Jeff -

There's a lot of games being played out there with used car values in order to maximize dealer profit.

Unless there are dealer incentives for new cars in effect, a used car can fetch more profit for a dealership. From what I've seen, the dealers are low balling the wholesale KBB price on a trade. They're also selling cars that are qualified to pass through the CPO program as non-CPO cars in order to avoid the expense associated with the CPO certification process. They are doing everything they can to max their profits from their used car sales with the customer as the victim.

This is not just a comment from my perspective working at a BMW dealership; I'm also seeing it at my local Porsche dealership. It's pretty obvious this depressed economy has brought along a change to how the game is played.

Selling your vehicle privately is your best bet these days; if not feasible, get a quote from your local Carmax dealership. If the Carmax offer meets your criteria, and take it with you as a bargaining chip. The Nada and KBB guides are somewhat useless these days as the dealers are throwing numbers out there based on the maximum profit they want to make off your trade in. However, a Carmax offer is more tangible as you have a legitimate buyer in your hip pocket.