Posted on 04/26/2008 8:59:24 PM PDT by Flavius
MIAMI - For used car dealer Ivan Hoyos, accepting a sport utility vehicle as a trade-in is no longer good business. The only SUV he's offering at his Florida Auto Sales and Finance is his mother's red 2004 Mitsubishi Endeavor.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Time to buy a nice SUV at a big discount, and use the money you save to pay for gas.
If people would do the math they would find that it takes a LOT of miles to make up for the loss on trade in, and the added cost of a new more fuel efficient vehicle. I have a Windstar van that gets 20 mpg at best. I could buy at new gas miser that gets 34 mpg for 15k. Taking in to consideration a 3k trade in value for the 99 Windstar that is 12k out of the pocket. It will take far more miles than the gas miser can do to make up for the 12k cost of the car.
In the long run it pays to keep the SUV. But never mind, soon I will buy an F150 4wd at an enormous discount because of this ridiculous panic.
And if the price doubles will you pay for the fuel.
I’m planning to buy a CR-V sometime this summer. I’ll get the best of both worlds; a nice vehicle with great fuel economy for its class and a good discount on the selling price.
The difference between my $1800 Pathfinder (at 18-19mpg) and a new Prius at ~$30,000 will pay for a *LOT* of gas.
In fact, it will also pay for a Honda motorcycle ($500), which will *beat* the Prius’ fuel economy.
And then every time you go to Home Depot or Ikea, you have to borrow someone else's Windstar to bring home your plywood or furniture. I'll stick with my Windstar also.
Like I said, do the math first. It takes a LONG time to make up for an extra 12k for the car. If you are going to buy a new car anyway then yes it pays to get a more fuel efficent one. But to trade in a nice SUV with low miles to get an economy car......well do the math and see if it works out, it probably doesn't, plus you won't have as nice a car as an SUV for all those miles, and it will likely be less safe.
Yep, I'm looking to put 200k on my windstar before I dump it. Since I spend most of my road time on motorcycles I only put about 10k per year on it, so I figure another 10 years for the old warhorse. Plus, there is something about an old car that isn't worth much....you can trash it, smoke in it, get it dirty, dent it, and it doesn't matter. New cars are prima donna's....yuck.
Free advice is worth what you pay for it!
Damn! You beat me!.
I had an economics professor who bought a "pre-owned" Cadillac after the 1973 Arab oil embargo.
Got a $5800 trade in for my wife’s 01 Exterra (126,... mi.), on an 08, 4cyl. Altima; the gas money saved will pay for at least 35% of the note. Hated to get rid of the ‘terra though, one damn solid reliable vehicle; some Mexican is gonna be lucky happy.
I’ve adapted by just not driving the SUV as often. And, if I’m traveling cross country in mt, maybe considering sleeping at a rest stop vs. a hotel. If prices get cheap enough maybe I’ll have to buy a spare. :)
Oooh... hope you got the extended warranty on the Altima. The QR25 isn’t the happiest motor Nissan has ever built.
I plan on purchasing one of these its a shame the ecotards have ruined the diesel market in the Us, one its taxed too much and 2 the only diesels are huge trucks. I am in iraq right now I see lots of foreign diesel vehicles, ford rangers, mitsubitshi L200s they are small pickups with diesel engines , they are fairly quiet and dont smoke. they get excelent mpg. The european patriot has diesel as well and they are getting 40mpg out of it. A German told me the diesel in it actually puts out less emissions than the gas version.
I’d hate to get hit in THAT thing.
Ping to #2
I remember a joke Carson did during the seventies gas shock. He said GM was coming out with a new car called “The Leech” which could drive up behind the car in front and suck the gas out of its tank. The joke got huge applause and Carson paused, the way he did on occasion, and said, “You liked that one, did you?”
We did, out to 72k for $650. We’ll see, we’ve (family) had 4 Nissan vehicles and never had A problem; if a gremlin rears its’ head I’ll let you know. BTW, thx for the heads up.
do you work for a circus?!
I predicted this about four years ago. But I was wrong for four years. Had I been trying to make money on my prediction on that one, I’d be broke already now that it’s finally freaking happening.
I’m all for the rights of people to drive what they want. But I’m sick beyond rational commentary about having to drive behind this SUV shaped school buses carrying one person on a cell phone who can’t use a turn signal. The entire ‘I’m driving a tank and I’m completely safe’ thing causes people to be far more careless and reckless and endangers everybody else (yes, actual studies show this as well) in addition to being just incredibly f’ing annoying to have drivers shoehorning small buildings into parking spaces and freeway traffic where this is only room for your average Camry.
Maybe if it weren’t for the fact that SUVs are mostly in communities where using the drive-through at Starbucks is the closest thing to off-roading possible, I’d be a little less bothered that the bikelane in front of the local elementary school has, literally, 70% SUVs lined up illegally each afternoon when school ends.
Ah crap, there went the rational commentary......
Yeah, I poke fun at the Left when they whine about SUVs too.
The biggest problem I have is timing my next muscle car purchase.
The Dems and a President who now sings the virtues of florescent have probably signed their death warrant with the new CAFE standards. My problem is figuring out when they will stop putting high hp engines in them and put 2-stroke Trabant engines in their place to make the SUV haters happy.
I have been in the used car business for most of my life. Right now we have 45 vehicles on the ground and 2 full size trucks. You can buy Suburbans at auction for cheap, but nobody is buying. If you want an SUV or truck and can afford it, I will go to auction and get one for you. What does anyone want?
Have one torn up in the service department now! lol warranty company wants to put in rings, my tech says that wont fix it, needs a bore or a new motor.
75,ooo or so miles.
wtf happened to school buses and walking?
School buses turned into rolling pens of juvenile delinquents.
Just like the schools turned into juvenile detention centers.
Thanks, liberals!
Yup. The QR isn’t really that bad as a design goes, but the QC in the plants that build them tends to be problematic.
GM just announced that they’re going to start putting the Ecotec 2.0L turbo four in their big cars.
Now, before you shudder in horror, there’s a couple of points to be made.
1: This actually is a pretty good proven engine.
2: It’s a gasoline-direct-injection type, which means it *likes* lots of boost.
3: Out of the box it makes **260hp**.
Anticipated highway mileage when fitted to the Pontiac G8 - somewhere in the 30-34mpg range.
Not too bad.
It would still cost you your dignity.
“Time to buy a nice SUV at a big discount, and use the money you save to pay for gas.”
DING DING DING!!
Yep! Mine is paid for. Even if I spend $5,000 which I spend half that amount a year in fuel, it is still cheaper than a new car.
My wife’s ‘05 v6 altima gets 33mpg on the highway. absolutely amazing engine that VQ is. Not to mention the 250hp :o
I have an ‘00 Sierra 5.3 and lately have been getting 17.5mpg a tank :o. I can’t complain at all, not to mention the 4x4 truck is still too valuable to ever get rid of. I was looking at getting a sh*t box to commute to work (72 miles a day) in, but then I would have to fuel up more frequently than in the truck because of the smaller gas tank. Even a kia is quite bit out of my price range for a commuter car.
Somebody let me know when I can pick up a used (preferably mint condition. But if not, it MUST be running!) Hummer (the original, not the H2 or H3) for about $500. I’ve always wanted one.
Until then, I’ll just keep driving my 8 year old Toyota Corolla.
Thanks!
Mark
A helicopter is the best thing for gas mileage, I hear.
The problem is flying lessons- about 50K. darn.
If it was a dark green Brougham, it might have been the one I traded in for two Corollas.
I always wondered what happened to it-I assumed someone just parked it somewhere and was living in it.
So many of the types you describe seem to also think that AWD is a magic bullet that will enable them to travel in absolutely craptacuar weather. This past winter - the worst driving conditions I've seen in 30 years - saw some days where there was one vehicle off the road for nearly every mile in my 25 mile commute, and SUVs often made up the majority of the marooned. I suspect that many of the drivers were (until that moment) blissfully unaware of the ugly opportunities that high profile/high c-of-g vehicles provide when they are piloted into 45 mph winds blowing across glazed pavement.
"But... but... but it's got all wheel drive! I wasn't supposed to get stuck!"
As for some soccermom with a grafted cellphone using three tons of metal and plastic to haul herself and six empty seats across town to get a bag of cough drops or chat with the local Democrat chair... that is common enough around here to be farcical. Add a Hillary or Obama sticker, and I'll give the rig a wider berth, understanding that common sense is probably not aboard.
Mr. niteowl77
“Time to buy a nice SUV at a big discount, and use the money you save to pay for gas.”
I agree with you. I just bought a 1999 Suburban from a private party for $8,000 below Kelly Bluebook. I drive a 1992 Nissan Altima and will keep using it during the week. I have always wanted a Suburban to use on the weekends when our family goes tent camping. I am now looking at travel trailers. People are trying to unload them any way they can.
Have a Suburban already - 8 years old and in cherry condition. We only drive it about 5K miles a year, if that, and it stays garaged. Used to tow a heavy pop up trailer or a boat with it (not at the same time). Plan on moving in a few years and will be near a lake, so will probably get another boat and will need it for towing.
No way around it, if you need a tow vehicle, you gotta have something powerful enough to do the job and pay the price of gas. You just don't want to drive the thing 25K miles a year.
Are you related to the Pope? :-)
We have an SUV but still do the Home Depot $20 rental truck to haul doors or large purchases. It's $20 or so for the first 70 minute and then increments. really, we got the SUV because this one was designed to give a very smooth ride and she has a spinal fusion. Wouldn't trade it, period. It's "insurance" as much as anything else.
Home Depot has a truck rental service? I didn't know that.
Well, the "standard" Florida store does, although it may vary in different areas.
The trick is to beat the contractors in and snag it early. That's probably why you haven't seen them.
I'll arrive on opening and get the truck, do my shopping for any projects out 3 months, and haul it all at once. I'm 5 minutes away so an hour does the trick with no refill necessary. Works out great!
They rent trucks here in North Alabama. Lowe’s too.
One of the big reasons a lot of folks get in trouble with 4WD on ice is that they don’t realize that they have to stop too. The 4WD helps with starting traction but doesn’t do a damn thing for braking.
The biggest problem I have with 4WD is that too few people have it. We had a small snow event a few years ago. My 20 minute commute took 4 hours. I was in a 4WD S-10 locked in traffic behind a ton of folks who were stuck in the non-4WD vehicles. I couldn’t move any faster than they did.
On the other hand, last night I was at the Big Y. There was a brand new Suburban and Escalade parked nose to nose. Could hardly tell them apart.
One woman got into each vehicle. They probably spent ten dollars on gas to go to the grocery store to pick up one bag of groceries. It's insane to drive those things around unless you got 5 or 6 children.
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