wheels instead of 17" . . . basically it's the SXT "D" upgrade package that comes with the V8. It's "new" MSRP is $30,775, it's base price before the 26D (I think that's what it's called, I'm not looking at the printout) upgrade was $26,875.

My trade-in is a 2002 Explorer SLT that has 135k miles on it, unrepaired (pretty substantial) hail damage, needs new tires badly and the interior looks like my two kids have ridden in it for a million miles since they were babies. Which, of course, they have. It runs fine, though, and I keep wondering if I should even mess with trading it in at all, but . . . I'm afraid it's on borrowed time, and I have a little cash to use for bargaining right now, which isn't always the case.

The deal they quoted me was, after my trade-in (which they have not seen), $24,000. TT&L on top of that.

Now, this whole process upsets me and makes me want to go and hide somewhere, but the most confusing part of it to me is . . . even though this car is "new" and I'll be the first owner, it is still a 2008. Seems like they'd be more ready to get rid of it than that. Of course, it isn't on MY dealer's inventory . . . they're going to have to go all the way from smack in the middle of Texas to somewhere in Oklahoma to pick it up. If it were just sitting around their own lot, I'm sure they'd be more ready to deal.

What I really want is 3 rows of seats, AC for the back row, V8, and the security of knowing that it's got plenty of time left for me to put a zillion miles on it over the next 7-10 years. Personally, I don't care about whether it's an '08 or an '09. I just don't want to get screwed on the deal and have to stew about it for the next four years while I'm paying for it AND every day when I get into it to go to work.

??? If you don't have time to answer, I'd be happy if you sent me to a website that addresses the situation of a previous model year Durango still being "new" on a dealer's lot, and how that should affect its price.

Thank you for reading through all this.

--Kristi

Reply to
Kristi

You never "get more than it's worth". It simply means they take less off the new one and make it appear they are paying big bucks for your trade. Sell the Explorer privately.

Reply to
Tony D.

I low-balled one offer . . . $20,000 . . . and he responded with $24,000. Down from where he started at 28k. Looking around, though, I keep seeing the same vehicle at around $20,000. Again, problem is that it's on some other lot, miles and miles away.

Husband's truck, Ram 2500, same exact thing. His was a year old w/16,000 miles on it, though.

Just wondering how much that motivation would save me, if it's worth it.

Yep. And by the time I'm through with the new one, it won't either. I figure that's the only way to do it in my circumstances . . . buy it and use all the value. That's why I'm not completely averse to going ahead with the deal.

Closest one is still 250 miles away. Plenty of 2008 4X4 Durangos around, but I don't need or want 4X4.

Reply to
Kristi

Low trade-in kind of makes me want to go ahead and go through with this deal ASAP, because I may be getting more than mine is worth as it is. I may not want to push my luck.

I just don't know anything at all about how being new BUT a year older affects the price of a vehicle. Never really thought about it before. Shoot, the '10s are going to be out soon, and there are still '08s sitting around, new and unsold? Wondering if my bank will still consider it "new" for loan purposes.

Reply to
Kristi

It's in pretty rough shape. Very rough, actually. It's safe to say that I've used up all the value and it probably isn't worth more than a couple thousand dollars (according to Edmunds, at least). "Still running" is about all it has going for it. What I mean is that they've played with their numbers until they've given me more credit for my trade-in than they would have if they'd already SEEN it. I know they can do whatever they want with their numbers, but . . . I think if they'd actually seen it they might not even have gone as far down as they did. Does that make any sense?

Reply to
Kristi

So when you get there, they will sit you there for 30-40 min and then say: "hey wait, we gave you a quote based on a real truck...." and give you a higher price. You will protest (they're hoping not) and they'll say, "let me check with the manager..". You'll wait another 30-60 minutes.. (You are supposed to be thinking "what if I don't get it what if I don't get it...) and they say "he wouldn't go for it, we're losing too much already"

Before any of this theater starts just walk out and wait for them to call you at home or just go somewhere else. The market is worse than you can imagine.

Reply to
Tony D

Not going to protest. I described it accurately, left nothing out. I just didn't look forward to having to horse trade with people based on them having SEEN my vehicle. They're going to give me whatever they're going to give me, pretty much no matter what. I just enjoyed not having to go through the whole psychological drama of "What Will We Give You for Your Junker?" If there is a stink, I'm just going to say, "OK. I'll keep my paid-for car that runs." Then we'll leave.

Hopefully this won't be that painful an issue. They've already sent the paperwork to my bank (hometown bank where we actually do business . . . if I have to pay interest, at least I like these people and am kindly disposed toward the thought of helping put their kids through college), and by the time I get there Thursday they're supposed to already have the "draft order" or whatever it's called. If they start changing numbers now, especially after having gone somewhere between 300 and 500 miles to pick it up, they will have to cope with losing the deal entirely. And at that point we will walk away and leave them with it on their inventory.

Reply to
Kristi

Even if you don't live in snow or dirt roads the 4x4 is nice on highway. My 2004 Durango has full time AWD so it's always in 4x4 mode. It greatly improves handling on the highway especially when towing or when it rains.

Reply to
miles

Not trying to make enemies or anything, but I'd have to question your driving there. 4x4 is quite worthless at speeds over 35mph or so. The only thing it does then is waste fuel. At any speed above that, pretty much the only wheelspin you'll get is from hydroplaning, and all-wheel drive still won't really help there. Anyway, I realize this is quite a while since the last post; how did things work out? I was also going to mention that for this type of vehicle (SUV), 4-wheel drive is going to be an overwhelming majority of vehicles produced, as far as powertrain is concerned. A 2-wheel drive version would be more economical, but may be pretty tough to find.

Reply to
9DodgeFan

It has nothing to do with "hydroplaning", etc. AWD as opposed to 4wh dr is a PERFORMANCE option. This is why it is an option on many sport sedans. Coupled with stability control, you have a dramatically better handling vehicle.

Reply to
Tony D

Tell that to world rallye drivers.

Reply to
clare

Hence my "I'd have to question your driving" comment. I'm basing my comments on "normal" driving. The vast majority of drivers aren't going to be flooring it at high speeds on slippery roads (or off-road conditions). I agree, AWD does help with performance cars (and I'm talking about on pavement), but it's still mainly a low-speed benefit. Generally speaking, the faster you go, the less of a difference it makes.

Reply to
9DodgeFan

You STILL have no idea about what you're talking about.

Reply to
Tony D

This dumbass should spend a few minutes Googling up the era where Audi AWD race cars handed every-2WD-one's head (and particularly, BMW's) back to them on a collective plate...until AWD was banned...

Reply to
Bob Allison

It's nice to see that we're reverting back to 3rd-grade name-calling (well, for some people, apparently no reverting is needed). OK, so I realize that sometimes I don't explain things completely clearly, although I thought I made my stance pretty evident before. Anyway, you're once again talking about a whole different type of driving. I've been talking about everyday driving in typical road conditions, as OP mentioned. For anyone to bring up world rallye - or any racing, for that matter - is completely irrelevant. With that said, I'll try one last time to explain my reasoning (if you're even still reading). The only time AWD will help is when there's a loss of traction; if you truly think it helps in any other way, please try to explain, since you haven't yet. For driving in snow or loose gravel, for example, it can help. Or, if you're driving in such a way as to produce low traction on a paved surface (eg., racing), it will help. If you're driving at highway speed on a paved road, there really shouldn't be significant wheelspin (traction loss). If there is, as I said earlier, it's typically a result of driving behavior. So that's it; I can't spell it out any clearer. Like I said, if you can provide an example where AWD makes a difference other than with traction loss, I really would like to hear it. But I certainly won't take back the arguments I've laid out here.

Reply to
9DodgeFan

The degree in improvement is the same whether rallying or in normal driving. It just counts more in racing.

Naturally, you're too dumb for that. You're 100% right. AWD makes no difference on the Bonneville Salt flats at 50MPH with the cruise control set. For all other driving the improvements are dramatic. Get yourself a subscription to Car & Driver or Road and Track. Have someone read you the tests....slowly.

Reply to
Tony D

Some of us do a LOT of driving on loose surface roads, slick winter roads, and greasy pavement (first rain after a week of hot dry weather turns rubber dust to "molyslip".

AWD is definitely worth the price for driving under these conditions - for the same reason world rallye drivers like it. You have much better control under ALL driving conditions when these road conditions exist.

Up here we still know what gravel roads are. We have gravel shoulders on the roads, which means you get sand on the road on a fairly regular basis. It snows up here too - and in the summer it is not uncommon to have WEEKS with no rain - then a little shower that settles the dust and greases the roads.

The claim that all AWD does is burn more gas is not an informed opinion. The opinion that it looses it's advantage/effect at anything approaching normal road speeds is also a poorly informed opinion.

Reply to
clare

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