Used vehicle prices are ridiculous!

[Fenixgoon]

all depends on which used cars you look at. I was seeing 2004 GTO's w/ ~50k miles go for ~13,000. seems pretty reasonable to me for a 350hp V8 muscle car.

 

[zerocool84]

Anything Toyota/Honda are horribly overpriced used.

 

[kornphlake]

When I see a car that is ridiculously cheap, I always wonder what's wrong with it. Dodge vehicles lose their value at an astounding rate and I can't help but think there's a reason for it. Why is this 5 year old Dodge Caravan only $2000? Does it even work? Why does an equivalent van from GM or Honda cost more than twice as much? There's probably a reason.

There are a few lucky people who drive Caravans for 200k miles, I believe they're the exception. Without a lifetime drive train warranty I wouldn't expect one to last much more than 100k miles (which is often 3-4 years for a mom bus) without significant repair costs. I test drove 4-5 caravans with 70-100k miles, all of them had transmission problems I noticed during a short test drive. People sell Caravans cheap because they want to get rid of them before they have to be towed, someone might buy a van that runs, even if it runs rough, there's always the chance that it can be repaired for less than $1000 and you come out several thousand ahead compared to buying a GM or Honda. If the transmission is shot and you can't even take it for a test drive it's not even worth $2k, I think people sell them cheap because they are worth a lot less as scrap.

Nobody has ever proven to me that buying new is a good investment (except honda and toyota if they are paid off and sold after 3-5 years) every spreadsheet I've ever seen shows that cost of ownership is significantly less when purchasing used. If you buy a $3000 car with 150K on the clock and can drive it for 50K (~5 years) without major problems you're doing okay, send it to the junk yard and buy another car for $3000 and drive it for another 5 years, at that point you've spent $6k over 10 years for a vehicle. To break even with a new car I'd have to spend $12K and have a vehicle that is worth $6k after 10 years. I'm not sure where I can find a new vehicle for $12K and I doubt that it will be worth $6K after 10 years, if I spent $30K (more realistic) on a new car there's no way it would be worth $24K after 10 years.

Of course the break even point all depends on what kind of prices you can find on a used vehicle, and how reliable it will actually be between 100-200k miles, how many miles you put on each year and other factors like sales tax, registration and MPG can shift the break even point one way or another too.

I bought my DD in 2002 for $3500, I've driven it 110k miles so far and plan on adding at least another 20k. I'm pretty sure I got lucky, but even if I'd had to buy something new 3-4 years ago I'd feel like I got my money out of it. Even a Toyota would depreciate at least $3500 over 4 years and 60K miles. Buying something cheap meant I didn't have to pay a cent of interest.

 

[ShawnD1]

Nobody has ever proven to me that buying new is a good investment (except honda and toyota if they are paid off and sold after 3-5 years) every spreadsheet I've ever seen shows that cost of ownership is significantly less when purchasing used. If you buy a $3000 car with 150K

You're mostly paying for the assurance that it hasn't been bagged.

My brother has bought 2 cars (Ford Escort and something else) where the spark plugs blew out after a few months. Upon closer inspection, we saw that the plugs were held in place with heli-coils. The plug blew out, a person put a heli-coil in, then sold the car. This happened twice.

My first car (Ford Tempo) had fucked up brakes and it would wear the front right brake much faster than the others. The person who sold that car obviously knew this.

My best friend bought an SUV (Chevy Blazer) that had some vacuum problems. It was good most of the time but it would randomly stall. It also had this very strange problem where the transmission or something connected to it wouldn't effectively transfer power when it was cold. The engine could rev way up while in drive and the wheels would barely turn. This problem didn't exist when it was warm outside; he bought this vehicle in the peak of summer.


I've bought 2 new cars in my life and so far neither of them have screwed up. My first one got up to 80,000km before some dickhead ran a stop sign and slammed into me. My current one is up to 7,000km and so far it's mechanically perfect. I'll probably keep buying new cars just because I know I won't need to deal with stupid shit like heli coils or fucked brakes or a sketchy transmission that doesn't work when it's cold. Used cars are only a good value if you're a car guy who recognizes common problems and knows how to fix them.

 

[jlee]

Anything Toyota/Honda are horribly overpriced used.

Which is all fine and good....but can you explain to me why my used truck is going for $4000 more than it went for over 1.5 years ago - and with 10k more miles? I'm not comparing it to anything else..I'm comparing it to itself!

 

[TridenT]

You're mostly paying for the assurance that it hasn't been bagged.

My brother has bought 2 cars (Ford Escort and something else) where the spark plugs blew out after a few months. Upon closer inspection, we saw that the plugs were held in place with heli-coils. The plug blew out, a person put a heli-coil in, then sold the car. This happened twice.

My first car (Ford Tempo) had fucked up brakes and it would wear the front right brake much faster than the others. The person who sold that car obviously knew this.

My best friend bought an SUV (Chevy Blazer) that had some vacuum problems. It was good most of the time but it would randomly stall. It also had this very strange problem where the transmission or something connected to it wouldn't effectively transfer power when it was cold. The engine could rev way up while in drive and the wheels would barely turn. This problem didn't exist when it was warm outside; he bought this vehicle in the peak of summer.


I've bought 2 new cars in my life and so far neither of them have screwed up. My first one got up to 80,000km before some dickhead ran a stop sign and slammed into me. My current one is up to 7,000km and so far it's mechanically perfect. I'll probably keep buying new cars just because I know I won't need to deal with stupid shit like heli coils or fucked brakes or a sketchy transmission that doesn't work when it's cold. Used cars are only a good value if you're a car guy who recognizes common problems and knows how to fix them.

This makes me unhappy that I am buying a used car. You bastard. 🙁

 

[fleabag]

Which is all fine and good....but can you explain to me why my used truck is going for $4000 more than it went for over 1.5 years ago - and with 10k more miles? I'm not comparing it to anything else..I'm comparing it to itself!

Price of gasoline dropped considerably. When gas was high, so were econoboxes and SUV and anything that got poor mileage had huge depreciation.

 

[jlee]

Price of gasoline dropped considerably. When gas was high, so were econoboxes and SUV and anything that got poor mileage had huge depreciation.

If this thread is any indicator, other prices have gone up as well. Maybe it's not so much that the value increased, as much as the previous depreciation lessened? Same thing essentially..different way of looking at it. I dunno.

I'm just glad I'm not buying one now.

 

[rh71]

I would NEVER spend over $5k on a used [passenger] car... I don't care if it was $50k new, I'd never spend something like $30k of my cash on something someone else may have abused and could call for a major repair at any moment. For $30k of my hard-earned dollars, it better be in new condition. It just doesn't feel right. Used passenger car: reliable Hondas for ~$5k and be done with it. If you really want to drive a nice car but can't afford it, lease like most other people in debt for the wrong reasons.

 

[ShawnD1]

If you really want to drive a nice car but can't afford it, lease like most other people in debt for the wrong reasons.

Do people lease cars? I thought only large companies did that (down time is expensive so it's best to always have newish vehicles)


Maybe I'll try the opposite. Instead of having a Lexus and hanging onto it long after it starts to suck ass, I'll just get a new beater every few years. Hyundai Elantra is kinda shitty but it's so cheap! I could buy a new one every time the brakes or tires need to be replaced.

 

[Gillbot]

Yes, people still get suckered into leases all the time.

All of my Chrysler Minivans had transmission issues starting at ~25k miles.

 

[KK]

Mine is an '06 with the X-SP package (leather, 20" Enkei rims, running boards, front skid plate and that's about it). I have 29k miles on it right now.

$24,820 retail
$22,070 private
$18,425 trade

The prices have gone up within the past year. Last year this priced out around $2k lower in all 3 categories.

I have the same truck, love it.

I was looking at another forum at their swap and sell, someone is trying to sell an 07 tacoma 2wd w/ 36k miles for 22,500. I just had to laugh at that one. I don't think I could sell my tundra for that.

 

[Raizinman]

Any vehicle is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. The used car market was going crazy when the cash for clunkers program started and is bouncing back and forth right now, but will stabilize soon. Any dealer can stick any price they want on any car in their lot. It doesn't mean they are going to get that price and most likely they will not. The used car market is down right now mainly because: Too many people out of work and cannot afford a new car. People utilized the cash for clunkers program and the people who were going to buy, already bought. People due to lost wages are forced to sell off their extra cars to pay bills and mortgage.

 

[x-alki]

I was looking at used cars this summer and after visiting a couple dealers I said screw it, I'm not paying those prices and really didn't want to go in debt on a car. I decided ask people at work if knew of any privately owned used cars. I also drove around the back roads looking for a privately owned car. I found a 2001 Regal for $1000. 3 things wrong with it. The odometer didn't work, the anitlock brakes didn't work and the gas gauge is goofy. The owner said it had around 125K when the odometer went and he didn't drive it much after that. I didn't care about the things that were wrong with it because it ran great, rode nice and was cheap.

 

[Elfear]

I would NEVER spend over $5k on a used [passenger] car... I don't care if it was $50k new, I'd never spend something like $30k of my cash on something someone else may have abused and could call for a major repair at any moment. For $30k of my hard-earned dollars, it better be in new condition. It just doesn't feel right. Used passenger car: reliable Hondas for ~$5k and be done with it. If you really want to drive a nice car but can't afford it, lease like most other people in debt for the wrong reasons.

I think there are some awesome deals out there if you're willing to buy used. There is probably no chance that I will ever be able to buy a brand new Z06 Vette ($70k+) but I can find a 3-4yr old one for $30-35k. Same goes for any number of sports cars or luxury barges. Yes you run the risk of getting a car that someone has pounded on, but that risk can be mitigated to a large degree. If you have the car thoroughly checked out by a competent mechanic, I'd say 90% of the time you'll be fine. The other 10% you may end up paying for some unexpected repairs.

Without the used car market, many of the automobiles that car guys lust over would be unattainable. It really comes down to doing your homework and checking the car over before buying.

 

[vi edit]

I would NEVER spend over $5k on a used [passenger] car... I don't care if it was $50k new, I'd never spend something like $30k of my cash on something someone else may have abused and could call for a major repair at any moment. For $30k of my hard-earned dollars, it better be in new condition. It just doesn't feel right. Used passenger car: reliable Hondas for ~$5k and be done with it. If you really want to drive a nice car but can't afford it, lease like most other people in debt for the wrong reasons.

Even if it was a program car that had 2k miles on and originally stickered for $26k and you only paid $15k for it?

Because that's what one of my cars was. I got about 95% of the B2B warranty of a new car at about a 55% of the original cost.

It felt pretty "right" to me.

 

[BarneyFife]

Car's with under 50k miles don't break too easily. Not sure why its wrong buying a used BMW thats 3 years old with a CPO and saving $20k in depreciation. You still have a warranty up to 100k miles. I always praise buying used cars.

 

[SSSnail]

You know why? Supplies and demands.

 

[TridenT]

You know why? Supplies and demands.

Probably that. People losing their jobs and selling their newer cars and getting older used cars probably?

It can kinda suck living in a big city trying to find a good used car. They sell within a few hours of being posted on craigslist in the morning... 🙁 (You post it at 10AM and someone will buy it all said and done by 1PM if it's a good deal)

 

[VinylxScratches]

Probably that. People losing their jobs and selling their newer cars and getting older used cars probably?

It can kinda suck living in a big city trying to find a good used car. They sell within a few hours of being posted on craigslist in the morning... 🙁 (You post it at 10AM and someone will buy it all said and done by 1PM if it's a good deal)

Yeah man, you might as well just quit and ride a bike 🙁

 

[TridenT]

Yeah man, you might as well just quit and ride a bike 🙁

Already ride a bike and the bus, bro.

 

[yhelothar]

Which is all fine and good....but can you explain to me why my used truck is going for $4000 more than it went for over 1.5 years ago - and with 10k more miles? I'm not comparing it to anything else..I'm comparing it to itself!

Uh just because one dealer decides to list your truck at a rip off price, it doesn't it's worth that much, nor does it mean it's going to sell, nor does it mean that all used cars are rip offs.
🙄

 

[jlee]

Uh just because one dealer decides to list your truck at a rip off price, it doesn't it's worth that much, nor does it mean it's going to sell, nor does it mean that all used cars are rip offs.
🙄

Incapable of reading the whole thread, are ya?

The cheapest one I found on Autotrader in the entire country (black 05 4x4 V8 auto with less than 60k) is a double cab (vs my x-cab) with more options, but it also has almost 60k and is $19,995. Maybe I just suck at finding deals now.

Looks like I got lucky when I was looking before.

 

[Slew Foot]

I bought my Acura TL-S for 32K, this next year when i took it in for an oil change they had the same model used with 12K miles for 35K.

 

[Gillbot]

IMHO, it's the publuc assuming they are getting a better deal when buying used. Dealers are pushing up the prices and people are paying them.