Consignment vs trade in

I don't have any experience with consignment. However, common sense tells me that if a dealer has two cars in his lot, one that he owns, and one on consignment, he's going to try to move the car that he owns first. I'm not sure if that would be true, or it would affect the sale or not. I'm just thinking out loud.

 

Ferrari dealers don't own cars.

 

It depends. Are you going to price to the market, or some fantasy you might have?

 

Ok, well there goes that. LOL
I was under the impression that when you trade it in, they essentially buy it from you, and finance the cars on the floor (if necessary), so they have motivation to move them quickly. Apparently I was wrong.

 

Here's how it works. Your sales guy can call one of a half dozen Ferrari wholesalers in the country. In a half an hour, they can receive a voucher. That's wholesale. It's real. So if you put your car up at say $15k over wholesale, you might make a little money.

 

Yes and no. Here's how it works. Your Ferrari dealer is the pusherman. He knows you have a major jones. He is more than willing to let your car sit on his showroom floor. But when your new car hits the ground, he is gonna get on the phone to a wholesaler. Do you want to sell now or later?

 

My Dealer wants %15 and will not budge, to consign the car. If they get $215,000 you give them $31,000 or $184,000. Not great, plus they sit forever when consigned. I like to move on and just trade the car. Forget about the loss, unless you have a car lot and about a year or so to sell and then have everyone in the world drive it. Talk numbers to them and see if you can live with a trade in. If not it could sit until summer 2021.
Keep us posted and good luck. Just don't have hurt feelings when they tell you the numbers, that are usually less than you want.

 

here's my recent experience and observations (I consigned a 2018 488GTS with 1600 miles)...
F dealers own 1/3 of the used cars in inventory while about 2/3 are on consignment
F dealers act like they own all of the cars and negotiate as such - unless someone asks specifically the question of the car they are looking at
F dealers try to make $15-20K on each car sale so will set the consignment fee based on that objective (consignment fees are highly negotiable); keep in mind they make about 10% on new car sales that is limited by the amount of allocated cars to the dealership so the consignment business is not a side gig
F dealers view cars as metal and $ profit, so they are motivated to sell any car in inventory but would have more ability (based on how much they paid) to trade their own car
F dealers do not, however, control demand, which car a potential customer wants and how much they are willing to pay
F dealers are only willing to buy your car as "trade-in" but at a price that equals the potential consignment fee plus an amount for putting up their capital investment (so think at least $25k less than market sales value for the car); the business model is one that attempts to limit out of pocket investment
Bottom line is while you may think your car is unique and worth X, the reality is when there are 5 used 488's in the showroom they are all priced similarly and look relatively to potential buyers
If your dealer has many 488's in inventory with less than 15k miles on their respective clocks, your car will sit for a long time; 15k miles is a lot of miles for a second hand 488
A 2016 488 with 15k miles is more likely to be in the $200k sales price offering range - if they sell it for $190k less $15k of consignment fee, you would be looking at $175k net.

i hope you find the above useful.

 

Also meant to say that it’s great that you drove your car! That’s why you bought it so at least you got your money’s worth of ownership.

 

Why not just list it here for a few grand more than what your net would be at the dealer? If that price is attractive the car will sell quickly and you’ll walk away a little richer.

 

Makes sense. Best of luck.

 

It is really impressive that you were able to drive 15k miles over three years on an island! I am certain that you will be able to get to 100k miles on your Pista. Given your situation, I think your working with your dealer on the trade-in makes the most sense. For your reference, there are only two cars listed in Cars.com with similar mileage as yours with asking prices of $210k and $240k - not certain how the cars are optioned and whether the dealers are selling CPO. These are retail asking prices and if it is truly CPO, the cost of the warranty for 2 years would be about $11k. I hope you can use this information in your negotiation with the dealer. Good luck with the trade-in process.

 

I like this 458.

FoS told me it was a client trading it in on a Sept Portofino delivery.

Making an offer of $200k will probably result in laughter then....?

https://www.scottsdaleferrari.com/details-2014-ferrari-458_spider-used-zff68nha5e0199603.html

 

their likely response will be a counter to you at 210+ and say that their car is perfect and one of the lowest priced 458’s in the country.

 

The car is perfect inside and out and the leather is in like-new condition.

It is a consignment vehicle, from that customer, btw. and it has a 2yr Power Warranty from Feb 20-Feb 2022 that was purchased by its current owner.

But even $210k seems like I'd be overpaying for this, no???

 

I am somewhat friendly with my local dealer and that’s what they would say to me. There are not a lot of good/great condition 458’s out there with relatively low miles and sellers and dealers are adamant that a sale of a spider starts with a $2 handle. You might get something a little less than 210 but not likely as the car just arrived and the consignee doesn’t need to sell until September when his Portofino shows up.

There is a 458 at Long Island - nicely apec at 214 without the cpo. Another data point for you.

 

In Arizona, if you trade a car in, you reduce you sales by an equal amount on the purchase of the new car. So if they give you $200,000 on the trade in, its like getting $218,000 for the old!