Well that's the used market, right?

If people want to save a few grand on a gently used car, they will purchase a used vehicle.

 

I truly don't understand what point this post is even trying to get across beyond being contrarian and outrageous for the sake of baiting replies. Depreciation is not an "estimate"- it is the actual drop in value of a vehicle after a few years. Nothing you've written in this thread (among others) has any basis in reality.

 

+1. Exactly!

 

I give people benefit of the doubt cuz nobody is an expert of everything, we ALL say funny things.

For sure I will be coming here for car buying advice from ya'll but at the minimum I know that availability and demand and maybe other things I haven't thought about sets the price.
Took a coupe semesters of economics so I only know the basics but we didn't cover cars so sure there is much more to the story. lol

The formula of "useful life" divided my miles & years does not work and very flawed. IMO

All I like to say is if a professional salesman gives someone a pitch like that, they are knowingly trying to deceive you and are a first class BS artist. haha

 

Why do you think the value of a vehicle drops after a few years? Its wear and tear.

I'm sorry that you may not understand my post. But that's the whole point of discussion.

 

I don't understand your post either, what you described has generally not been my experience. The only cars that I have purchased that retained more of their value (or are worth more than when new) are considered collectable and not really what the op is asking about.

 

Some of the things I say can be against the grain. I'm not claiming expertise, or even very knowledgeable in the used car scene or even to be correct. But, I have sold a few of my own cars privately with major success in terms of profit and lost majorly because I didn't hold out.

But bare with me and let me explain why I see it the way I do.

When you purchase a vehicle, what you are getting is a vehicle. Anything and everything that you do, is up to you. Unless you are leasing, no one has a say to what you do to the car. But we're talking about full ownership here. You determine your car's value, NOT THE DEALERSHIP or anyone else. If someone offers you 10 grand for something that you feel is worth 50 grand, do automatically sell it? Of course not. So why agree on someone else's depreciation standards or metrics? The buyer is out there for what you want to get for the car, of course it has to be realistic also. And to sell you just may have to hold out longer.

When you trade in your car, the dealership low ***** you!(have they ever gave you more than you wanted?) And then they end up selling the car for much more. This is nothing new. So, depreciation is nothing more than an offer or an opinion from the opposing party for what they want to give you for your car, this is not the same as for how much they value your car, as there's a conflict of interest in buying or reselling.

The 200k mile metric I think is a good metric to go by(subject to change)

 

This is just blatantly 110% false. THE MARKET, what someone is willing to pay for an item, is what determines that item’s value. Period.

 

That is true to an extent. But he market consist of many different buyers. Don't take the first offer at your doorstep. This nothing new.

However, you should be selling the car for what you feel the car is worth, not the market.

The buyer is out there. You may just have to hold onto the vehicle longer in order to find that buyer.

I once sold a very low mileage Lexus in pristine condition for much lower than it was worth. All it needed was new tires as it sat for so long. That experience has taught me this great lesson.

 

You live in a different world than I do. I would love to find that buyer you are talking about, I have a bunch of stuff sitting in my garage I need to unload

 

No. Not really. After 3 years a car might be worth 40% or 60% of what it cost new, depending on the condition. But it’s not going to be worth 85% just because you think you will get that if you wait it out. The market is the market. And just because you only have used up 15% (30,000 miles) of a 200,000 car in 3 years doesn’t mean the car will fetch the remaining 85% in the actual market. No matter how long you wait.

I need to be done with this nonsense. Again, good luck to you.

 

I'm sorry but my car isn't going to be worth 40% of new 3 years down the road, especially if its been cared for meticulously and depending on usage. You can sell your car for that much if you want. But I won't. And whoever buys its for that price is one lucky person!(ahem dealership)

 

It's not going to be worth 85% either. Not even 70%.

 

No car holds value all that well from new to the 3 year mark, half is normal.....when the warranty runs out you loose another half of the half. The only timing buying new makes sense is if you have ability to write it off as an expense and have the lease/purchase be "free"

When buying used you need to buy them after the two main falloff points or buy a car that will appreciate in value. However you can't drive a collectible much so that only applies if you have space to keep some to make money on. Plus you need to know what is going to appreciate....

If you buy new you need to accept that you have to trade the car quite often to retain most of the value and in that instance just lease it, only buy it if you want to keep it forever or you know it will retain enough value to be okay with you when you do plan to sell it.

 

They all hold their value well if you know how to maintain the car, having patience looking for the buyer, and being able to sell the vehicle. Most people don't do this. So they take the "loss" or the "depreciation" hit.

As for warranty, don't really need to worry about it if the car has good maintenance records. The biggest expense is the engine and transmission. Everything else is minor.