Originally Posted By: ET16
The other thing I'm finding now, too, is the tacit price-floor of the road-worthy car and how that tracks up the price ladder. The floor seems to be around $2,500 for a road-worthy car where I live. Up from there it gets tricky, because it often seems that it's a much better move to vault over the $4-$6k range and get a newer car with fewer miles at closer to $10k. Where do you all think the value sweet-spot is? I know that all this depends heavily on the car and brand, but do you think that we can generalize?
My generalizations follow bank financing rules: if they have a cutoff at 6 years then:
1) dealers won't take 5.5 year old trades, in case they can't sell them soon enough or
2) private parties won't sell for more than anyone has laying around in cash... typically $2500-3000 around here, over a wide range of years... 1998-2004 or so. Banks really do not like private party sales!
3) dealers will offer a pittance in trade, knowing rule #2.
HOWEVER, foreign car owners typically have incredible self esteem about their vehicles, refusing to rate them less than "excellent" in blue book prices, believing jiffy lube kept them "well maintained" even though the ball joints and struts are shot, and are much less likely to let go at a bargain price. This widens a value/price gap between marques.
Also dealers will game the system: if a lower interest rate is available for a <5 yr old car, they can round one up with 150,000 miles, or something like a Kia that depreciates like a rock, or a Ford Explorer last summer when gas was $4 and they couldn't be given away. These heaps typically winds up in the "special credit" section... Tell them you want to pay cash and you get shown the door: everyone gets their kickbacks on the financing!