Well let me say this from a dealer POV. Yes there are times that a dealer will lose money on a sale. Possibly more often than you might think.
Now figure this in. Trade-in value seems low to most customers, however consider this. When a dealer accepts a trade, they generally dont know if all appliances work, if brakes are OK, ETC. They take "your" word for a lot of things. That is why every unit (new & used) goes thru a PDI. Im sure every dealer works about like ours here. Service Dept charges the Sales Dept. for the PDI and any repairs, as well as detailing. A typical PDI will take 8-10 hours and a typical detail (wash, wax, buff, tire shine, windows, interior carpet, dust, ETC) can take 16 hours or more. At a rate of approx $120 per hour. You add up the labor costs. Not to mention each unit gets new batteries at $100 each. Add to that anything else it might need like bearings, brakes, tires, ETC. Yes we add literally $thousands to every single unit.
Sorry to rain on your parade, but Trade-in value is a very high amount to give for most trade ins.
