5 speed resale value

[ron3]

I live in a reasonably large city and none of the Toyota dealers want to allow me a decent trade on my 3 door L with 5 speed and 14 k miles. I was told that the market for manual transmission cars was very very small. I tried 5 dealers and it was the same at all of them, they just really don,t want a manual trans. trade offers were only 7 to 9 k $ for my mint 2011 with 14000 miles on it
I need an automatic because of a bad knee.

[WeeYari]

That's the nature of trading in. Dealer is going to want to try and make $3K on the car, so with what you are being offered, dealer is looking to resell at a more reasonable market valuation of $10-12K. Also true that they really don't want manuals sitting in inventory.

[MadMax]

And don't think CarMax is any better with their "no haggle" policy! Had a friend who wanted to buy a truck from them and offered to trade in his 2005 VW Jetta 2.5; they offered him a mere $6900 for a car they would obviously turn around and sell at $11,500.

I ended up buying it for my son at what they offered him for it! He figured he'd rather give a friend the deal than CarMax! :thumbup:

Sorry to hear about your needed an automatic, I've come to the opinion that they're much better to drive hence all of our three cars are autos. Desire for manuals is really fading, Toyota isn't selling many of them these days and with advances in technology, the autos deliver just as good gas mileage and certain transmissions like the 6-speed in my son's Jetta not only have shift gates but also a sport mode making them as fun to drive as a straight manual!

Good luck!

Cheers! M2

[Kal-El]

Dealers do indeed make most of there money selling used cars and through the service department. New car sales, especially these days with everyone knowing invoice, don't generate much profit, sometimes nothing at all. You're always going to get scewed on a trade in.

[Astroman]

What you could do is try to find someone with an automatic and swap.

[ron3]

I also have a Honda Civic automatic so I have good transportation but I really though I could get more out of my yaris on trade. I was just surprised that manual transmissions are so unpopular with dealers.

[Kal-El]

I was just surprised that manual transmissions are so unpopular with dealers.

Considering that 95% of the market is automatic transmissions, it's no wonder that they don't want a car on the lot that 95% won't even look at because of transmission alone.

[henrylee]

Its b/c everyone is too lazy to drive stick. Personally I love them. Too bad my yaris is not.

[bronsin]

What you could do is try to find someone with an automatic and swap.


Me! Me! I will swap!:thumbsup:

[bronsin]

What you could do is try to find someone with an automatic and swap.


Me! Me! I will swap!:thumbsup:


I did the same thing four years ago for health problems: went to an auto.


But now I learned how to adapt to a manual and want one again.

[tk1971]

If you can wait for $5/gal gas then demand for an efficient stick shift should go up.

I got my 08 LB (stick) used for $10,999 in 2010 when gas was ~$3.09/gal. Drove 50k miles and sold it back to Carmax in 2012 for $8,600 when gas was ~$4.50/gal. No haggling at all.

Supply and demand...

[RedRide]

It's dealer BS. The fact is, they can sell a manual and the KBB price is not that much different when you factor in the overall price.
Also, manuals are not that common and the dealer can not get enough of them as they have to take whatever Toyota gives them. They actually would be happy to get one in good condition. The little "secrete" they do not want you to know is, new car dealers make a higher profit selling a used car than a new one. They will also low ball the trade in price and hi ball the resale price. It a win- win situation for them.

When I got mine (purchased new), the salesman actually tried to talk me out of a manual......it was the only one he had. He even tried to convince me that no one wants a manual. This is after I clearly told him in no uncertain terms that I wanted a manual and an auto was out of the question . He obviously wanted to save the manual for someone who positively did not want an auto but, that person turned out to be me.
I should add that I drove up to the dealer in my manual Celica which he was familiar with and he knew it was not to be a trade in.

So, they use that "Nobody wants a manual" BS in any situation where it would benefit them....... either buying or selling.
Then, when someone comes in and asks for a used manual, they will do a complete 180 and tell them to grab it quick because they are rare and many people want one. They use the same BS tactic with any option or color saying it is either in demand or not depending what side of the transaction fence they are on.

Remember, it's always a buyers market for a new car so don't fall for that BS!
They have to convince you to buy a car... you do not have to convince them to sell it to you.
Don't forget that car salesmen are on the rock bottom of the dishonest professions totem.

So, Just walk out and wait for them to call you......and they definitely will.
Don't forget that what is important is the final price of the new car after a trade in is factored
You got a low trade in quote? Just demand a lower price for the new car.

Things at a dealer are stacked against the buyer and you have to beat them at their own game by putting them on the defensive.

I had one new car salesmen tell me years ago that he won some and lost some but, he made money on all.

[thebarber]

I sold my 5speed yaris in 2 days privately ....and it didn't have a/c, power locks, power windows, etc

[nookandcrannycar]

Its b/c everyone is too lazy to drive stick.

Unfortunately, I agree. It's not the only reason, by any means, but (IMO) it edges out any other reason.

[nookandcrannycar]

Me! Me! I will swap!:thumbsup:


I did the same thing four years ago for health problems: went to an auto.


But now I learned how to adapt to a manual and want one again.

:thumbsup: Good for you!

[nookandcrannycar]

If the French built Yaris turns out to be a dud re reliability, I have a feeling I will eventually buy another Toyota model and also keep my Yaris.

[nookandcrannycar]

It's dealer BS. The fact is, they can sell a manual and the KBB price is not that much different when you factor in the overall price.
Also, manuals are not that common and the dealer can not get enough of them as they have to take whatever Toyota gives them. They actually would be happy to get one in good condition. The little "secrete" they do not want you to know is, new car dealers make a higher profit selling a used car than a new one. They will also low ball the trade in price and hi ball the resale price. It a win- win situation for them.

When I got mine (purchased new), the salesman actually tried to talk me out of a manual......it was the only one he had. He even tried to convince me that no one wants a manual. This is after I clearly told him in no uncertain terms that I wanted a manual and an auto was out of the question . He obviously wanted to save the manual for someone who positively did not want an auto but, that person turned out to be me.
I should add that I drove up to the dealer in my manual Celica which he was familiar with and he knew it was not to be a trade in.

So, they use that "Nobody wants a manual" BS in any situation where it would benefit them....... either buying or selling.
Then, when someone comes in and asks for a used manual, they will do a complete 180 and tell them to grab it quick because they are rare and many people want one. They use the same BS tactic with any option or color saying it is either in demand or not depending what side of the transaction fence they are on.

Remember, it's always a buyers market for a new car so don't fall for that BS!
They have to convince you to buy a car... you do not have to convince them to sell it to you.
Don't forget that car salesmen are on the rock bottom of the dishonest professions totem.

So, Just walk out and wait for them to call you......and they definitely will.
Don't forget that what is important is the final price of the new car after a trade in is factored
You got a low trade in quote? Just demand a lower price for the new car.

Things at a dealer are stacked against the buyer and you have to beat them at their own game by putting them on the defensive.

I had one new car salesmen tell me years ago that he won some and lost some but, he made money on all.

:thumbsup: Kudos to you for liking manuals as much as I do. Much of your post makes me laugh because it's true (What is that old saying, there's nothing funnier than the truth?) There are exceptions though. I used to belong to a club where one of the older members owned a used car lot. He'd owned it for many years and was well known in the community (he passed away fairly recently). His niche was customer satisfaction above all else. He was a jack-of-all-trades re car knowledge. For the cars he kept on the lot, he did his best to make sure they were in tip top shape before he sold them. On a case by case basis he'd likely fix any early problems at no cost. It was not unheard of for him to take cars back if the customer was unhappy. He didn't do much advertising either. Lots of word of mouth. Probably 1 out of 4 people in our club had purchased a car from him and he didn't even have to try to sell to them. I did buy a car while we were both members, but it was a new one (so not from him). When he died, I think he'd been in business for over 30 years and had been married to the same woman for more than 30 years.

[MattS.]

I would likely swap you too for my 2011 auto. Maybe chat with Bronsin and see how to adapt, and hold on to that baby. Don't let those a-holes screw you!

[nookandcrannycar]

A tidbit re the 'manual transmission climate/mindset' ---- I was reading one of the New Car Auto Ad sections in today's Houston Chronicle and one dealer has a new 2013 Ford Focus S 4-door sedan with Ford Sync for $12,388.00 . ONE OF THE DISCOUNTS is "$1000 FOCUS MANUAL TRANSMISSION BONUS CASH" :laugh:. The fine print basically = as follows: MSRP is 17,290.00 Less $1500.00 Retail Consumer Cash Less $1000 Focus Manual Transmission Bonus Cash Less $2402.00 (Dealer) Discount = 12,388.00 .

[bronsin]

Huh $5000 less than you can get a Yaris for in NJ! :eek:


$5000/$3.25 a gallon of gas = 1538 gallons of gas. :thumbsup:

Which at 30 mpg is good for 46,000 miles! :thumbup:

[nookandcrannycar]

Huh $5000 less than you can get a Yaris for in NJ! :eek:


$5000/$3.25 a gallon of gas = 1538 gallons of gas. :thumbsup:

Which at 30 mpg is good for 46,000 miles! :thumbup:

Yep....and Jerry on The Car Pro Show (broadcasts from Dallas, but I think syndicated throughout much of the U.S.) was talking about 'the fine print' today and how some dealers are being quite sneaky by listing discounts that not everyone qualifies for (Military, College Grad, LEO) and then are not requesting the proof (Badge, Diploma, etc) until the customer has been in the finance office for hours. The nice thing is the discounts on this Focus all apply to everyone (It still wouldn't motivate me to 'pull the trigger'...fat chance such a discount would ever be offered on a Yaris SE). The dealer is the second highest volume Ford dealer in the Houston Metro, so they might just look at this as 'a cost of driving traffic to their location'.

[swidd]

until the customer has been in the finance office for hours.

Why not just inform the dealer that you're walking out after 20 minutes?

[RedRide]

Why not just inform the dealer that you're walking out after 20 minutes?

Exactly....... part of the game dealers play is to wear the customer down until they will agree to whatever .

[nookandcrannycar]

Why not just inform the dealer that you're walking out after 20 minutes?

I agree, but some people are sheeple when it comes to buying cars (and in other areas of their lives).

[nookandcrannycar]

Exactly....... part of the game dealers play is to wear the customer down until they will agree to whatever .

^^^^^ If one had to boil down into one sentence what Jerry the Car Pro was trying to communicate re bringing the subject up in thee first place, it would be your sentence above.

He felt that this needed to be communicated to prompt more people to NOT give in and therefore NOT agree to whatever.

[Flipper_1938]

Rehab your knee and keep the manual trans.

[bronsin]

Exactly....... part of the game dealers play is to wear the customer down until they will agree to whatever .

I like to sit there and eat donuts and drink coffee and wear THEM out.

[tk1971]

I like to sit there and eat donuts and drink coffee and wear THEM out.

It also doesn't hurt to bring a screaming toddler who wants to go home and watch cartoons. Start driving people out of the dealership, and service speeds up right quick.

[Yaristeve]

I like to sit there and eat donuts and drink coffee and wear THEM out.

Yeah, then it just becomes a pissing match. Had that happen once but with the Finance Guy. By the time I was finally allowed to sign the contract, we both hated each other and we knew it.

[nookandcrannycar]

I like to sit there and eat donuts and drink coffee and wear THEM out.

:bellyroll:

[nookandcrannycar]

It also doesn't hurt to bring a screaming toddler who wants to go home and watch cartoons. Start driving people out of the dealership, and service speeds up right quick.

Brilliant! Screaming toddler = a universal experience that only generates judgement in people who have never spent any time around toddlers, and dealership employees know that. Re the nature of the product, how it will be used, and who will use it, it might not be prudent to leave kids out of the equation, and dealership employees know that as well. All they can do, if they feel the noise is disruptive, is to speed along the process as much as possible...which can work to the customer's advantage.

[Frank Necrosis]

It also doesn't hurt to bring a screaming toddler who wants to go home and watch cartoons. Start driving people out of the dealership, and service speeds up right quick.

Fantastic idea. Borrow someone's kid and feed them copious amounts of sugar then head to the dealer!


Buying my car was a massive waste of time. I asked a few questions about the car. The salesman wouldn't answer any of the questions directly. Each question required a trip to the manager's office. When I started getting to pricing, the return time from the manager's office took significantly longer. All in all, they wasted 4 hours of my time before I finally was able to get my questions answered and get an out to door price. I should of walked and went somewhere else, but I desperately needed a car.

[ron3]

SCREAMING TODDLER !!!!!!! I would not want to own one but it would be nice to borrow one occasionally lol.