Interesting tidbit about Chrysler Employee Priceing. Went to three Jeep dealers to trade a 2008 Sahara with 17,000 miles for a new one, same options. All three jacked up the sticker price to list or above, and the best trade-in price for mine was $21,000. This works out to $833 a month depreciation, not counting gas, oil, taxes, etc, and is roughly $3,000 under Bluebook. With scamming dealers like that, maybe it's time Chrysler went under new management.

 

try a carmax if there is one by you, someone on here did real good getting cash for their car from one very recently

 

We had a very decent dealer in Jacksonville (well, St. Augustine) but they went out of business last year as a result. Had they been scamming, selfish, greedy, sneaky and ignorant like the other major Jeep dealership in Jacksonville they'd probably still be around. Point is, some are WAY better than others so there may be hope for you yet.

In general, not sure about the invoice jacking part, but the lowball trade in value is pretty standard for any dealership I've ever been to. These days it's going to be tough to get bluebook because of gas prices, economy, great new car deals, etc.. but if you think you can get better than the trade in offer just sell on Craigslist or AutoTrader. I sold my "trade in" on Craigslist and got halfway between the dealer trade in offer and blue book, but for the extra $1200 and 4 week sell time it was worth it for me. Don't forget too that if you trade in to the dealer you will also realize a substantial tax benefit (which I'm sure they already reminded you when they lowballed you)

 

why do you want to trade it in for a new one? what has changed?

 

Some are not patient (like me) with waiting on a private sale.

I've found that going to Carmax and geting a quote is good ammunition when working a deal at the dealership. Regardless of the sob story, they do make a profit on the trade.

I recommend you do this...

Never talk about monthly payments.

Come to an agreement on price of the new. Once you're happy, move on to the trade.
Determine their best offer and compare to your Carmax quote. If they are lower, give them the oppertunity to match the price. If not, head to Carmax and come back with a check.

The one thing to consider if you end up going with carmax, the dealer will not be able to offset the sales tax.

Good luck!