Things are worse than I thought...

[Hermann]

Drove by a relativley new Ford Dealership early this morning, and the place is usually lit with 10 Quadrillion candlepower of lights. This morning only 1 out of 4 poles was lit. Times are really bad when the dealer would rather save a few bucks, than to make sure you can see the mercahndise .

 

[ViragoBry]

I went to a different Saturn dealer yesterday after work just to see if anything would go differently. It was a better experience in nearly every way.

I drove a 2008 Astra XR 3-door and really liked it. Tight handling and peppy for only 1.8 liters. I've always liked the look of the car since it first hit the pages of the car mags. There's nothing else quite like it in the compact world.

Even though the price for the Astra was good, the trade-in offer for my car was horrid ($14,000), so I bid them farewell and promised to re-visit when / if the market was back in shape.

 

[BrianWC]

Too bad you can't get what you want w/ your trade. They didn't give you a good enough deal on the Astra to offset it?

 

[ViragoBry]

My car's NADA trade-in value falls between $18K and $19K. I owe $21K. They offered $14K.

Their price on the Astra is around $17.5K. I could probably talk them down to something in the $16.5 range, but the numbers would never come close enough to making that deal work.

 

[mpvue]

we're is the mother of all Catch-22's- everyone has a car they are upside down on, living in upside down equity houses, car dealers need to sell of the glut of new car inventory, they can't, people can't trade in a car they owe on, banks won't give money to these same people, yadda, yadda, yadda.
wealth and value are all artificial constructs. a car is only 'worth' what someone will pay you for it. doesn't matter what a book says; if someone will only give you $14K, that IS what it is worth. what do you really think THEY can sell it for? maybe $16? even that is doubtful.
the country is in a world of hurt of its own making. soeciety cannot keep on buying things w/o actually paying for them.
you've got a cool car, just suck it up and hold on to it. it's just like your 401k; it's value is also in the toilet, but getting rid of it is worse than just sucking it up and waiting it out.

 

[ViragoBry]

Oh believe me..I have no problem keeping this car. It's a dream to drive. I just mistakenly thought that now would be an opportune time to 1) Lower my payment and 2) Help out GM as much as I can. It was just a real eye-opening experience. This is the 17th car I've owned since 1986 and this is the first time I've been unable to get NADA or very close to NADA for one of my vehicles. Things are bad indeed.

 

[Win]

Originally Posted By: ViragoBry
This is the 17th car I've owned since 1986 and this is the first time I've been unable to get NADA or very close to NADA for one of my vehicles. Things are bad indeed.


Wow, the car companies ought to send you a Christmas card every year.

Including cars purchased for my wife and children, I have only owned 13 cars for personal use in my entire car buying lifetime. I still own five of them.

 

[Cutehumor]

I'm on my 4th vehicle in 14 years.

 

[ViragoBry]

My sister, 9 years my senior, is on her 8th vehicle since 1979. She makes fun of me a lot. "Oh, it's a year old...time to get rid of it, eh?"

My brother still has his 79 Ford pickup that he bought in 1981. I think we're complete opposites. He buys old, leaking [censored] and keeps them forever. He also currently owns a 1985 Bronco II, a 1990 Bronco and just sold a 199X Probe. We're all wondering what landfill candidate he'll buy next.

 

[dhise]

Originally Posted By: Cutehumor
I'm on my 4th vehicle in 14 years.


So am I and I still own three of them! Only one was bought new though.

 

[Dave Hess]

Sounds like you are unhappy that you are upside down and the dealer won't give you the trade in amount you want, thats your fault for buying a car you should have never purchased.

I think they call it "Buyer's Remorse"

 

[mpvue]

another Catch-22; car companies have to make quality vehicles to be able to sell them. people buy quality vehicles and keep them a long time. car companies can't sell more cars.
related: car companies make expensive cars w/ higher profit. customers have to finance them for longer period to be able to 'afford' payments. now, car company only has customer coming back every 6-8 yrs for a new car instead of 2-3 yrs.
in the interest of full disclosure: my '04 VUE just passed 60K, good car, no reason to get rid of it except I like new shiny things. very reliable, economical. my other car, '96 MPV, is nickle and diming me big time. but I can't afford a modern replacement (like an outlook/acadia, or CX-9) so I'm stuck keeping it running.

 

[ViragoBry]

Originally Posted By: LT4 Vette
Sounds like you are unhappy that you are upside down and the dealer won't give you the trade in amount you want, thats your fault for buying a car you should have never purchased.

I think they call it "Buyer's Remorse"


Assuming a lot here, aren't you? Not once did I say I was unhappy nor have I ever said I regret buying the car. The circumstances caught me by surprise at worst. "Should've never purchased?" We all have to drive something, and I hardly think a Mazda 6 with a turbo and AWD is an extravagance.

If this is as nice as you can be, please move on. I didn't ask for opinions on my purchase decisions, but if you'd like an opinion on the fantastic plastic you're driving, keep your comments coming.

 

[gizzsdad]

Originally Posted By: mpvue
everyone has a car they are upside down on, living in upside down equity houses


"Everyone?" We owe zero on our 07 Frontier and on our 05 Maxima. Owe $19K on our $140K house. We are lower middle class - just have worked really hard at getting out of debt.

BTW, I always sell my cars outright, rather than trade. People who know me and the way I care for my vehicles will pay full retail for my car.

The funny thing is, almost everyone I know is just like me. Not sure where all these upside down folks are

 

[EricZoom]

I think you can do a lot worse than a Mazdaspeed6. I would have considered it if it would of been out when i bought my 6 back in 04'.

 

[ViragoBry]

I think the point of this thread has been completely missed. Not once have I complained about the car. I really like it actually. I don't have to hate a car in order to desire selling it.

My whole point was that 1) I decided that a cheaper car would make more sense as a garage place-keeper, and 2) the economy has had a worse impact on the used car market than I originally thought due to my experiences this week. That's all. Just an observation that I thought I'd share on a automobile related forum. I'm not whining, I'm not in financial dire straights, I have no buyer's remorse. Just sharing my experiences.

Thanks for all the input.

 

[Tornado Red]

Originally Posted By: mpvue
another Catch-22; car companies have to make quality vehicles to be able to sell them. people buy quality vehicles and keep them a long time. car companies can't sell more cars.


Car companies that make quality vehicles that last a long time take customers away from companies that sell inferior cars.

And companies that manage to sell long-lasting cars which are also affordable can take customers from upscale brands. That's how Toyota stuck a Lexus badge on a Camry and was able to compete against premium brands and not just Malibus. That's how Honda stuck Acura badges on their cars and did the same thing.

I suppose there are GM and Chrysler and Ford execs who convinced themselves, long ago, that building more quality into their cars would reduce sales in the long run. So they chose a different direction... they decided to build [censored] cars and lots of them. That didn't work very well either. So they made a belated effort to put the quality back in... but the folks who bought those [censored] cars remember how much they hated them and how they swore "never again".

 

[jmac]

6 vehicles in 18 years, 3 trucks, 3 cars.
3 trucks all bought new, 3 cars all bought used.
like to keep 2 at a time.
1 early demise truck was totaled in not-at-fault accident.

 

[crinkles]

there's nothing like having a car paid for... took me 18 months instead of 60... what a great feeling not having the payment docked every fortnight!

 

[FowVay]

I bought my 1999 Volkswagen Golf TDI new in March of 1999. I paid $15,300 in cash for it. It's been nearly 10 years and 220,000 miles later and I'm still driving that little thing and still loving it like the day I bought it. It's been the best car I've owned in my whole life.

I bought my 1999 BMW 323i used in July of 2001. I paid $27,000 in cash for it. It's been nearly 7 1/2 years and 65,000 miles later it's still taking my wife back and forth to work every day without a speck of trouble.

We've paid out a lot of money over the years but we've also gotten excellent service from the products we've bought. When I was young I used to always have the new car fever and I learned early in the game that it would keep me broke if I continued down that path.

I haven't had a car payment in 28 years and I haven't had a home payment in 10 years. However, I'm getting ready to treat myself to a John Deere diesel lawn mower.. just because I like the smell. Merry Christmas guys!