Selling my Bronco so I can buy a Bronco

[mattymik]

Hi gang.

I've been a very happy owner of a 2022 OBX (non-SAS, no locker) for about a year now. I've put 6,000 miles on it, mostly on the pavement, but with a few mild off-road adventures with my kids. I am planning more serious off-road adventures with my kids later this summer.

On 3/27, I ordered a Wildtrak because (1) FOMO, (2) HOSS 3.0 (even for the comfort of daily driving), (3) the V6 (which I shied away from on my first order, when all the blown engines were happening), (4) because I'd like to own this vehicle for 10+ years ... so the more capable platform will be more conducive to adding fun things like 37's, etc, and (5) hard top (was heavily constrained last time so I was afraid to order).

My Wildtrak will come within ~2 weeks -- the whole thing moved SO MUCH FASTER than I was expecting (I thought it would be like a year from order to receipt of the vehicle). So now I'm trying to decide how to sell my OBX.

Option A: Trade-in.

Option B: Sell on private market without first paying off lien ($28k)

Option C: Sell on private market with first paying off lien ($28k) and thus sitting on it for a couple extra weeks until I get the title in hand.


Obviously, I want to get the most bang for my buck. But I also don't want to make my life unnecessarily stressful while holding two vehicles at once. So I'm interested in any advice you can offer. I've never sold a vehicle worth more than $10k before, so I'm not sure what I would be biting off that may complicate things.

As a bonus question: I've got some Vision wheels (bronze, see pic in my avatar) and tires (Recon Grapplers) that I really like on my OBX. Would I be better off selling the OBX with those wheels, or putting the WIldtrak wheels on there for the sale? Maybe that will depend on whether I go with Option A or B/C from above.

Thanks

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[Broncowski22]

I had a similar situation and ended up trading mine in. I was surprised to learn I would get credit for sales tax on the trade-in. Something to look into or consider in the equation.

 

[mattymik]

I had a similar situation and ended up trading mine in. I was surprised to learn I would get credit for sales tax on the trade-in. Something to look into or consider in the equation.

Oh interesting. So are you saying the sales tax is now computed

(new vehicle price - trade-in value) * sales tax percentage

?

 

[Offroad Newb]

Oh interesting. So are you saying the sales tax is now computed

(new vehicle price - trade-in value) * sales tax percentage

?

Depends purely on the state laws. Look into your local area. Arizona works the way you described.

 

[Offroad Newb]

I should add that in California, it does not work that way. You are charged tax on the total price of the vehicle regardless of your trade in.

 

[hemiblas]

Oh interesting. So are you saying the sales tax is now computed

(new vehicle price - trade-in value) * sales tax percentage

?

That is usually the case but agreed check with the dealer.

 

[mattymik]

Depends purely on the state laws. Look into your local area. Arizona works the way you described.

Well I'll be damned. That's exactly how it works in TX.

https://comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/publications/96-254/trade-ins.php

 

[mattymik]

Ok ... so this is good information. Thanks guys.

That means I'm talking about $4,000 in Sales Tax on the purchase of the Wildtrak ($64k sticker, approx, @ 6.25% sales tax).

I'm assuming my trade-in will be in the ballpark of $50k, so we're talking about a difference of $14k that gets taxed ($875 tax).

So if I sell privately, I'd need to pick up that ~$3,125 to "break even."

Am I thinking about this correctly? Missing anything?


Thanks

 

[bbqbronco]

Yep, you'll save on sales tax as described. Conversely, the dealer also knows this and can use this to lower the value they'll give you.

 

[mattymik]

Yep, you'll save on sales tax as described. Conversely, the dealer also knows this and can use this to lower the value they'll give you.

Yep -- no free lunch, after all.

But that will be an important context for understanding their offer, which I did not realize before. I'm going to take it in and see what they offer.

Thanks guys.

 

[Dral97]

Did that when I bought my Bronco. Tried to sell my FJ TTUE on BaT and didn't sell. Tried to sell privately and just had scammers contact me. I ended up trading it in to my dealer for tax credit for the Bronco. It ended up being a few thousand dollars, so I was ok in the end taking less than what I would have gotten for private sale for the total price of the FJ. Plus so much less of a headache/pita to go that route.

Trading in a jeep 392 for a new 392 soon and doing it the same way unless the dealer way low balls me.

 

[mattymik]

Did that when I bought my Bronco. Tried to sell my FJ TTUE on BaT and didn't sell. Tried to sell privately and just had scammers contact me. I ended up trading it in to my dealer for tax credit for the Bronco. It ended up being a few thousand dollars, so I was ok in the end taking less than what I would have gotten for private sale.

Certainly the lower stress / ease of a trade-in is a major plus.

If the gap in total $$ amount ends up in the $1-3k territory ... I'll probably take that trade-in route.

If it's more like $4k+ ... maybe it's worth the hassle to find a private buyer.

 

[mramella]

Here in Missouri, we're allowed to deduct the previous vehicle sales price, whether you trade-in, or if you sell on your own via Private Party. So if I sell or trade-in a vehicle for $50k, and buy a Bronco for $60k, I pay taxes on 10 large, not the whole $60k. Because of this, I buy and sell vehicles all the time. If I had to pay full sales tax every time, I would not be able to buy new cars all the time. Thank god I live in a business friendly state! Hey California, if you want more economic growth, you should follow suit! Nah. Fat chance! LOL!

 

[Danny's Bronco]

I did traded it in for the sales tax bump too. Got like 2k more that I would have selling to a private person. Ended up making almost $7k after driving my 4dr for 8 months with 10,000 miles. Weird!

 

[Offroad Newb]

Here in Missouri, we're allowed to deduct the previous vehicle sales price, whether you trade-in, or if you sell on your own via Private Party. So if I sell or trade-in a vehicle for $50k, and buy a Bronco for $60k, I pay taxes on 10 large, not the whole $60k. Because of this, I buy and sell vehicles all the time. If I had to pay full sales tax every time, I would not be able to buy new cars all the time. Thank god I live in a business friendly state! Hey California, if you want more economic growth, you should follow suit! Nah. Fat chance! LOL!

I live in California and think everything is overpriced and a lot of laws are ridiculous (looking at you out of state warranty "consumer protection" laws), but economically per GDP I think they are doing alright...Down from Covid for sure but still a strong economy overall, depending how you define that.

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