tzakiel

no, im not trading my TL but i had a serious question...

with any car... what is the best way to maximize your trade in over time? In other words... is it like the more you change cars the cheaper, or the more you change the more you lose? should you always hold out for as long as possible keeping the car in good shape? is there a sweet spot of time/value like perhaps around 3-4 years? How does the value system work and what is the reccomended time to get the max life/value from owning and then trading cars in?

for instance someone just posted they traded an 04 TL for an 05 audi... this seems like losing a lot of cash to me at first, but then I thought maybe he got a lot of cash for the TL since it's virtually new?

what's the best tactic or some thoughts on time till trade in?

NFLblitze1

Let's start with some basics. Here's a standard rule of thumb about used cars. A car loses 15 percent to 20 percent of its value each year.

A 2-year-old car will be worth 80 to 85 percent of its 1-year-old value. A 3-year-old car will be worth roughly 80 to 85 percent of its 2-year-old value.

Let's say you have a 1-year-old used car worth $12,000 that loses 15 percent of its value each year. At 2 years old, the car would be worth $10,200. At 3 years old, it would be worth $8,670.

The depreciation in a car's first year tends to be even steeper. A new-car owner feels the sting immediately. A new car loses a big chunk of its value as soon as you drive it off the lot. Here's why.

When purchasing the car, you paid a retail price -- the price a dealer charges for a car. As soon as you're off the lot, the car is worth its wholesale price, the amount a dealer would be willing to pay for a car should you turn around and head back.

So a brand-spanking-new car or truck loses thousands of dollars of value as soon as you drive it home. Whatever money you spent on taxes and licensing is gone for good as well.

"Just the difference between wholesale and retail prices is a large amount of what goes away right away," says Charlie Vogelheim, editor of Kelley Blue Book.

Let's look at an example. The base price of a brand-new 2002 Ford Taurus is $19,035, according to Kelley Blue Book.

The wholesale price of a 2002 Ford Taurus with just 100 miles on it is $15,390, a drop of $3,645 from its transaction price.

The wholesale price of a 2002 Ford Taurus with 13,000 miles, roughly a year's worth of driving, is $14,665, nearly 23 percent less than its original transaction price.

i pulled that off a site i hope that helps u a bit...

but what i intend to do...is drive my car till something sparks my interest...in other words...i won't trade my car into the dealer.....ill sell it to a stupid kid looking for a nice looking car...as well as....trade ins arn't really good for older cars....if its more than 6 years old i wouldn't recommend trading it in...personal sale would be ur best bet....

terse

I went to carmax today to get my 05 TL no-navi 6 speed appraised..they said they would give me 24k with just under 16k miles.

Bounce

they will turn around and sell that car for 30K, I SEEN IT!

terse

yup, i saw a 04 tl, aspec and navi for 32k there...

trancemission

easily..it really is sad how much you lose the moment you drive away.

Tennisjon2002

This is why you turn it around and sell it your self. list it on craigslist, autotrader etc.

MR1

I'll get some argument but it has been proven the the best thing as far as value is to buy a year or two old car and keep it in good shape as long as possible and reasonable. Let someone else take the initial hit on value and reap the rewards. Reasonable should be 150k-250k depending on how the car holds up and assumes no major repairs. Consumer Reports and others detail this information about once per year. You will generally lose money on most vechicles doing anything else.

Now, really a car is usually an emotional purchase or most of us would be driving Kia Rios or Toyotas cheap Echo. I like new cars with nice features. I'm going to try to keep my TL for about 200k if it holds up and I can keep from wanting something else to badly. Hope that shines some light on the matter. I'll let someone else discuss benefits of leases and business write offs.

tzakiel

I definitely don't want to lease or get into that stuff. I paid cash for my 05 TL and it was new... just wondering, if I keep it in good shape, what mileage or time frame am I looking at for the best return/use of the car ratio? I am assuming about 4 years but maybe that is just becuase it feels right and is not neccesarily logical. I have 2 months and 4500 miles on it right now.

The only variable might be the fact that I have mods liek springs, wheels, intake, rear sway bar and soon shocks. I'm willing to lose money on these things by trading in as long as I know I will be trading it in at the right time for maximum value.

edit: the only thing I'd trade my TL in for in a few years is a newer TL Looking forward to seeing the 07 design!

ed99

The first and second yr takes the most beating in depreciation. I would never trade in my car for anything for the first two yrs. The depreciation tends to drop at each yr progressess but keep in mind how much miles you put in your car too and how good of a shape your car is. I always like to keep my car for at least 5-6yrs then trade it in. By that time, usually a new gen is available by that time. haha!!!

SuperSteel

That's why you're better off trading in your car on a used car, or just filing suit against the manufacturer for a buyback.