After recently learning how to drive stick on my friend's prelude, I've been infatuated with driving a manual. When I bought my xB over 2 years ago (it was the first car I've ever owned), I didn't know squat about cars and much less about manual transmissions, so I didn't even consider it. But after entering the modding scene I started picking up things here and there. My friend recently sold his prelude, but before doing so allowed me to give the clutch a little burn, and now I'm sold on a manual.

I found a used manual xB that I'm considering a trade for, but I need some help with knowing the feasibility of the entire situation. My current xB is in very good condition with low miles at 19K, except for some scratches on the rear bumper. The manual that I am looking at has 23K miles on it. Since my car is KBB'ed at a higher value, I was hoping to make a fairly even trade although I hope to take no more than a minor loss of about $1000 since the dealer still needs to make a profit to make it worthwhile.

My questions are:
1) My car is currently being financed. Could I trade-in a financed car? (I'd need to finance the next car as well.)
2) Does the dealer have a tax cost on taking my trade-in?
3) Could I reduce the price I pay by offering to keep my scratched bumper, and switching it with the other bumper?

I already know how dumb I am for wanting to switch to a manual after spending the extra cash to buy an automatic but this has been my first experience with owning a car, so please keep that in mind and keep the flaming to a minimum.

Thanks guys!

I know that yes you can trade in a car that is financed. i did it with my bop when i got the rs4.0
but i dont think the bumper thing would work out, and about strat trading i would say up to the dealer that your are trading and the kbb is just a guide not fact. just go and see what they say and good luck

Also, is it just an urban legend, or is it really better to do a trade-in at the end of the month because of salesmen trying to meet quotas?

Also, I bought a rear bumper applique to cover up some of the bumper scratches, but I haven't put in on yet since I was considering a trade. However, do you think that would help if I put it on my current xB?

1. The dealer will not give you anything close to KBB.
2. You will have to pay tax + license on the new car, so expect to spend more than $1000 for the difference.
3. If I were you, I'd keep my Auto, cuz the manual xB gets worse gas mileage, and you have no idea how well the previous owner took care of it.

-THE DON

Oh, I know I won't get KBB, but I'm trading it for the same car, so I figured it would help that mine is worth slightly more.

^^^^ You'd be surprised. I think u should drive to like 5 scion dealers and get the quotes to trade-in for a manual box. take the best offer.

also, try to go to the "biggest" or "busiest" scion dealer in your area- they are more flexible with pricing since they have cars coming in and out but dont expect a huge difference.

I honestly think you're going to have to trade in your box and pay like ~$3,000 to switch to the manual...

when i first got my white box, w/30 miles on the odo, i went to the dealer and asked how much it would cost for me to trade in for a diff. color box.

he said 3 grand.

i said are you kidding and he wasn't. So i just kept my box and i've been happy ever since ;]
- sh00k

More than likely you will not get the amount you have left over to pay off your current box. (it sucks, but thats how some dealers are). Then you would go in tot eh deal in the hole, which you don't want to do. I'd say keep the box you have now.

The answer is to either keep your current xB or sell it yourself. You can keep using it while you do so. You should be able to get a near retail price if you hold out for a bit...and heck if it doesn't sell you can just keep driving it:) The dealer is a dealer to make money he can not give you what your trade is worth at retail or he would end up bankrupt.

Keep your xB, wait to get a manual when you need a new car. Like some others said, you'll spend much more than $1,000 to make a trade. I just checked KBB and the difference between my xB's "trade" and "suggested retail" price is about $3,000. Trading a financed car to a dealer is no problem- they just get the pay off info from the bank. If you're doing that, I'd go during the day on a weekday when they're more likely to be able to contact the bank. I don't think you can sell private party without paying off your loan and having the title in hand. Too bad you don't have Carmax in PA, they paid more than the dealer for my trade.

You're better off taking the loss you'll incur on the trade to buy a beater manual car. I sold a 1990 Isuzu Trooper 5spd in running condition for about $1,000.

1. The dealer will not give you anything close to KBB.
2. You will have to pay tax + license on the new car, so expect to spend more than $1000 for the difference.
3. If I were you, I'd keep my Auto, cuz the manual xB gets worse gas mileage, and you have no idea how well the previous owner took care of it.

-THE DON

manual doesnt get worse gas mileage. dont know who told you that. its in how you drive it. automatics have always got worse gas mileage than manuals if you even wanted to go that route. if anything the manual will get better gas mileage...yes even with the rpms being slightly higher.

In my area, I have been able to get more than KBB value on trades. Sometimes as high as just below retail value (at high volume dealers).

If its going to be at least 3000 to trade, you would be better off keeping it and using the 3000 for mods. Is it possible to do a conversion to manual? If it is, that might be cheaper than 3k.

my 06 five speed is only worth 11,9 this sucks! (private party)
thats with 25,000 miles, 17" wheels, dvd player

1. The dealer will not give you anything close to KBB.
2. You will have to pay tax + license on the new car, so expect to spend more than $1000 for the difference.
3. If I were you, I'd keep my Auto, cuz the manual xB gets worse gas mileage, and you have no idea how well the previous owner took care of it.

-THE DONExactly right! Plus the manuals also need to be upgraded with a heavier pressure plate cause the stock ones are not allowing the clutch disc to last. Keep the auto! You will be much happier in the long run!

1. The dealer will not give you anything close to KBB.
2. You will have to pay tax + license on the new car, so expect to spend more than $1000 for the difference.
3. If I were you, I'd keep my Auto, cuz the manual xB gets worse gas mileage, and you have no idea how well the previous owner took care of it.

-THE DONExactly right! Plus the manuals also need to be upgraded with a heavier pressure plate cause the stock ones are not allowing the clutch disc to last. Keep the auto! You will be much happier in the long run!

once again its all in how you drive the car. the worse gas mileage in a manual is still wrong and if any COULD be better than the other it would be Manual getting better gas mileage than an automatic. if you know how to drive a stick the clutch will be fine. you will not get better gas mileage with an automatic and if you enjoy driving the vehicle and not just hitting the gas and break get a stick. it is just how you are picturing it :-)

After recently learning how to drive stick on my friend's prelude, I've been infatuated with driving a manual. When I bought my xB over 2 years ago (it was the first car I've ever owned), I didn't know squat about cars and much less about manual transmissions, so I didn't even consider it. But after entering the modding scene I started picking up things here and there. My friend recently sold his prelude, but before doing so allowed me to give the clutch a little burn, and now I'm sold on a manual.

I found a used manual xB that I'm considering a trade for, but I need some help with knowing the feasibility of the entire situation. My current xB is in very good condition with low miles at 19K, except for some scratches on the rear bumper. The manual that I am looking at has 23K miles on it. Since my car is KBB'ed at a higher value, I was hoping to make a fairly even trade although I hope to take no more than a minor loss of about $1000 since the dealer still needs to make a profit to make it worthwhile.

My questions are:
1) My car is currently being financed. Could I trade-in a financed car? (I'd need to finance the next car as well.)
2) Does the dealer have a tax cost on taking my trade-in?
3) Could I reduce the price I pay by offering to keep my scratched bumper, and switching it with the other bumper?

I already know how dumb I am for wanting to switch to a manual after spending the extra cash to buy an automatic but this has been my first experience with owning a car, so please keep that in mind and keep the flaming to a minimum.

Thanks guys!

the ideal situation may be trading your xb w/ someone who wants an auto box. i think there will be ppl on this forum that might be interested in switching! not sure what kind of complications are w/ that though - maybe both of you have to own the car outright.

just a thought...

As far as the tax goes, if the one you were buying was 15k and you were getting 14.5k from the trade, you would only pay tax on the $500. This only works with trade-ins.

Oh really? Wow that's good to know!

Easy answer...I agree with those who said to keep it...I sold cars for a while and you will lose your rear end on the auto...keep it and buy a manual on the next car...

the worse gas mileage in a manual is still wrong and if any COULD be better than the other it would be Manual getting better gas mileage than an automatic. Quick correction here. The xB with a stick DOES get worse highway mileage than one with an auto. It's because the final drive ratio of the stick requires higher RPMs than the auto at a given speed, and therefore worse mileage by a little. Not a significant issue as far as I'm concerned, but . . . .

1. The dealer will not give you anything close to KBB.
2. You will have to pay tax + license on the new car, so expect to spend more than $1000 for the difference.
3. If I were you, I'd keep my Auto, cuz the manual xB gets worse gas mileage, and you have no idea how well the previous owner took care of it.

-THE DONExactly right! Plus the manuals also need to be upgraded with a heavier pressure plate cause the stock ones are not allowing the clutch disc to last. Keep the auto! You will be much happier in the long run!

once again its all in how you drive the car.PLEASE research stuff before you speak on them? It helps keep you from looking foolish!
How you drive has very little with the fact that the clutch components are not up to the task. There are plenty of people that drove their xBs gentle and they got slightly over 40K before the clutch problems showed up. It's nice to think if you drive it nice and easy that you will get "normal" clutch life. IT'S NOT GONNA happen in this case, PERIOD!!!!!! The pressure plate springs are NOT strong enough to keep the disk from slipping!
It gets worse mileage because of the final gearing!

i stand corrected on the clutch life thing

but the gas mileage in auto vs manual im sorry but that is not true of getting better gas mileage in a automatic. the very little added rpms from the final drive in a manual vs auto is the ONLY thing the auto has a chance at having better gas mileage with. you are forgetting about the time not spent at 70+ mph. if you filled up your box, got straight on the freeway, and drove a full tank down to nothin at 70+mph, you may end up with SLIGHTLY better gas mileage with the auto. but who drives like that all the time. unless your house is a 1/2 mile from the freeway, your work is a 1/2 mile from the freeway at the other end, and you never drive anywhere else than yes an auto will probably give you better gas mileage. other than that, 99% of drivers, manual will give you better gas mileage. its been proven over and over with all makes/models of cars for the most part

but the gas mileage in auto vs manual im sorry but that is not true of getting better gas mileage in a automatic. the very little added rpms from the final drive in a manual vs auto is the ONLY thing the auto has a chance at having better gas mileage with. you are forgetting about the time not spent at 70+ mph. if you filled up your box, got straight on the freeway, and drove a full tank down to nothin at 70+mph, you may end up with SLIGHTLY better gas mileage with the auto. but who drives like that all the time. unless your house is a 1/2 mile from the freeway, your work is a 1/2 mile from the freeway at the other end, and you never drive anywhere else than yes an auto will probably give you better gas mileage. other than that, 99% of drivers, manual will give you better gas mileage. its been proven over and over with all makes/models of cars for the most partYou're contradicting yourself there. You say that the auto has SLIGHTLY better gas mileage, under some conditions but that it doesn't get better mileage. It DOES get better mileage ON THE HIGHWAY. That was my correction, and it's because of the higher RPMs for any speed when you're in top gear. I drive about 10 miles to work, and about 70-80 percent of that time I'm in top gear, and during that time I'm getting a little less mileage than if I had an auto. Point made.

but the gas mileage in auto vs manual im sorry but that is not true of getting better gas mileage in a automatic. the very little added rpms from the final drive in a manual vs auto is the ONLY thing the auto has a chance at having better gas mileage with. you are forgetting about the time not spent at 70+ mph. if you filled up your box, got straight on the freeway, and drove a full tank down to nothin at 70+mph, you may end up with SLIGHTLY better gas mileage with the auto. but who drives like that all the time. unless your house is a 1/2 mile from the freeway, your work is a 1/2 mile from the freeway at the other end, and you never drive anywhere else than yes an auto will probably give you better gas mileage. other than that, 99% of drivers, manual will give you better gas mileage. its been proven over and over with all makes/models of cars for the most partYou're contradicting yourself there. You say that the auto has SLIGHTLY better gas mileage, under some conditions but that it doesn't get better mileage. It DOES get better mileage ON THE HIGHWAY. That was my correction, and it's because of the higher RPMs for any speed when you're in top gear. I drive about 10 miles to work, and about 70-80 percent of that time I'm in top gear, and during that time I'm getting a little less mileage than if I had an auto. Point made.

lol do i need to reiterate it again? the only time you will get better gas mileage in the auto is when you are at 70+mph or another speed CONSISTANTLY for a good amount of time, which obviously is only on the freeway or long stretches of highway. same thing. an auto doesnt get as good gas mileage as a manual because you need the car to shift for you, which uses up a certain amount of gas. Another thing is that you don't have complete control of the car. You lack the ability to shift to whatever gear you need to be in for best mileage rather than the gear that the car chooses for you, based on speed. unless you spend all your time on the freeway and never drive through the city which is highly unlikely for most people, the MANUAL will give you better gas mileage. there is nothing contradicting about it. i said once, now i said it again. its really simple logic

Back to the original poster....

It doesn't hurt to go to the dealer and ask for the deal YOU want. The worst thing they can do is say no. Given the fact that they need to recoupe a bit of cost for them to have put it on the lot (cleanup/maintenance/prep/etc), you're probably going to have to come up with 1000 or so to make it worth it to them.

They aren't likely to make the deal, but it really doesn't hurt to ask.

I just wanna thank everyone for their help. Because of two annoying snow storms last month, frigid temperatures, and the fact that a manual xB had been in dealer inventory for almost two months (according to carfax.com) the dealer made me an offer I couldn't refuse. They are even swapping out all my aftermarket parts with the stock ones and returning them to me for free! Thanks again guys!