Really considering selling my Malibu and was wondering if you somebody could tell me about how much it should bring? Bought the car brand new in 2008.

2008 Malibu LS
Black Granite
55K Miles
Tinted windows
Tinted tail lights, and side markers
HID's
20" Chrome wheels ( brand new )
LTZ Grille
LTZ chrome door handles

Thanks,
DwDrummer

Kelly Blue Book will give you an estimate of the cars value for trade in and private sale ;)

http://www.kbb.com/

KBB or Edmunds are both good for determining value. As for accessories on the vehicle probably won't change the value since some people are nervous about buying modified vehicles, or the mods done aren't to their tastes. It may appeal to someone and make the sale much easier, but it will be hard to get what you have in it back out of it.

Why are you looking to sell your car?

Not gonna be what you wanna hear. Malibu resale is horrid.

Aftermarket mods usually do not add much, if any, resale value.

Thanks everbody! Think it would bring $14-15K?

Excellent
$14,065

Good
$13,115

Fair
$11,715

Good luck with the sale!

Those numbers are for a "box stock" Malibu. Your car will be worth more and appeal to many more people if you can return it to 17" or 18" wheels and remove the tint from light and windows. If selling to a dealer, they'll whack you pretty good for that stuff. If selling privately "as is", you may get lucky and find someone who likes it that way, but it's rare.

Those numbers are for a "box stock" Malibu. Your car will be worth more and appeal to many more people if you can return it to 17" or 18" wheels and remove the tint from light and windows. If selling to a dealer, they'll whack you pretty good for that stuff. If selling privately "as is", you may get lucky and find someone who likes it that way, but it's rare.

You never know; some dealers like to have the occasional modified vehicle on their lot to showcase... Unless it's an 83 civic with an underglow kit and unpainted body kit ;)

I wouldn't go through the trouble of taking the tint off. I know a lot of people now like the option of tinted windows. As for the tails and headlights, Im not even sure you van take the tint off, or it would be worth the aggrieved aggravation.

Your best to sell privately if you can. I know for a fact here in CT. you won’t get those numbers for an LS with 55 K miles at any Dealership.

The Trade-In numbers will be so much lower than you think! You can get a brand new 2011 LS for as low as $17,000 and $22,000 - $23,000 being on the very high end.

Go to cars.com and look what cars of your model and year are going for in your area. New & Used!

Good luck!;)

Aftermarket mods usually do not add much, if any, resale value.

i would say they easily reduce value. when we were looking for a car for a good friend we looked at an infinity, once we looked closely it had aftermarket trim pieces and exhaust. HUGE turn off. you just know the car has been ripped on..

The value of used cars is at an all-time high. I just sold my wife's clapped-out Nissan Sentra GXE (2003, 113K, auto, 180w 7-speaker factory stereo, cabin filters as the only options) with the interior full of burn holes, for $4150 to the first guy that looked at it.

That said, walk onto any dealer lot with those numbers. The standard line is "Did that website write you a check or hand you cash?". And it's true. You can only get what someone is willing to pay, and only when they reach what you are willing to accept. Otherwise, you keep the car a long time.

Myself, I had the windows of my 2004 GTO tinted, and when I traded in they wanted it stripped off. I didn't do it, but if I had kept the car I would have. I came to HATE the tint. It took just a couple of gentle microfiber cloth cleanings for the plastic to have micro-scratches. Under nighttime lights, the swirl patterns drove me nuts.

I did take off the 18" aftermarket wheels at their request and put the factory 17's back on. Those were the only mods I'd done, and that car sold off their lot the same day I brought it in. That's the way dealers like it...in and out.

I'll be curious to see what you get.

Not meaning to hijack the thread:

I had tint for the first time ever on a car 6 days after I bought my '09 in Dec 2008. I had it professionally installed (parts & labor guaranteed for life) and never got a scratch.

Traded that car and they didn't even mention the tint. Got the '11 and about a month later put tint on it at the same shop. I've had it for 8 months now and no scratches. I don't clean the insides all the time, but I do have a micro fiber cloth in the driver's door that I use to wipe it now and then. Plus I've cleaned them with a cotton rag. No scratches.

If you had the store-bought stuff that you installed yourself then that may be the reason for the scratches. It's thinner and more easily scratched. Over time the really cheap stuff goes from smoke colored to purple, too. I believe if you found a pro shop that uses Llumar or a similar product you'd have a great experience with tint.

***

/hijack

;)

I certainly did use a pro shop, and they used a 3M film. My GTO had 4,000 miles on it when I had the tint installed, 49,000 when I traded it in. The scratches were "swirl marks", and something you really only noticed under point light sources at night. I found it very distracting.

It also had a lifetime warranty, but when I brought it back to them they said it was OK, that the swirl marks are normal wear & tear and the warranty covers peeling or tint change but they couldn't warranty against cleaning marks. I'm picky about visual acuity in a car. I have nothing in my line of sight (nothing hanging from the mirror, EZ Pass up behind mirror, GPS on lower left when I do use it), as I don't want to risk miss seeing something like a child.

YMMV

It sounds like you are like me when it comes to seeing out the windows. I don't hang anything from the mirror either, and my GPS is suctioned to a disc stuck on the left of the dash, keeping it below the road.

Sorry to hear of the swirl marks. Since the tint is plastic it is softer than glass. (I'm sure I'm not sharing what you don't already realize.) If you clean it frequently the risk increases for small scratches to appear. But a thought occurred to me: Is it possible that they installed it backwards?

i would say they easily reduce value. when we were looking for a car for a good friend we looked at an infinity, once we looked closely it had aftermarket trim pieces and exhaust. HUGE turn off. you just know the car has been ripped on..

Very true. If I see even a little mod, I won't touch a car. Tints are okay though, but I'd rather not see them (although realistically, they protect the interior, but still).

I sold my 2006 Mercedes E350, and talked to a very nice and upstanding older gentleman, who seemed to love the car, said "price isn't as much an object as getting a good car", and seemed to find me charming enough to be very enthusiastic to see the car, etc.

Then the next morning, I get an Message with a seemingly worried tone in his voice, saying that he's gonna "pass" and that maybe the car isn't for him.

I called him back and asked for reasons simply to note for the next buyer, and he said that the "Tinted windows and taillights turned me and my wife off, I suggest that if you are serious about selling the car, take them off".

I was annoyed, but I get where he was coming from.

About the Malibu, I have an ex-Fleet '08 LS that just turned 50K Miles, which I bought at the LOWEST point in Used Car prices (5/09), for $12.9 with 21K Miles.

Used prices are much higher now (Used Market is too high, making New Car sales better values). I was wondering what my car might go for, and I figured $11K would be a number I'd be very happy with, if possible.