Give me your opinions on a potential swap please! :)

[csmac2004]

Hey guys,

So, regrettably, my wife and I have decided to put up our 2003 Yukon SLT up for sale. We're asking $18,000, but I believe it to be worth more (check out my ad at http://kamloops.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-SUVs-trucks-vans-2003-GMC-Yukon-SLT-PRICE-REDUCED-W0QQAdIdZ109843178). However, we need some cash to pay down some unfortunate debts we've recently incurred.

Yesterday, I received an offer from a guy here in Kamloops with a '98 GMC Sierra 1500 Z71, extended cab, 3rd door with 6 passenger seating, and he wants to trade his truck plus $8000 for our Yukon. He figures his truck is worth about $10K, but it has 222kms on it.

So, obviously we still need a vehicle so this would work out well as far as convenience. But I don't think his truck is worth $10K. I would think it would be closer between $8K and $9K, but I'm not sure. So, I thought I'd throw this out at you guys to get your thoughts on this idea. Am I retarded for considering this? If we got $9K out of the deal in cash, we could pay off a good chunk of the debt. We'd also still have a decent truck that's big enough for our family of 5 (small kids) for the next few years. He's done pretty much the same amount of work recently that I've done on our Yukon, has good winter tires, so really there are some positives to this. What do you guys think?

Thanks!

[silveradotrailblazer]

Well I think it depeds on how bad you need the money, if its low milelage and clean then maybe. But dont get something thats going to nickel and dime you to death with repairs. That money you could use to pay bills off. The truck is over ten years old and even if it has low miles ,it has time on it (parts do rot with time) Down here in Alabama that truck would go for about $6,000 dollars. Good Luck!

[Henchman]

I would tell him that you need at least 9K cash for your truck and his swap. That would be half way to me. I would bring up that his truck does have a lot of miles on it. 9K sounds pretty even. I don't see his truck being worth 10K. Just my thoughts.

[csmac2004]

Thanks for your thoughts, guys. Again, who knows what the "best" decision is here, but I figure the more people I talk about it with, the more informed decision I can make. I agree, the risk with going with an older vehicle and paying for repairs has to be fully considered.

[ct9a]

Is this US dollars or Canadian dollars? Canadian, I'm assuming. So $10k Canadian is about $7750 American. Thought I'd throw this in for the Americans looking to help out.

That's a tough call. I would see if you could talk him into more money as I'm sure he left room in his offer for negotiations. All in all, it might not be a bad trade. Make sure you take a good look at the mechanical workings of the truck first (have a mechanic look it over if you don't feel comfortable) and make sure that you get a good look at the service records he's kept. If he didn't keep any, definitely talk him down.