Resale price, wha happened?
 

I didn't realize a P5's resale drops like a rock! According to Kelley's Blue book, My 2002 P5 with 5500 miles on it, went from a new price of $18,300, to around $13,500 used retail price. That's almost as bad a drop in price as my Neon took after a year!

I didn't know Proteges had such bad resale. Wha happened???

Thank god! :bt:

drops of 30% are pretty common especially in this used car market. (0% killed it) We got a really good deal on ours so we went from 14800 to between 9925 for Kelly Blue and 12300 for NADA. Different dealers do differet things so standards are different. Trade in really sucks right now. Just be glad you didn't get a focus or other domestic car. (contours got hit really hard especially fter being disconintued The SVT's went from 25k new to about 13k in about 3 years.)
By the way NADA was at 14k for you. (didn't know if its and ATX or MTX)

Dont rely just on the books... trust me. Its all in appearance and how well you maintain your car. I bet if you tried to sell yours for 15 you would get it. (hopefully you babied your car like some freaks do)

;)

I do

But then again, I dont plan on selling my car, so i could care less what the resale value of the car.

Hold on to it until the economy starts to kick back up and then get a good value selling it (but not as many incentives at the dealership) or sell it now (not really recommended so soon after you bought it) and get really good incentives. The values will stop falling so fast when the economy gets better and more people are shopping used.

Exactly true. The late-model used car market is in a major slump right now due to aggressive pricing and incentives on new cars.

Let's do some payment calculations... let's say that the dealer gives you a $1,000 discount and 0% interest on a new car with an MSRP of $18,300.

$17,300 at 0% interest for 60 months = $288.33 per month

Now let's say you buy a $13,500 car on a typical late-model used car note with an annual interest rate of 8%.

$13,500 at 8% interest for 60 months = $273.73 per month

*This* is why your resale value is low. :( However, don't feel bad: this is hitting EVERYBODY right now, with the exception of carmakers that sell very high-dollar products with no incentives (Porsche, Ferrari etc.) and carmakers that don't usually offer incentives (Honda and Saturn).

My advice: keep your car for a while before you think about selling it.

Re: Resale price, wha happened?
 

You drove it off the lot.

The second you drive it away, it drops like a rock. No joke you could take the car back 10 minutes later and the trade in would be like $5000 less :) It's like that with most cars.

I've owned several new cars, and the only one that I've had drop that much was a 99 Neon R/T that my son now drives. I never thought I'd see a Japanese model drop that much.

yup, the resale market on nearly-new vehicles sucks right now...

the good news that if you're looking to buy, it's great.

I just picked up my 2002 P5 20k miles, springs, $1k in stereo, shifter, exhaust etc etc etc for right at $11k.


just keep your car.

Proteges have pretty high depreciation for the time being it seems..

I'm looking at a 1999 DX for $3500 in my area to get a second Pro with.. but I'm pretty torn on if I really want/need another DX.. 91k miles on it.

I like the car, it's just that I have a need for speed that the P5 doesn't provide. I thought I could do without it when I bought the car, but I was wrong.

I also have a 93 Corvette that I was disgusted with at the time of the P5 purchase. It was costing me a bundle in repairs and I was sick of being without a car when it was in the shop. My plan was to sell it in the spring of this year. But now I feel better about putting more money into it, or possibly still selling it and getting an RX-8 or a new Mustang Mach1. Trouble is, either way I go, I have to sell the P5. I don't want to have a car payment AND put money into the Vette. Nor do I want 2 car payments.

BTW, I might be in better shape if I had just financed the P5 by itself. Unfortunately, with the temptation of 0% financing, I also included the tax, title, license, etc. in the loan. Even with S-Plan pricing and 0% financing at 4 years, I'm still upside down.

Re: Resale price, wha happened?
 

You got screwed! I got my 2002 with all options except for auto and the 6-disc changer (I was gonna change the system anyway), list price was $18,200 and I got it for $15,000! However, I have 16,500 miles on my car so my resale value is probably lower than yours anyway.

No, I didn't get screwed. The $18,300 was the LIST price, not what I paid for it.
Since I am eligible for the S-Plan price, I paid in the mid $16's for it. Not as good as your price, but still a good discount for a small car.

Did you get a rebate along with 0%? Or maybe the dealer just wanted to unload it?

Re: Re: Resale price, wha happened?
 

Wow!!Great deal!! Did you get it at Fairbanks?
When did you get it. I got mine there for 16 with auto(sport) and sunroof in July and I thought I got a good deal. Maybe I should have waited a few months. Is yours an original or mid year refresh?

I dont know why your surprised? New car values have always dropped like a rock after the first and second year. Buying a 4 year old car generally gives you a good compromise between vehicle age, condition and depreciation.

I bought my 2000 ES for $7200.00 in 2002. It was exactly two years old according to the original sales date. The car cost new around $14-$15K.
I saved 1/2 by buying two years old, and from private owner, not to mention i happened on a good deal.

If you dont want to thow your money away, consider buying used next time.

Even though I love having a new car, I must admit you make a good point. Used cars are definitely the way to go if you get the itch to switch cars frequently.

I'm not surprised that new car values drop after purchase, but for a Japanese model to drop so much is, to me, unusual.

I get a good deal on some new cars by working for a Ford subsidiary. But unless I
become fabulously wealthy, I think I've purchased my last new car.

Well, I dont think any car has a good reputation for holding resale value, japenese or not, with the possible exception of toyota and Honda in the current market. Maybe Mercedes also.

I have heard Toyotas build quality is dropping, so they might not hold thiers as much in the future.

If you want to buy new, buy a car thats holds it value more, like a Honda or Toyota Truck. If you want to buy a car used, buy a car that doesnt hold it value(so your not paying new car prices for a used car) like a Mazda or others....

Just my theory.....but Im poor, so I have to worry about these things. Most people probably dont think about it as much...

I don't mean to be argumentative, but I have been buying cars for 20 years, and I haven't seen a Japanese model drop like this. But looking at other responses to my post, I think I agree that for the most part, the biggest reason for the drop is the availability of 0% financing.

Anyway, I guess I will be keeping the car for awhile longer. It's a nice car and the 0% interest isn't killing me. I probably will get a short shifter for it and get the windows tinted for summer. Also needs somewhat of a horsepower jolt.

Thanks for your input.

Why would 0% financing cause your cars value to drop faster than it would otherwise?

It is TYPICAL for a new car to lose 1/3 of its resale value after 2 years.

Its been this way for quite some time now. Maybe it wasnt that way 20 years ago, but it has been for at least the last 8 years or so that I have been paying attention to this stuff..... You even experienced it yourself already with your Neon....lol..I think your just in denial...:)

Re: Re: Re: Resale price, wha happened?
 

Fairbanks, in May '02, I just bargained with the guys and told them that I had been to a few other dealers, including the other Fairbanks in Ft. Lauderdale, which I had. I really shopped around and didn't want any dealer BS when I finally bought it. Got in and out of the dealer in less than 3 hours.

Actually you got about the same deal as me, since I didn't get automatic or the 6-disc changer. I got the sunroof though, and they gave me the alloy wheels free :) .

Also, my financing was 6.9%. Not the greatest, but this is my first financed car, and my first new car. Also, the car only had 35 miles on it.

Another thing: as bad as it sounds for our cars, take a look at the 2nd gen Eclipses (95-99). Those things dropped like an anvil!

I have to go back to what someone already posted, you can buy a used car with a sticker price of 4 grand less, but you might make up for most of that in interest rates. With 0% and new, your payment is a little more each month, but you have a brand new car. So, the incentives are there, but it just depends on whether you're talking about buying a used car that's two years old or four. Right now with 0%, if you're looking at an '01, you might as well buy new...just my opinion. But I also agree that I might have to go used next time (4 years old maybe), as long as I can get a good interest rate...

while lower interest rates can be an small incentive to go new over used, not everybody finances a car purchase.

Good point. I guess I can't assume that everyone is as broke-ass poor as I am. Come on powerball....

I just dont see the savings. If I finance a used car, its going to be thousands less than a new car, and even with the higher interest rate, would cost a lot less. And since I dont want to make payments on a new car, thats what I do, or I buy something that i can pay for up front with out borrowing money.

But you do have a point......however weak it might be.

Only a very small percentage when you are talking about new cars. Which is why lower interest rates are a HUGE incentive to purchase a new car versus a late model used one (where you will pay a much higher interest rate even without the incentives). Simple easy economics.

I qualified my statement by saying that if you're going to buy a used car that's less than 2 years old, with all of the incentives available right now, you might as well buy a new car. If you're looking to spend $7,000, then you either buy something that's 4-5 years old, or you buy a new Kia. But if you want to spend $13k on a used car, then you might want to consider spending $16k with no interest on a brand new car.

Agreed, although I spent $7000 on a 2 year old car. It pays to shop around.

I have to agree with Mach1's statement completely.. in my car-buying experience I have come up with a simple plan: If you want to buy new, get a Honda, Subaru, Toyota/Lexus or VW. If you want to buy used, get a Mazda, Nissan/Infiniti or Mitsubishi (or something Korean or American I wouldn't even consider). Here in Los Angeles, 2-3 year old Hondas, VWs and the like sell for near-new prices and aren't even worth considering. On the other hand, new Mazdas are ridiculously overpriced here and loaded with dealer add-ons, while a 2-3 year old one has dropped by half! My '99 ES was advertised at $5900 from a dealer several miles from home and I had no qualms about driving there and paying sticker price -- especially when my local dealers were selling DX and LX models for at least $3k more!

Sounds like you got a great deal on your ES. Rare, especially from a dealer.

Yeah, used VW's are overpriced also, considering thier sub-par quality compared to the jap cars. I didnt realize suburas held thier value so much.

A strange thing I noticed worth noting: In central GA, where I live, there are virtually NO suburus anywhere! No dealers, and no used one available for sale. I was considering a used Legacy, and was completly shocked when I searched all over the internet and newspapers to find that there just arent any in this area. Strange...Even the huge atlanta area had extremly little to no suburus..

With interest rates as low as they are no one is buying used. Why buy used? No warranty, higher interest, and less of a choice of options. I have seen many 20,000 + cars going for as little 13,000. That's is why when you buy a new car you get what you want.

I think it's a bad idea to buy a used car unless it's a 30 year old Super Beetle. I wasn't about to give 13,000 or even 6000 to some dealer that might not even be there next week. Here in Central Florida they come and go like crazy. Not to mention you have no idea how the person or persons that owned the car before you drove or if they changed the oil every 12000 miles or what the hell they did to it. I'd rather make the payment and not have the worries. And then in 3-4 years I have a great used car that's all mine and I can account for every single mile on the odometer.:) :) :)