F250. Trade or Sell Outright?

[King_s_Ransom]

I do not think this is a 7.3L truck – it’s 10 years old, so that would make it a 2006, with the worrisome engine. Not that this is not a great truck, but as others have mentioned, this model year is not going to have people foaming at the mouth in a bidding war.

Also, for the record, I did just sell a pristine 7.3L F250, 4WD, Lariat edition with 180K miles. I got a good price, but it’s not true that these things sell like gold-plated hot cakes. They are older, they have the miles and people will take that into consideration when making a purchase.

Lots of people approached me about buying the truck, but few of them came with cash-in-hand and no one offered more than $13,000 – which is hardly a fortune. My truck was about as nice as an older truck can be – good paint, no rust anywhere, bed liner, brake controller, 4WD (that works!), running boards, heated seats, a/c, leather interior all in good condition (no tears, clean, etc.).

I only mention this because people can get a little starry-eyed about what their used truck is worth. It’s only worth what a real buyer will pay for it when you sell it.

[Sempiternal]

I don’t think people are saying your truck is bad, but that the 6.0 engines, especially the early years, had A LOT of issues and many of those issues were at low mileage.

Whether or not your truck has had problems isn’t the issue, it’s how people are going to perceive a Ford with the 6.0 engine that is the issue.

[Jim_in_PA]

I agree about running to CarMax (and possibly CarSense up in Downington near the Turnpike) to get a buy appraisal. But you should also get a trade-in value from dealers for comparison…including taking into consideration sales tax factors. In PA, your trade in value gets subtracted from the negotiated purchase price of the new vehicle before sales tax is calculated. Sometimes, a trade that’s below a private sale is still the better deal when you consider the sale tax factor.

[hokiekat]

You will absolutely get more money for your truck by selling it yourself - private party. Autotrader.com and Craigslist are great places to start advertising. When advertising on Craigslist I always list it at a higher price. People haggle. You will get lowballed. But diesel trucks, especially in today’s market, hold their value extremely well. It will be worth your time to sell a low mileage diesel yourself. Especially since it seems you don’t have to get rid of it right away…

[SuckerForHorses]

Oops. Got all lost in the fantasy that this truck was a 7.3. With a 2006 birthday, it ain’t.

You are not alone! I did the same thing! :lol:

[Curb_Appeal]

If you want to get the best possible deal out of it, CarMax is NOT the way to go. They generally offer a few hundred below KBB trade in value.

I bought a 2014 Grand Cherokee from CarMax just last week. For giggles I let them appraise my 2005 Dodge Magnum RT AWD (becoming a somewhat rare vehicle). KBB trade value of this car is $4,700. They offered me $4,100. I took it to a local dealer who offers consignment sales and he suggested I list it at $8,999 with the expectation that he will get it sold for around $8,000. Even after he takes his fee, I should net somewhere around $7,000.

Consignment is a great option if you don’t want to deal with the Craigslist crazies.

[Jim_in_PA]

Curb Appeal, make sure that the shifter recall was done on your new-to-you 2014 JGC. Any FCA dealer can put your VIN in their computer to check on that for you. It’s a significant safety issue and required on all 2014 and 2015 JGCs.

[Curb_Appeal]

FCA doesn’t have a fix for the shifter issue yet. It’s a matter of poor design, not an actual defect. I’m not crazy about the way it works, but there are two separate places to look to see what gear the Jeep is in. I’m getting myself in the habit of checking both locations and I have always been a parking brake user, so I’m not too concerned. I also rarely get out of a vehicle without shutting it off anyway.

[Jim_in_PA]

There has been a software patch available for months now and it was just revised about a week ago. Whomever is telling you there is nothing available is incorrect. (I’m a moderator at a very large Jeep online forum)