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How is the used car market these days?

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FearoftheNight

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Hey guys just found out yesterday that I need to get a car soon. I saw some news reports stating that the price of used cards are inflated about 10-18% due to market conditions so used cars make less financial sense vs new cars than they did a few years ago. This report was back in August. Is this still the case? What are your thoughts of new vs old?
 
What do you mean by old? If we are talking 1-2 years old then in some cases with better interest rates new makes more sense.
 
If you are going used I think it make sense if you're looking 4+ year old models, anything newer doesn't make financial sense compared to the specials/deals you can find on new cars.

I snagged a 2012 Cruze for 14k prior to being shown 2011's for 15-16k... You'll find a number of the 1-3 year old used cars offer little no price benefit if you are willing to take a new car that might not meet all your exact desires (color, options).

Loved the Cruze, but still end up in my E30 more than half my days into work.
 
I bought a 2009 with 33K miles a couple months ago for 15K. The best I could do on a new model with less options was a bit over 22K. I'll take 7K in savings on a car that looks and drives like brand new any day. Not to mention the savings on tax and insurance.

Maybe it was 10% too high, but it's still a beter financial move than new. Interest rates didn't concern me, I don't finance used cars.
 
FearoftheNight said:
Hey guys just found out yesterday that I need to get a car soon. I saw some news reports stating that the price of used cards are inflated about 10-18% due to market conditions so used cars make less financial sense vs new cars than they did a few years ago. This report was back in August. Is this still the case? What are your thoughts of new vs old?
Click to expand...

I made a post on here about this phenomenon in spring and everyone in here jumped all over me. The trend is higher prices for used cars. New cars these days have so many incentives and rates are so low for the qualified it makes sense if your looking at something expensive.

I personally never buy new. Right now the depending on your market luxury cars that get low mileage are the best deals right now used.



Intermediately priced cars seem to be the most bloated price wise in my market.



As always if you have cash there are deals to be made on craiglist/local.
 
On top of prices being higher I've found a new trend with many of the dealers around my area...non-negotiable prices. They are starting to adopt the Carmax business model. Slightly less markup from the trade in values, but no wiggle room. Price marked is price paid. Only way you get less is let it sit on the lot and let the dealer mark it down.

Several are also using a Zillow like websearch of "recently sold" vehicles and give you a printout of what the last sales of a similar make/model went for in the area to make you feel like a dick for negotiating below their asking price.
 
I haven't tried the dealerships for purchasing a used car. I've primarilly been searching Craigslist, etc. I'm trying to find a decient 6+ year old car for my daughter's first car.
What I've found is the owners of Hondas and Toyotas in this year range really think highly of their vehicles, and want a premium price even when their cars have mileage in
the 130K range or more. The best deal I've found so far was a pretty much loaded 2007 Cadillac DTS with 40K miles for $6,500 (Grandma died and no one wants the car).
I can't even count the number of so called "low miles" cars I've looked at. To me, low miles for a 6 year old car would be 70K or less, not 120K. And I'm really tired of people saying,
"Well, it has 160K miles, but it is all highway miles". What a joke. If you are talking highway miles in Dallas, you are talking about sitting in quite a few traffic jambs over a 6 year period.

Another thing some sellers on Craigslist neglect to tell you is the vehicle they are selling has a Salvage Title. One of the first cars I looked at purchasing was a low mileage (65K) 2007 Honda Accord for which I thought was a really good price. When the owner brought the title to me, it was a Salvage title. I called my auto insurance company, they ran the VIN, and then told me they wouldn't allow coverage on this vehicle. I signed up for a year of CarFax after that incident.

Maybe I have unrealistic expectations, I just don't know. My daughter may not like it, but her first car will probably be a Granny mobile.
 
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