Trade in my 2021 CX-5 or keep it?

[AUGM1]

Long story short is that my 2021 Sig has over 30K on it, needs tires, and has been cursed by several body shop visits and repairs I'm not happy with.
Never had a car I liked as much, but also had such bad luck in.
I'm thinking I would get raped on a trade due to the amount of paint work it has had.
Also, after finding out the headlights are about $1800 a piece, I'm worried about any other high tech stuff that goes after warranty.
Anyway, ditch it or keep?

 

[ruthrj]

Keep. You said it yourself, you love the car right? Any other vehicle’s headlights that are LED are going to cost just as much to replace. Repairs were all cosmetic, not mechanical? Not sure if you getting “raped” on a trade in is worth it if the concerns are solely appearance related.

If you do trade in, I’d consider leasing if you’re worried about not having warranty coverage. The CX-5 is fairly simple compared to other cars on the market. Up to you if you want to wipe the slate clean but it sounds like it’s coming at a cost. I’m more of the car is good if it gets me from point A to B kind of guy, but I admit I did spring for a Turbo trim after my ‘13 was totaled unexpectedly.

What would you want instead if you do trade in? Little more context might help

 

[GTEyes]

I was in a similar situation with my 2020 CX5. Had a few crashes with it. Dealer made me a killer deal on a trade so I swapped it for a 2022 and I was even more impressed with the changes made for the '22 year.
Might be interesting to see what sort of deal your dealership would put together for you on trading it for a newer model.

 

[N7turbo]

I'd be interested in the facelift and infotainment updates personally. Plus the oil issue has been fixed and it has the newest AWD system as well. Some changes are worth more than others, so you'll have to decide.

 

[Silly Wabbit]

I think you know the answer. If you're bothered every time you look at the shotty paint work, and you have the means to trade, then do it.

 

[Ranman57]

Maybe run your car by the CarMax website and see what they come back with. I just traded in my '20 and the dealer just about matched their value as a trade in value. They told me they would actually turn the car to CarMax instead of selling it themselves.

FWIW it was a Soul Red and the hood looked like hell with all the chipping but the dealer didn't seem to care since they were dumping it.

 

[7eregrine]

Also, FWIW, please look around the forum and see how many people that don't own a 2016 CX5 have replaced LED headlights. I assure you it's a tiny number. These lights absolutely should outlast the car.

 

[StylingSequ]

Long story short is that my 2021 Sig has over 30K on it, needs tires, and has been cursed by several body shop visits and repairs I'm not happy with.
Never had a car I liked as much, but also had such bad luck in.
I'm thinking I would get raped on a trade due to the amount of paint work it has had.
Also, after finding out the headlights are about $1800 a piece, I'm worried about any other high tech stuff that goes after warranty.
Anyway, ditch it or keep?

I think trading cars at a dealership is one of the worst deals. The dealer always give customers a terrible price. Just sell it via Facebook Marketplace. You can probably get $3-5 thousand more. I sold 2 cars this year and they went quick. There is so much demand for used cars these days. The only time you should sell a car to a dealership is if you know something is majorly wrong with the car. (Dealerships don't inspect the cars very carefully when purchasing because they know they are buying the car at such a discount.)

Just two problems I foresee. First, to buy a car for $20k+, the buyer will probably need a loan. Second, if you had work done, this might scare people. On the other hand, this will also scare the dealership.

Why do you want to sell it anyway? Any major repairs necessary right now?

If the car's paint work is the problem, why don't you spend money to redo it? The market value of a car drops about 50% in the first 3 years even though the life of the car only decreases by 20%. By selling the car, you're just throwing away about $14k in value. You might not know how much car prices have gone up since 2021. It's gone up like 50%. I would spend a few thousand on fixing up the car to make it as nice as you want. You actually come out ahead this way.

 

[7eregrine]

Or sell it to Carvana. Curious what kind of "Body issues" have required so much work?

 

[gazelle]

if you flip it for a new '24 sig you get an extra 6hp
just a thought

 

[cz5gt]

Its already old car. Trade it in for a brand new. Could be even other brand as CX5s are getting boring, not much innovation vs 2019-2022 models.

 

[7eregrine]

3 years is "already old". Come on man.

Its already old car. Trade it in for a brand new.

 

[DG_1234]

Long story short is that my 2021 Sig has over 30K on it, needs tires, and has been cursed by several body shop visits and repairs I'm not happy with.
Never had a car I liked as much, but also had such bad luck in.
I'm thinking I would get raped on a trade due to the amount of paint work it has had.
Also, after finding out the headlights are about $1800 a piece, I'm worried about any other high tech stuff that goes after warranty.
Anyway, ditch it or keep?

Today I traded-in to a dealer my 2021 CX-5 GT for a 2024 CX-5 Select.

 

[AUGM1]

Today I traded-in to a dealer my 2021 CX-5 GT for a 2024 CX-5 Select.

What did they give you for your old car?
I'm assuming yours didn't have paintwork?

 

[AUGM1]

I think trading cars at a dealership is one of the worst deals. The dealer always give customers a terrible price. Just sell it via Facebook Marketplace. You can probably get $3-5 thousand more. I sold 2 cars this year and they went quick. There is so much demand for used cars these days. The only time you should sell a car to a dealership is if you know something is majorly wrong with the car. (Dealerships don't inspect the cars very carefully when purchasing because they know they are buying the car at such a discount.)

Just two problems I foresee. First, to buy a car for $20k+, the buyer will probably need a loan. Second, if you had work done, this might scare people. On the other hand, this will also scare the dealership.

Why do you want to sell it anyway? Any major repairs necessary right now?

If the car's paint work is the problem, why don't you spend money to redo it? The market value of a car drops about 50% in the first 3 years even though the life of the car only decreases by 20%. By selling the car, you're just throwing away about $14k in value. You might not know how much car prices have gone up since 2021. It's gone up like 50%. I would spend a few thousand on fixing up the car to make it as nice as you want. You actually come out ahead this way.

I've actually thought of having the car painted matt black or grey, as it would be stupid to try and have it redone in Machine Grey because know one can seem to make it look right around here.

 

[AUGM1]

Or sell it to Carvana. Curious what kind of "Body issues" have required so much work?

Hail damage, hit a deer and a coyote.

 

[DG_1234]

What did they give you for your old car?
I'm assuming yours didn't have paintwork?

I paid $11,000 out the door. I don't know (or care) what the dealership recorded in terms of trade-in value or new vehicle price; what mattered to me was my out-the-door price.
Regarding paint work, the 2021 I traded-in had never been in a collision and the only issues with the paint were on the hood; a couple of small paint chips.

 

[Buzzman12]

Long story short is that my 2021 Sig has over 30K on it, needs tires, and has been cursed by several
Anyway, ditch it or keep?

I'd ditch it now, while used car prices are still high.
These artificial high prices on used vehicles won't last much longer.
Just like in real estate, a reckoning is coming soon. A market correction will happen, if you will.
I see the same thing happening with new cars. This business of asking above MSRP for new cars is not going to fly much longer. New cars are piling up on dealer lots, especially cars from the likes Ford, GM and Jeep, among others.
Trade or sell your car now if you want to get any value out of it. My feeling anyway. Others may differ.

 

[AUGM1]

Well, it just gets worse.
Apparently, a rat got under the hood and chewed a wire in two last night.
The part number for the harness is TM52-67-SHO, which is only a little over $100 online.
Looks like an easy fix, but I've read it actually is a pain and cost thousands.
My insurance is probably going to either drop me or charge the hell out of me because of this car.

 

[AUGM1]

Here are some pics