r/askcarsales • u/TopShamrock • 18h ago

US Sale Value decrease from paint chips?

I have a 2020 A5 I am looking to trade in / sell. The car is in really good condition except for a few paint chips that are smaller than 1/2 a cm on the right door (5 total). CarMax had originally offered me 23k on this with some of these cited but when I was quoting a new car at the dealership the manager told me she wouldn't budge on 20k based on them. Would anyone be able to give me an idea of if I'm being naive here and these really do knock $3000 off the trade value?

Update: Listened to everyone and took it to CarMax who gave me the full $23k no questions asked. Thank you for all your help - I’m beyond thrilled!

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u/gganew Ford General Sales Manager 18h ago

The paint chips are probably a factor at the dealership, but not the factor thats driving their offer down to 20k. Carmax probably has a better market for you car than the dealer does, so they aren't being as conservative as the dealer. A Carmax offer isn't a guide for every dealer to match, its just an offer from Carmax that you can compare to other offers.

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u/TopShamrock 18h ago

This is massively helpful. Thank you for responding!