When I bought my SRT6 1 1/2 years ago, I sold my Z4 2.5 roadster. I went to Carmax to get a price quote and they offered $26K. I was able to use that to negotiate with the Chrysler dealer on my SRT6.
Today a friend wanted to sell his Toyota Sienna Van because he had too many cars. I decided to let Carmax check my SRT as well.
His Toyota Sienna was a 2006 with a list of options and in excellent shape with about 15K miles on it. Most of you know how good Toyota resale value is, don't you? The van's MSRP was in excess of $25K and the offer came in at $16.5K. Not great but not exactly good.
As they were appraising mine (it took a little longer to do mine because it appears they really wanted to check the performance) I looked around on their lot at the selection of MBZ and BMWs. I saw a pristine C320 4Matic with every possible option MB had to offer. It was a 2005 with 20K miles whoever owned this car took great care of it. The paint looked almost as good as mine and it was also black. Their no haggle price was $25.9
When they came back to me, they said they REALLY wanted to buy my car. They went on and on about its appearance, low mileage (10K) and upgrades. They also said the performance was fantastic and the spotless engine bay indicated that it was as mechanically sound as it was clean. Then came the offer...$21.5
I was a little disappointed but quickly realized that in this case their "no haggle" policy was up for a test. Then came the words, "...is that OK with you? Were you looking for more?" I told them that I know I could get considerably more privately, but honestly that I really wasn't interested in selling it anyway.
Then I thought about it...$16.5 for a newer Toyota premium vehicle...charging only $26K for a loaded '05 C320 with only 20K miles (a car that had an MSRP of over $48K new, remember I said it was loaded with every option) $21.5K for mine (probably a bit more) really isn't so bad.
I know it seems like the resale value of our cars has been horrible, I think the examples above show no car is immune to plummeting values.
Enjoy your Crossfires to the fullest and feel good about owning a production "concept" car that is as unique as you are.
