Promotions for 2023 cars still circulating at the end of 2023 and the start of 2024 involved many Chinese brands active in the Russian market. Ads promised savings of hundreds of thousands of rubles when financing or trading in an old car to offset the price of a new one. In practice, the real picture often looked different from the hype.
Priced below market
A journalist from socialbites.ca tested a genuine 2022 Volkswagen Polo with a 1.6 engine, 110 hp, a manual gearbox, and 64 thousand kilometers on the clock. The car was offered to several Chinese brand dealers for preliminary evaluation, with classified ads showing prices from 1.5 to 1.9 million rubles. Their own valuation of 1.6 million rubles aligned with Avto.ru and Avito Auto averages and even matched a higher figure of 1.75 million rubles cited by the Cena-auto portal of Autostat as a fair market price.
Meanwhile, Jaecoo in the Moscow region proposed buying the Polo for up to 1.2 million rubles, and also advertised a 300,000 ruble discount on the Jaecoo J7 crossovers regardless of configuration or drive type. In another deal, the Moscow dealer Omoda quoted a discount of 1.45 million rubles for a used Polo and 230 thousand rubles for an Omoda C5 in the top trim; the final cost would reach about 3.08 million rubles once the discount was applied.
The seller noted that the given sum was a preliminary estimate and warned that the car would need to be checked in person before any final offer could be confirmed.
Another Geely dealer in the Moscow region listed a Tugella with a 238-horsepower engine and all-wheel drive at a recommended price of 4.3 million rubles. They valued the Polo at 1.25 million rubles and offered a 330 thousand ruble discount on the new car.
The appraiser explained that a vehicle with a clean service history and no repainted parts would not typically fall below this level, but after a live inspection the final offer would likely be lower.
A different Geely dealer in the Moscow region proposed to buy the Polo for 1.4 million rubles and offered a trade-in discount when purchasing a Tugella with a 200 hp engine. The package included a direct 200 thousand ruble discount plus additional loan-related bonuses, with the final price to be determined after a thorough check of the delivered vehicle.
Volkswagen Tiguan in exchange
To secure a discount, the same journalist offered a 2015 Volkswagen Tiguan all-wheel drive, in good condition and fully equipped, as a trade-in. This model is viewed as highly liquid on the market and tends to sell quickly, which is attractive to dealers.
Jetour brand dealers report a maximum 300 thousand ruble discount on the Dashing model, also available if the old car is traded in. Experts from the Second-Hand Cars department provided an estimated trade-in value corridor for a Tiguan sold with offset: about 1.5 to 1.6 million rubles.
Comparable market prices for similar vehicles on online ads typically range from 1.8 to 2.1 million rubles.
In both Polo and Tiguan cases, the discount from the automaker was largely offset by the loss incurred when selling the vehicle through a dealer trade-in. Put plainly, it often pays to sell a car on the open market rather than hand it to a dealer for a trade-in.
It has no purpose
Trade-in prices have been a standard bargaining chip for a long time, but the practice has grown more aggressive in recent months, notes Maksim Kadakov, editor-in-chief of Za Rulem. He explains that the only real advantage for a buyer is completing the transaction in one place. Buyers still need to seek a private sale, manage the money, and draw up the sale contract themselves.
Trading in a car is convenient, but it comes at a price, Kadakov says in a discussion with socialbites.ca.
Dealers rarely purchase a car at the top price because they need to profit from the transaction. If the buyer breaks even after the new-car discount, it signals that the old car was sold at market value, Kadakov argues.
Anton Shaparin, vice president of the National Automobile Association, cautions that any move by a buyer toward a dealer for a new car will trigger profit-seeking behavior from the selling side. Shaparin adds that a large price drop often comes with the caveat that discounts apply only when paying with credit, not cash, and that banks typically receive a commission for the loan registration. Insurance commissions can be substantial too, sometimes reaching fifty percent, so dealers often rely on a mix of car sales, insurance products, and loan services to earn money. He notes that a growing number of dealers are forming large car-buying departments, which makes it harder for ordinary buyers to secure favorable terms on the open market. He also mentions that VAT changes can help large dealers move cars between Moscow and the regions, further increasing their margins.