SolaraGuy.com

The lease on my 2006 SLE convertible is coming to an end next month. I've been looking at other cars to replace my Solara. Sadly, there really are not any substitutes for the Solara convertible. The reason I want to trade my car in, rather than let it go back to the lease source, is to save on sales tax. Here in Texas, the sales tax is based on the trading difference. The lease payoff is $14466.00. According to a number of internet sources, the trade-in value is very near the payoff. While I knew I would have little, if any equity in the car, I've been shocked to find just how little the ACV (actual cash value) has been. The numbers have run from $12,000-$12,300. I would understand these numbers if the car was a dog, but it's not. It still looks very much like the day I got it 60,000 miles ago. At the numbers quoted, the advantage of trading the car in is offset by the negative equity. Have any of your guys tried to trade your Solaras in recently? I was wondering what ACV you are actually being offered for your car. Remember ACV and trade allowance are two different things. ACV is what the dealership is putting in your car. That is the "real" number. The trade allowance is what it the ACV + discount they would have given you had you bought the car outright without a trade. The cars I've looked at so far has been an 2011 Acura TL Tech and a Toyota Avalon. Yea I know an Avalon? Very nice car, but I feel like an old man driving it. Actually, it drives very nice and has a ton to tech in it. I like sh** like that. Just wondering what is being offered on your Solaras.

Like credit scores, what mathematic equations they come up with for resale value is a mystery. I'm guessing the key point for part of the equation is market value. During a recession I would tend to think that dealerships have an over-abundance of trade-ins and auctioned used cars, stagnant sales for new cars and the normal attitude of giving you less for your trade-in. You would think with auto manufacturers no longer giving incentives, thinning inventories and thinning dealerships a good used convertible would be worth more but this isn't the case.

But to be an even further killjoy you have to keep in mind that a car being obsolete and not (yet) a classic is already driving the resale market value of our particular cars down. And to make you feel EVEN further depressed you have to also keep in mind that dealers use a "black book" which quotes even lower than what 'Kelly's Blue Book' states. And to make you feel completely suicidal, dealers are notorious for even going below their black book value even before the recession. Now to make a feable attempt at making you feel better, the decrease in resale value is not as bad as others, say, a Dodge Caliber or Suzuki Verona.