[windmill]

One more thing to lust over

Okay... here's the boat I'm in. The truck with my Silver/Silver STi is arriving on the 3rd of August (I'll be paying MSRP) . The used car market sucks out here at the moment, so the dealer I'm going through offered me $13k for trade on my 2002 Forester, which is $2400 less than I owe :x. If I trade it I'll save about $800 in taxes, so I have to take that in to account, but it still is a little upsetting.

Another dealer in the area said they could give me $400 more in trade, but I'd have to take WRB/Gold (which is arriving on the same truck as mine, I assume)... I said I'd think about it. I know, I'm being picky... but I like silver cars because they don't show dirt or scratches.

I've been trying to sell private party for what I owe (running ads online and in the papers and such), but as I said before the market is so poor out here for used cars at the moment (thanks to all these factory rebates and 0% financing on new cars) that nobody has been all that interested.

So... is it worth it? Should I wait six months and try and get what I owe for the car? Or should I be impatient, eat the $1600 ($2400 - $800 tax credit), and just get it now while the weather's warm and the roads are dry 8) ?

 

[mx_9]

How does the trade in value from kbb.com and edmunds.com compare to the trade in you're being offered by both?

 

[evoklr]

If you're near a Carmax or anything of those types of used auto only sellers try there too. A lot of times they offer you much better deals.

 

[hyperion]

That's a tough one, windmill. The reality is that the entire car market is very depressed right now. Though I too will be paying MSRP, I fully expect to see early 2004 STi prices go the way of the Evo (although the STi production is smaller...)

So what I am saying is that if economics are a concern, you can probably save a few thousand by waiting until January. Especially in ID, the new car market will be very lean after the holiday season.

That said, your Forrester will only lose money as well. It's a buyer's market right now for used cars. I would try to hold out for a private sale, especially if the car is in great shape. Trade-ins are always very bad news.

Make sure you post on cars.com, autotrader.com, and yahoo classifieds. I bet that Forrester might look better to buyers when the weather starts getting a little grim...

Just my $0.02,

-ch

 

[mx_9]

Good Point Hyperion. I wonder if Edmunds and Kelly's figures are adjusted accordingly....I'll see what their verbage is at their sites.

 

[Yukonart]

Daytime Running Lights?

I feel your pain, Windmill. . . I'm the (still proud) owner of a 2002 Civic. What's worse is that I invested a good deal of money and time to make it a show car. While I can take most of the mods off and sell them or carry them over (in the case of the audio/video system) into the new STi. However, I'm still about 4 or so months away from break-even on the loan. I have 2.9% for 60 months, and I've been paying extra since I bought it.

Anyway, I have been struggling with this idea, as well. This is one reason I'm putting-off the trade until around the end of the year. . . that and I'd feel a little better about all the custom labor I've spent money on if I get a bunch more use and enjoyment out of it.

We'll see what I come up with, but I may just bite the bullet and make the move in about three months. . . take a small hit, and figure that all that extra time I'll be enjoying the new car will more than make up for it.

 

[SupperPupp]

I can't speak for anyone else, but I took a bit of a loss (about $1,500) on my trade-in as well, but I can honestly say, the 1500 was worth it for me. This car rocks!

 

[windmill]

The STi is getting here some time this week. After only getting three calls on the Forester, and with two of the conversations going something like this:

"Hello? "
"Hi. I'm calling about the Forester... what color is it? "
"Silver. "
"Oh, that's the only color I *don't* like on that car... thanks! :-? "
"Okay, bye! "

...and with the last guy wanting to trade his 1989 Toyota something-or-other, I decided to just eat the $1600.

Looks like I'll be breaking in an STi this weekend 8)

 

[mindchatter]

Bottom line is the used car market stinks bad for sellers right now. With financing companies offering such crazily low APR's on new car purchases there's just not a huge amt of people looking to BUY - why, when you can get that brand new Honda/Toyota/whatever for $219/month with zero down? I found myself in much the same boat. I have an '02 Passat AWD with 35k on it that I've owned for less than 18mos. I would've been lucky to get HALF what I paid for the car, and it's completely loaded and anally cared for. I decided I'd rather have it sit in my driveway and lose a little bit of money each day than eat half now. Stubborn? Oh yeah! But now I have an extra car should the need arise...and can still sell it if I want....but can wait for the mkt to recover a little and hopefully get that extra 2-3k I wanted too.

 

[Opal]

Install Alarm Yourself?

We all share in the problem -- manufacturers, dealers and individuals. Global capacity simply exceeds demand and will continue to for some time. Think about all those leases --essentially, rented cars -- that the manufacturers with their vertically intergrated financing divisions will be looking to dump in the used car market further depressing prices

! :wink:

 

[windmill]

Well, due to unspecified delays, my car *may* get here Monday. Doh. It was supposed to be sent on the 28th... I started another thread about ECU reflash and power changes as a result. I have a feeling that my STi might be having a labotomy as it waits to be loaded on a truck.

 

[ForceofWill]

hey dont feel too bad, at least you got it at MSRP. The dealer by me will not sell STIs for under 5k over MSRP.