buy new car to take advantage of high used car prices?

[Joe1]

I usually keep my cars for 10+ years, but was surprised a bit at what my 2015 Impreza was worth when l ran it through the KBB site. Even with 80k miles, it seems to be worth more than half of what l paid for it new. l ran it through the site a few months back and l recall the quoted prices being lower.

First, is it realistic to believe the prices quoted for trade in and private sale values on these car sites?

Second, are new car prices also inflated? My plan is to buy a new car in low demand likely to be discounted such as a sedan. Accord, Camry, Sonata etc. Is it realistic to expect a steep discount on a new variety of one of the aforementioned vehicles?

I'm thinking it may be worthwhile idea to explore further, but l haven't been following new car prices lately. If l can get a good offer for the Subaru combined with a steep discount on a new sedan that people don't buy nowadays, it might induce me to deviate from my "drive it till the wheels fall off strategy".

 

[JeffKeryk]

I would start by pricing the car you want; we should be into end of year pricing.
If that makes sense, put your Subie up for sale ans see if anyone bites.

Or maybe cut to the chase and see what a dealer would offer you on trade in.

 

[sloinker]

Used car shortage, new car shortage. I imagine the dealers will get their pound of flesh either way. It is amazing how few total cars are populating the dealerships. I know the local Ram dealer utilizes a hillside to store hundreds of new pickups, flatbeds, cab only, promasters etc.....I would guess there are less than 40 units right now. I would hold on to my car if there isn't any abiding reason to get a different one.

 

[earlyre]

my brother has had a couple superfluous vehicles for several years, few months back(Feb?) he tried out the "let us make you an offer" bit of carvana for his 2015 Challenger. (~5k mi)
they offered him around $24k...he thought about it, for too long, and that offer expired(only good for 7 days).

A few weeks later tired again, that offer was $19k. nope...

cut for ward 4 months or so, he's decided to keep the Chally, and sell the Volt, b/c Insurers are totaling Volts for any little claim. at the last second, he tries the Chally w/ Carvana again.....$27k .
SOLD.
they picked it up and gave him a check 2 days ago.

 

[928]

New cars depending on the brand often have either "o" or very low financing. Worth considering

 

[miden851]

many CU are offering finance as low as 1.99% for used vehicles if you qualify of course

OP keep your eye on all segments of the purchasing process, trade in estimate, price for the new car, and financial offices; dealers are in business of making money so if you have an attractive offer for your existing car that does not translate to the best deal possible in the end

 

[Nick1994]

It depends on what you want to buy. Cars like Camry's, buy new.

Interested in a Hyundai? Definitely buy used and you'll get a great deal. My $53k when new Genesis, I paid $20k. I had a 15' Sonata that I bought for $10k in early 2017.

 

[eljefino]

I'd say it depends on what you're buying, not all the makers shut down factories for the same amount of time. And some may have had many months' worth of supply before the 'rona.

Beware the urge to think "now is the time to buy because..." with reasoning, reinforced by the salesman. Crunch the numbers like any other deal. Dealers may be especially keen for your subie before winter if it snows where you live. And if there's a new subaru shortage.

 

[jimbrewer]

I guess I agree with Eljefino. The cheapest car to drive is always going to be the one that you have now if it’s still serviceable.

When the time comes, run to daylight. At the moment the market is tilted away from used and away from sedans. So new mid-sized sedans might be the place to look—-if you are in the market. Might be completely different in six or nine months.

 

[sloinker]

Lot of good things being said about the newest Jetta's. 0% 72 month financing......you can also still get a manual transmission. If I was in the market for basic transportation I would test drive one. If you need AWD, keep what you have.

This is representative of prices online all over the country:

New Volkswagen Jetta for Sale in Casper, WY - CarGurus

Save $4,297 on a Volkswagen Jetta near you. Search over 11,300 Volkswagen Jetta listings to find the best deals in Casper, WY. We analyze millions of used cars daily.

www.cargurus.com

 

[Joe1]

Thanks for the replies. I researched car prices a bit and determined that the prices of new cars are relatively firm.
When taxes, destination cost, hidden dealer fees, increased insurance costs etc are added in, it probably makes the most sense to keep the reliable Subaru.

 

[wdn]

The Subaru Impreza has the highest resale value of any automobile. They maintain the highest retained value of any car.

 

[WagonWheel]

You won’t know for sure until you solicit quotes, especially if you are looking at a base model or a well equipped trim.

This was a recent interesting read from the WSJ on how things are shaking out in a “bifurcated” market:

Car Sales Are Down Almost 20%, but Prices Are Setting Records

 

[JeffKeryk]

Thanks for the replies. I researched car prices a bit and determined that the prices of new cars are relatively firm.
When taxes, destination cost, hidden dealer fees, increased insurance costs etc are added in, it probably makes the most sense to keep the reliable Subaru.

Curious.... Did you get any quotes? For what vehicles?
On Friday I got a quote for a top-of-the-line Lexus RX450h F-Sport that stickered for almost $64K.
Including 9.125% CA tax and $600 registration, the OTD price was $56K.
I would have bought it but they only had blue and silver. We want white. The F-Sport only red interior is fabulous...

 

[UncleDave]

" buy new car to take advantage of high used car prices?"

That's like fighting for peace.

 

[GON]

KBB Dealer retail is the average of what NEW car dealers are ASKING for a USED car on their lot. KBB Dealer retail has NOTHING at all to do for what the car sells for or what the car should appraise for. KBB Dealer retail, along with NADA, are tools to help justify higher retail selling prices and support a financial institution allowing a higher loan to value.

KBB dealer retail should never be used as part of a used car purchase negotiation- ever - as it is not based on the selling price of a car whatsoever.

For me- I use Black Book to know the value of a car. It is updated WEEKLY and is the average price of vehicles SOLD at auction. You know what a vehicle sold for at auction for last week... you have a hard place to start what you will pay or sell for.

And of course- today it is a Sellers market on used cars. I don't understand it at all, maybe stimulus checks, maybe shortages of new cars, beats me. I am being transferred and decided not to move one of my seven vehicles. I thought it to be worth 4-5k for the right buyer, a hard car to sell. Asked $9.5k, sold for 8.8k........ I priced it high as I really did not want to sell it, and was surprised at the amount of interest in a 2005 vehicle and that it would sell for so much more than I thought it should, or even would of sold for 24 months ago.

Crazy time to buy a used car...... GREAT TIME TO SELL A USED CAR, where in our lifetime have used daily drivers gone up in value until now?

 

[Joe1]

Being this thread was bumped, l will provide an update. l recently traded the Subaru in, but had to go out of state to get a reasonable trade-in for it. The car had an MSRP of 23.9K, 2015 model with 85k miles. l was offered 7k trade locally, but 9k out of state. Car is now listed for $12.5k after reconditioning.
The local dealers in my urban area said they could only turn the car over to a wholesaler because of mileage, hence, low trade offer. The dealer in the rural area had a huge lot and put it up for sale. I have no idea if what local dealer said was true but l got a much better deal on new car price and trade in shopping in multiple states.
I find it hard to believe that a 6 year old car with 85k miles with fetch 50% of MSRP.

 

[jhs914]

Being this thread was bumped, l will provide an update. l recently traded the Subaru in, but had to go out of state to get a reasonable trade-in for it. The car had an MSRP of 23.9K, 2015 model with 85k miles. l was offered 7k trade locally, but 9k out of state. Car is now listed for $12.5k after reconditioning.
The local dealers in my urban area said they could only turn the car over to a wholesaler because of mileage, hence, low trade offer. The dealer in the rural area had a huge lot and put it up for sale. I have no idea if what local dealer said was true but l got a much better deal on new car price and trade in shopping in multiple states.
I find it hard to believe that a 6 year old car with 85k miles with fetch 50% of MSRP.

So what did you buy?

 

[dareo]

50% at 6 years and 85k sounds about right for a popular japanese car. Our Accort sport was pretty much exactly there sold private party.

Shopping trade ins with dealers is rough. They will be all over the place. I should get my Vroom check monday for our TourX, they offered well and are reselling it for barely 10% more. Regular car lots insist on more margin than that and cannot market nearly as well as Vroom/carvana.

 

[Jason2007]

I'm in the process of selling my 2018 Frontier to Vroom. I paid $19.6k for it last April with 35k on and Vroom is giving me $21.4k with 45k on it. Crazy times we live in.