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Trade-in/resale value only matters if you want something new every few years. I wring every last drop of life out of a vehicle until it's gone, salvage what's good, and scrap what's left. I commute in a 2001 Corolla with 226K that runs like a top and gets 30 MPG, my weekend hauler is a 1991 Toyota 4x4 Pickup with a 165K, and my wife's 2009 Kia Borrego is a spring chicken with 80K.
I'll push the Corolla to 300K (another four years), and then pick up a 2016 Corolla or Camry off lease assuming I still have an 80 mile round trip commute. The hubs and wheels off the 2001 Corolla will make a nice small double axle trailer and the seats will go in my pickup just for starters.
My point is an 09 Camry, Accord, Legacy or even Altima all wholesale within $500 of each other. I even throw in the Sonata which is supposed to be a second tier car.
Actually, I didn’t make a mistake. We didn’t sell. In fact, I was tempted to say to my son for $5500 I will buy it from you. In any event, looks like he is going to keep it. BTW, 09 Legacy is being retailed anywhere from 10K-12K.
He could sell it private sale for $9-10K, especially if he waits til the first snow storm. That of course assumes its in nice condition.
Quote:
Originally Posted by blueherons
Who in the world ever buys a car for resale value???
Seriously?
Buy what you want.
I tend to agree with you, BUT, if you plan on getting a new car in a shorter time period (and many folks won't own a car out of warranty,) then it is worth considering. If you're buying used, or plan to keep it long enough that it won't matter, or have the money, then don't worry.
I've always bought what I like with an eye toward reliability and driven the vehicles until the wheels fell off. I see no reason to trade in a perfectly functional car. Several years ago, I had a discussion with my mom, who could not understand why I was still driving a twelve-year-old car. "Surely," she said, "you can afford a new car." I asked her what I should do with my current car. She replied, "Sell it to a college student." I asked her how long she thought the college student would drive it. She thought five or more years. I asked her why I should sell a car that costs me so little to insure, fuel, and register in favor of a new car if it still had five or more years on it. She thought that was a good point. Then, she and my dad traded in their three-year-old sedan for a brand new sedan. Sigh.
BTW, that now seventeen-year-old car is still going strong.
That car in the hands of a college student wouldn’t last a year. I know because I have had college age kids drive. Between the three of them they destroyed three cars. One overheated but he drove it until it stopped. Oil, coolant, brakes etc. are all foreign to them. Another one just died and we never figured out why.
I've always bought what I like with an eye toward reliability and driven the vehicles until the wheels fell off. I see no reason to trade in a perfectly functional car. Several years ago, I had a discussion with my mom, who could not understand why I was still driving a twelve-year-old car. "Surely," she said, "you can afford a new car." I asked her what I should do with my current car. She replied, "Sell it to a college student." I asked her how long she thought the college student would drive it. She thought five or more years. I asked her why I should sell a car that costs me so little to insure, fuel, and register in favor of a new car if it still had five or more years on it. She thought that was a good point. Then, she and my dad traded in their three-year-old sedan for a brand new sedan. Sigh.
BTW, that now seventeen-year-old car is still going strong.
Do you pay to fix it or do you do it yourself? I'd bet your parents don't want to fix a car out of warranty and figure that money could be better spent getting a new car with a warranty and the latest safety features instead. Don't be so quick to judge.
My car is 15 years old and I plan on driving it at least another 5 years, but my wife's car is a new lease under warranty so that I don't have to deal with it if it breaks AND she's got the latest safety gear in it. In her case, resale (residual value) matters.
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