The price of used cars!

[edhopper]

12 years ago I bought a 3 year old car for less the price of the car when new. I am looking to buy again but find that 3 year old cars are 75% to 80% of the new car value. In fact I can buy a new model of the same car, with fewer bells and whistles, for only slightly more than the cost of the used car. I thought used cars lost a significant amount of value? But things seem to have changed.

I know I would find people here with much more knowledge about this than I have.

Thanks for your comments.

[SWBTATTReg]

1. We recently looked (2+ years ago), prices are pretty much what you found too. Used cars...

are retaining their values longer, I am guessing because people are hanging onto their used cars longer. Good luck in your search for a vehicle!

[Happy Hoosier]

2. Fewer people are buying new cars...

... so demand for late-model used cars are up and so are prices. Econ 101.

[doc03]

3. I must be shopping in the wrong place my car cost $29500 new and now

4 years later the trade in value is about 1/3 of that.

[Wounded Bear]

4. Cars are better now. They last longer as long as they are maintained...

New car prices are leaving many people behind, so used car demand increases because of that.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

5. It depends a great deal on what particular car you're wanting to buy.

If a brand new version of what you want is barely more than one three years old, then buy the new car.

Typically, Hondas and Toyotas don't lose much value. I'm under the impression lots of American cars still do, but I haven't priced any of them in recent years.

One reason the used cars are keeping their value, is that they will probably last 15 years or more, and at least 200,000 miles of driving. They really don't make them like they used to. For which we should all be very grateful.

[csziggy]

9. I've got to agree with you - Hondas and Toyotas keep their value

My husband's Prius V was hard to find, even though we have a good friend in the used car business. When he gave up, I found one on Carvana. Every so often he gets an offer for it, but we'll keep it until we can't keep it running anymore.

This winter I went into the Honda dealership prepared to buy a used Honda Fit. They only had a couple on the lot but had several 2019 Fits that were only a few thousand over the five year old used ones. With the new one I got 2 years free service, 3 year full warranty, and a lifetime (as long as I own the car) power train warranty. It made no sense to buy a used one with that deal.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

12. I bit over a year ago I went to buy a Honda Fit, fulling intending to buy brand new.

However, at the time brand new Fits weren't available, thanks to a flood six months earlier at the factory in Mexico. I had a lovely discussion with the salesman, who wisely didn't try to talk me into considering a different kind of Honda.

Two days later he called me because they'd just gotten in a 2017 Fit off lease and would I like to at least test drive it? So I did, and in the course of chatting during the test drive, learned that 2017 was the last year Honda put a CD player in the Fit. Well, I'm not as tech-savvy as I probably should be, and absolutely wanted a CD player. So I bought it, for a bit less than brand new would have been, but in my case this was a good decision.

Not sure what I'll do if I want to replace this car down the road. I'll worry about it in a decade or so.

[csziggy]

13. Yeah, if I were driving my Fit on the highway, I'd want a CD player

But it is too small for my husband to either drive it or to be a passenger. That's OK, since it is MY car but since I am no longer comfortable driving long by myself, it is strictly an around town car.

What I may do is rip my CD collection, load the music all on a thumbdrive and stick it in the car. But there are a couple of really good FM stations that carry a lot of the music I like, so I listen to those or NPR for my short trips around town.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

17. I go on long driving trips several times a year.

Usually I check out some audio books from the local library.

I think this car might have the usb ports (I hope I have this right) that will take thumb drives. I need to check that out, because if that's true, it would greatly enhance being able to listen to stuff.

I have only relatively recently gotten a "smart" phone, and have not mastered things like downloading podcasts to it. If I can download them to a thumb drive that I can use in the car, that would be wonderful.

Also, my local library has many books available to download as audios. I'm only going to listen to a book when I'm driving, not when simply at home. I read very fast, so for me, most of the time listening to a book is frustratingly slow. It does not feel that way when I'm driving.

Heck, I still miss having a cassette player in the car.

I love, love, love my Fit. I will offer sympathy that your husband doesn't fit into yours, although that sympathy may not be needed.

[csziggy]

23. I'm no goo9d withy audio books

When I read, I immerse myself and escape from the world - that would not be a good thing while driving, LOL. Plus the voices I hear when reading are not the ones that read the books on the few audio books I have tried. Same as you, I read fast, so reading is more satisfying to me than listening.

Depending on which model Fit you have you should have "Bluetooth connectivity, and a 160-watt AM/FM/CD/MP3 sound system with a USB port and auxiliary audio input jack." https://www.kbb.com/honda/fit/2017/ - and that is for the base Fit LX. The fancier models should have those and more, so check out what yours has. With that input jack you could hook up a Walkman and have a tape deck, too!

I've just for the first time figured out how to hook my phone to my car so when I'm driving I can be hands free.

I do love my Fit but this way my husband is not tempted to take my car for his use and it is all mine. Other than my first Suburban that I bought new to use on the farm, this is the only new car I have bought just for myself. I've gotten lots of compliments on it since it is so cute.

Same as you, I love my Fit!

[ooky]

10. I'm on year 15 with my Chev. Trailblazer with no plans to replace it.

Bought it new in 2005. I love the lower cost of insurance and property tax that comes with a worthless car. It's worthless but runs great, and its a good thing it does because I can't afford the price of a new car anymore, or even 80% of new for a used one. My driving is limited so this one is fine. And, I never have to worry about washing it. And its paid for.

[X_Digger]

22. My 2006 C1500 agrees. Paid $16k new for a bare bones model. Added after-market alarm & remote start.

Can't get away with that now.

[sinkingfeeling]

24. Yep, my 21 year old Saturn is the best car I have ever owned. I doubt if it

will have 130,000 miles on it when it reaches that 21 year mark in May. I have yet to even replace a light. Most expensive repair was to fix rear window handle at $216.

On the other hand, I have driven my 2019 Nissan less than 1000 miles and it's been recalled! Something about the backup camera (which I still don't use).

[safeinOhio]

6. Best deals are

12 years or so old with low, low mileage.

[captain queeg]

7. That's what my son says

I haven’t looked for a used car in awhile. The last new car I bought to replace a car I’d wrecked. But I had a little Mazda pickup that I sold 5-6 years ago. It was a 1999 but in great shape and less than 100k miles. I was surprised I only got $2500 for it. My son wants to get a small pickup and he told me it would go for twice that now.

[Initech]

8. Just be *extremely* careful about the loans.

Car loans are a criminal enterprise and will probably collapse the way the housing market did:

I really wonder how they sleep at night.

[Dem2theMax]

11. I'm in the used car market myself.

I had a Hyundai that turned out to be a lemon, and Hyundai had to buy it back.

The last thing I want to do is make car payments. So I am going to look for a good used car.

A friend gave me a heads up on looking at Hertz Car Sales. I had never thought of going that route but I think that's what I am going to do.

Really reasonable prices. You can basically pick the car, the price and the mileage. And the color.

Depending on the mileage, the car may still have its original warranty in effect. Hertz also provides a warranty on top of that. Depending on the model you are looking for, you may want to check the other top rental agencies as well. They don't all have the same cars.

Good luck! To both of us!

[Xolodno]

16. I bought from Hertz.

Some say never buy from a Rental Company because you don't know how the car was "used". Think that's a dealer scare tactic. I bought from them because I knew the car would be maintained and kept up while it was in use. Five years later, no major problems other than changing out the tires at 80k and the battery went bad around 90k.

Also when I was in the office, I asked what happens to the cars they do have problems with. He said the company sells them at auction where dealers usually pick them up. Yikes.

[Dem2theMax]

19. That's the main reason I want to buy from them.

They have to keep up the maintenance to keep the warranties in effect. And they have to keep up the maintenance to keep the car safe for all of their customers.

The person who told me about Hertz auto sales is someone who works in the auto industry. He did mention that dealers will buy these cars and then jack the price up about $4,000 over what Hertz would sell them for.

I've been doing a lot of online research, and the only thing that look weird to me was a 2019 car with 5,000 miles on it. That's a red flag. I can only think of one reason they would be selling a car with that low mileage. Something is wrong with it. After going through the lemon thing with Hyundai, I'm being very cautious.

[mitch96]

14. For me buying from a person, not a dealer is the way to go

If you want to trade in your car or sell it to Carmax or some company like that they will offer you next to nothing. When you buy used form a dealer they play that "fees" game like when you buy new.. No thanks. I'll buy and sell from real people not businesses.. Of course you have to do your homework and it's a pain but I hate getting raped by these dick heads....
The car dealers want to control all the cars sold, New and used. Got to keep them fancy new showrooms open don't cha know.... YMMV
m

[The Figment]

15. May I make a suggestion...

Three things,
1. Buy from a person if you can as dealerships charge top dollar for good trade ins/off lease cars.and even with a Carfax one can never tell how well the car was maintained/driven...some folk are REALLY hard on their car,get a "one owner" if you can.
2. Program Cars/ex rental cars...they are called "Rent a Racer/Wreck for good reason...very few treat a rental like they would their own car...they aren't paying for repairs and maintenance out of their own pocket.
3. Imports like Toyota, Honda and Subaru always cost more than most used cars for Good reason...they are some of the most reliable vehicles on the market, but avoid the "sports models" as right of now they are very popular with the modder/tuner crowd and generally get driven really hard.

If I were looking for a Good used car,just wanted solid non flashy transportation I would look for a 2009-2016 Chevy Malibu one of Chevys most underrated cars,very reliable and generally owned by folk who tend to be up on matanince and repairs...and Very Affordable!

[edhopper]

18. Thanks for all the

good replies.

[DeminPennswoods]

20. Bought a new car

recently and got just 6k less than original purchase price for my 2 yr old Subaru trade-in.

[Silver Swan]

21. At least ten years ago

My son-in-law bought a 1997 Jeep Wrangler for $3500. A few years later, his parked car was hit by a Hummer. The insurance company declared it totalled, and paid him $6500. It made me think I should have invested in Wranglers.