What can one do to increase the value of a car?

[GROOVE VICTIM]

With the exception of keeping records for reutine oil changes, brake repair, and many preventive maintenance procedures, how can I decrease the depreciation rate of my car?

Would it be wise to install new wheels and a better suspension package help increase the overall value of a car or would I be wasting money?

Peace

[ April 11, 2003, 02:14 PM: Message edited by: GROOVE VICTIM ]

[jurren]

they've got these great stickers you can put on your car and it looks like you spilled paint on your car.
or those fake bullet-holes! everyone loves those!

[Cheddar]

Originally posted by GROOVE VICTIM:
With the exception of keeping records for reutine oil changes, brake repair, and many preventive maintenance procedures, how can I decrease the depreciation rate of my car?

Would it be wise to install new wheels and a better suspension package help increase the overall value of a car or would I be wasting money?

Peace

For debate and not speaking from a fact-knowing stance...
I think appreciation potential on a car gets smaller as the days go by. In order to increase value one would need to make substantial modifications...AND NOT USE THE RIDE. But as soon as you take it off the lot the car depreciates so one would need to modify and resell within a short time.

[GROOVE VICTIM]

I own a 1996 Chrysler Cirrus LX. I did an online appraisal of my car and it is now is only worth about 1500 dollars. One of the reasons why the value dropped so low was because Chrysler killed this product line about 3 years ago by consolidating their Stratus/Breeze/Cirrus/Sebring/Avenger line to just the Dodge Stratus and the Chrysler Sebring.

Since 2000, the year I purchased the car, I've kept the car in pretty good shape, it can use a paint job but it's nothing of concern at this moment. I expected two years from now when I decide to purchase a newer car that I would be able to trade it in for at least 1500 dollars, but that's the going price for the car now unfortunately.

Any suggestions?

Peace

[ April 11, 2003, 09:05 AM: Message edited by: GROOVE VICTIM ]

[AD]

Originally posted by GROOVE VICTIM:
would I be wasting money?

Yes. Trust me on this. I learned it the hard way. :(

[JMJ]

Originally posted by GROOVE VICTIM:
With the exception of keeping records for reutine oil changes, brake repair, and many preventive maintenance procedures, how can I decrease the depreciation rate of my car?

Would it be wise to install new wheels and a better suspension package help increase the overall value of a car or would I be wasting money?

Peace

You would be wasting money. Adding aftermarket accessories can actually HURT the trade-in value of your car. Keep in mind that the NEXT prospective buyer may not want 24" wheels, that fancy paint job, hydraulics, etc. There are no adds in the NADA Black Book for those items. Dealers prefer trade-ins to be as close to original equipent as possible. If you put a nice soundsystem or DVD in the car, take it out if you can before trading. They add absolutely NO value to your car. Keep the factory radio and re-install it. Other than not driving your car (which would be stupid), there's very little you can do to slow the rate of depreciation. When buying a new car, you lose 20% the minute you drive it off the lot, 30% after the first year, and 50-60% after 3 years. The make, model, and trim level also make a difference. Kia, Daewoo, Suzuki, and Hyundai depreciate more rapidly than any other make, and of the non-luxury cars, Toyota and Honda have a better residual value than most, due mainly to being low maintenence, reliable, long-lasting cars. If you have a car that still has some of the factory warranty left, and are thinking about trading, do it before the warranty expires. Your car's value takes a hit after the factory warranty expires because a dealer or private-party owner can still get things covered if need be while the original factory warranty is intact because it is transferrable. If you are really concerned about depreciation, here are my suggestions dependig on your budget: Buy a 4-5 year old car with lower miles, or.....Buy a 1-2 year old car still covered by a portion of the factory warranty, or....LEASE!!! Let the bank or manufacturer worry about the depreciation, and drive more car for less money. Honda and Toyota traditionally lease well because they hold their value. Less repair costs too, because the car is under warranty for the majority, if not all of the lease period. PM me if you have any more questions......JMJ

[MC]

Also, you might want to try selling your car to a private buyer rather than trading it in to a dealership. Although, it might take longer to sell thru the paper, sometimes you can get more money for it. My wife wanted to trade in her 1997 Ford Explorer, and they only offered $8,000 for it. I see people asking 10k+ for the same car in the newspaper! I was curious to see what they would give me for me car (96 Lexus ES300), man they said $10,000, I was so upset because I know they would turn around and sell it for probably double!!! I know they're in business to make money, but DAMN! Anyway, just my .02 cents!!

[ April 11, 2003, 09:46 AM: Message edited by: Michael J. Carmona ]

[GROOVE VICTIM]

Originally posted by JMJ:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by GROOVE VICTIM:
With the exception of keeping records for reutine oil changes, brake repair, and many preventive maintenance procedures, how can I decrease the depreciation rate of my car?

Would it be wise to install new wheels and a better suspension package help increase the overall value of a car or would I be wasting money?

Peace

You would be wasting money. Adding aftermarket accessories can actually HURT the trade-in value of your car. Keep in mind that the NEXT prospective buyer may not want 24" wheels, that fancy paint job, hydraulics, etc. There are no adds in the NADA Black Book for those items. Dealers prefer trade-ins to be as close to original equipent as possible. If you put a nice soundsystem or DVD in the car, take it out if you can before trading. They add absolutely NO value to your car. Keep the factory radio and re-install it. Other than not driving your car (which would be stupid), there's very little you can do to slow the rate of depreciation. When buying a new car, you lose 20% the minute you drive it off the lot, 30% after the first year, and 50-60% after 3 years. The make, model, and trim level also make a difference. Kia, Daewoo, Suzuki, and Hyundai depreciate more rapidly than any other make, and of the non-luxury cars, Toyota and Honda have a better residual value than most, due mainly to being low maintenence, reliable, long-lasting cars. If you have a car that still has some of the factory warranty left, and are thinking about trading, do it before the warranty expires. Your car's value takes a hit after the factory warranty expires because a dealer or private-party owner can still get things covered if need be while the original factory warranty is intact because it is transferrable. If you are really concerned about depreciation, here are my suggestions dependig on your budget: Buy a 4-5 year old car with lower miles, or.....Buy a 1-2 year old car still covered by a portion of the factory warranty, or....LEASE!!! Let the bank or manufacturer worry about the depreciation, and drive more car for less money. Honda and Toyota traditionally lease well because they hold their value. Less repair costs too, because the car is under warranty for the majority, if not all of the lease period. PM me if you have any more questions......JMJ </font>[/QUOTE]I'm not screwing around with Leases. I had planned on putting down a good portion of cash for down payment plus a trade in. Again, this won't be happening for another two years and I'm confident that I won't be stuck with a lemon when that time comes because the car has been good to me. I just don't want to be stuck with the constant nickel and diming for car repairs, this was the case with the last car I had.


Peace

[mhd]

great comments, especially jmj; what is the mileage? by the way, please keep the dialogue here on the board, this is good stuff.

the milaeage on your ride is prolly between 70 and 100k, another way of looking at it is what is the cost to replace your vehicle, especially if its running well

[JMJ]

Originally posted by Michael J. Carmona:
Also, you might want to try selling your car to a private buyer rather than trading it in to a dealership. Although, it might take longer to sell thru the paper, sometimes you can get more money for it. My wife wanted to trade in her 1997 Ford Explorer, and they only offered $8,000 for it. I see people asking 10k+ for the same car in the newspaper! I was curious to see what they would give me for me car (96 Lexus ES300), man they said $10,000, I was so upset because I know they would turn around and sell it for probably double!!! I know they're in business to make money, but DAMN! Anyway, just my .02 cents!!

The average consumer has no idea what car is truly worth. $10 k for yuor 96 Lexus is actually VERY reasonable, and I'll tell you why. The ES 300 is nothing more than a fancy Toyota Camry, and while it's a great car, what's the TRUE market value for a 7 year old car??? Kee in mind that the dealer could probably BUY the same car at auction for less, stil has to prep and perform minor repairs on the car for resale, has to insure and finance the car until it's sold, has to pay to advertise the car so people know it's there, has sales commisions that come out of the profit, etc. etc. In the real world, a 96 Lexus ES 300 is probably a $13-15K car RETAIL if the miles are right, and depending on the trim level, and most prospective buyers are going to try to whittle down the price anyway. Should have taken the offer. $8000 for the 97 Explorer was pretty accurate also.....JMJ

[GROOVE VICTIM]

Originally posted by mhd:
great comments, especially jmj; what is the mileage? by the way, please keep the dialogue here on the board, this is good stuff.

the milaeage on your ride is prolly between 70 and 100k, another way of looking at it is what is the cost to replace your vehicle, especially if its running well

The car has 150,000 miles and I know this really screwd the value of the car due to commuting to work and trips to NYC and other places. Two weeks ago when I had the front brakes replaced, they told me that overall the car was in good shape, a few nicks here or there but nothing major. I have to get the rack and pinion replaced and I already know how to save money on gettin this fixed because of past experiences. I keep the interior clean, and I have a set schedule for oil changes, tire rotation, fluid refills and drainage, and major tune ups.

Peace

[mhd]

Originally posted by GROOVE VICTIM:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by mhd:
great comments, especially jmj; what is the mileage? by the way, please keep the dialogue here on the board, this is good stuff.

the milaeage on your ride is prolly between 70 and 100k, another way of looking at it is what is the cost to replace your vehicle, especially if its running well

The car has 150,000 miles and I know this really screwd the value of the car due to commuting to work and trips to NYC and other places. Two weeks ago when I had the front brakes replaced, they told me that overall the car was in good shape, a few nicks here or there but nothing major. I have to get the rack and pinion replaced and I already know how to save money on gettin this fixed because of past experiences. I keep the interior clean, and I have a set schedule for oil changes, tire rotation, fluid refills and drainage, and major tune ups.

Peace </font>[/QUOTE]damn, bruh, you gotta say that you got your money's worth out of that car, if that was a honda you could get another 100k out of it easy.

[MC]

Originally posted by JMJ:
The average consumer has no idea what car is truly worth. $10 k for yuor 96 Lexus is actually VERY reasonable, and I'll tell you why. The ES 300 is nothing more than a fancy Toyota Camry, and while it's a great car, what's the TRUE market value for a 7 year old car??? Kee in mind that the dealer could probably BUY the same car at auction for less, stil has to prep and perform minor repairs on the car for resale, has to insure and finance the car until it's sold, has to pay to advertise the car so people know it's there, has sales commisions that come out of the profit, etc. etc. In the real world, a 96 Lexus ES 300 is probably a $13-15K car RETAIL if the miles are right, and depending on the trim level, and most prospective buyers are going to try to whittle down the price anyway. Should have taken the offer. $8000 for the 97 Explorer was pretty accurate also.....JMJ

Yeah, maybe we should have taken the offer on the 97 Explorer, but we didn't. It just didn't feel right at the time plus both of our cars are almost paid for. My wife just wants a new car!
I can undsterand that, but I told her she can get what she wants if she waits....! Anyway, I didn't think about the extra cost the dealership would have to pay just to sell the car. Very interesting stuff, thanks for the insight JMJ!

[GROOVE VICTIM]

Originally posted by mhd:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by GROOVE VICTIM:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by mhd:
great comments, especially jmj; what is the mileage? by the way, please keep the dialogue here on the board, this is good stuff.

the milaeage on your ride is prolly between 70 and 100k, another way of looking at it is what is the cost to replace your vehicle, especially if its running well

The car has 150,000 miles and I know this really screwd the value of the car due to commuting to work and trips to NYC and other places. Two weeks ago when I had the front brakes replaced, they told me that overall the car was in good shape, a few nicks here or there but nothing major. I have to get the rack and pinion replaced and I already know how to save money on gettin this fixed because of past experiences. I keep the interior clean, and I have a set schedule for oil changes, tire rotation, fluid refills and drainage, and major tune ups.

Peace </font>[/QUOTE]damn, bruh, you gotta say that you got your money's worth out of that car, if that was a honda you could get another 100k out of it easy. </font>[/QUOTE]This is definately true MHD. I've never had a major problem with this car up until now and I believe that the rack and pinion issue is justifyable. Figure that the car is already 7 years old and no major problems with the engine, transmission, drive train, that's pretty damn good. At www.autobytel.com they have a link in which you can input the VIN number of your vehicle to see if your car was in an accident or had major repairs, and the car was never in any of these situations.


Peace

[MC]

Originally posted by JMJ:
The ES 300 is nothing more than a fancy Toyota Camry

I plan on getting the GS300 later on down the line! We'll have to wait and see.

[JMJ]

Originally posted by GROOVE VICTIM:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by JMJ:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by GROOVE VICTIM:
With the exception of keeping records for reutine oil changes, brake repair, and many preventive maintenance procedures, how can I decrease the depreciation rate of my car?

Would it be wise to install new wheels and a better suspension package help increase the overall value of a car or would I be wasting money?

Peace

You would be wasting money. Adding aftermarket accessories can actually HURT the trade-in value of your car. Keep in mind that the NEXT prospective buyer may not want 24" wheels, that fancy paint job, hydraulics, etc. There are no adds in the NADA Black Book for those items. Dealers prefer trade-ins to be as close to original equipent as possible. If you put a nice soundsystem or DVD in the car, take it out if you can before trading. They add absolutely NO value to your car. Keep the factory radio and re-install it. Other than not driving your car (which would be stupid), there's very little you can do to slow the rate of depreciation. When buying a new car, you lose 20% the minute you drive it off the lot, 30% after the first year, and 50-60% after 3 years. The make, model, and trim level also make a difference. Kia, Daewoo, Suzuki, and Hyundai depreciate more rapidly than any other make, and of the non-luxury cars, Toyota and Honda have a better residual value than most, due mainly to being low maintenence, reliable, long-lasting cars. If you have a car that still has some of the factory warranty left, and are thinking about trading, do it before the warranty expires. Your car's value takes a hit after the factory warranty expires because a dealer or private-party owner can still get things covered if need be while the original factory warranty is intact because it is transferrable. If you are really concerned about depreciation, here are my suggestions dependig on your budget: Buy a 4-5 year old car with lower miles, or.....Buy a 1-2 year old car still covered by a portion of the factory warranty, or....LEASE!!! Let the bank or manufacturer worry about the depreciation, and drive more car for less money. Honda and Toyota traditionally lease well because they hold their value. Less repair costs too, because the car is under warranty for the majority, if not all of the lease period. PM me if you have any more questions......JMJ </font>[/QUOTE]I'm not screwing around with Leases. I had planned on putting down a good portion of cash for down payment plus a trade in. Again, this won't be happening for another two years and I'm confident that I won't be stuck with a lemon when that time comes because the car has been good to me. I just don't want to be stuck with the constant nickel and diming for car repairs, this was the case with the last car I had.


Peace </font>[/QUOTE]Interesting statement, Groove. You want to OWN the car, right?? Don't want to nickel and dime for repairs?? So I'm guessing your looking to BUY new???? OK. Will you own the car the minute you drive it off the lot?? NO. If you finance the car, which it sounds like you will, do you realixe that each $1000 only lowers your car payment roughly $15 a month, based on a 60 month purchase agreement?? You could save $1000 by trading or selling your car now, because your $1500 becomes a $500 car (maybe) two years from now. Since the bank will own the car for the first 5 years, unless you pay it off sooner (most people don't), be prepared to spend another $2000 on an extended service contract to cover the repairs you incur after the factory warranty expires, or you can nickle and dime it without one and take your chances. Dodge and Chrysler offer no-charge 7 year/70,000 mile powertrain warranties on all new cars. This might be a good option if you want another Chrysler product. Toyota offers 5 years or 60,000 miles, which is good also. Don't want to consider leasing?? OK. After you've traded your car, gave the dealer the down payment you saved up, and paid 5 years (if not longer) for the car that the bank still owns, you finally get the title. Title to what ??? A five year old car with probably 70-80,000 miles on it. Does that sound good?? YOU OWN IT. Chances are you paid all that money over such a long period of time for something your not really thrilled about these days. Now what's it worth??? See, it's a never-ending cycle. Still not interested in leasing, huh?? You could trade your car in RIGHT NOW, keep the money IN THE BANK, find a car that fits your NEEDS and your BUDGET, drive it away with a full factory warranty, enjoy it for 3 or 4 years, turn it in or buy it (you have the option) at lease-end, and drive another NEW car. Let the bank or manufacturer worry about depreciation. They're responsible for that vehicle after you turn it in. LET THEM TAKE THE HIT, NOT YOU. Worried about miles?? The average lease is figured at 15,000 miles a year now. That's 1,250 a month, or roughly 290 miles a week, which is plenty for most drivers. Unfortunately, buying a car is a losing proposition because unlike a house, it's depreciates. There's very little you can do about it, but for most people, a car is a necessity. PM me if I can help you with ay more info......JMJ

[JMJ]

Originally posted by GROOVE VICTIM:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by mhd:
great comments, especially jmj; what is the mileage? by the way, please keep the dialogue here on the board, this is good stuff.

the milaeage on your ride is prolly between 70 and 100k, another way of looking at it is what is the cost to replace your vehicle, especially if its running well

The car has 150,000 miles and I know this really screwd the value of the car due to commuting to work and trips to NYC and other places. Two weeks ago when I had the front brakes replaced, they told me that overall the car was in good shape, a few nicks here or there but nothing major. I have to get the rack and pinion replaced and I already know how to save money on gettin this fixed because of past experiences. I keep the interior clean, and I have a set schedule for oil changes, tire rotation, fluid refills and drainage, and major tune ups.

Peace </font>[/QUOTE]150,000 miles???? Get rid of it now if you can. DON"T SPEND ANOTHER DIME ON THAT CAR!!! If there is a dealer that wll trade you out of it, "as-is", for $1500, take it!!!! Anymore money spent on that car is money wasted. You already are creating a monthly payment in repairs for a car that you OWN. Don't do it.....JMJ

[ April 11, 2003, 10:47 AM: Message edited by: JMJ ]

[mhd]

great comments, JMJ, honestly, lease payments seem to be at an all-time low nowadays. good points, EXCEPT, you assume that driving a new car is important. the last two cars i bought were over 7 years old, the newest car i own is 11 years old. i have three cars an 89 and two from 92

[GROOVE VICTIM]

5 months from now I will own my car. When I purchased this one back in 2000, I put 1500 down and 500 for a trade in. I manage to get a payment of 220 a month for 36 months. It worked out for me and I'm happy that I was able to take control of the negotiations while looking at the car.

What I don't understand is thie:

There's this teacher I worked with who recently purchased a 2002 Chevy Tahoe. She had a 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix and she says that she got screwd on her payments. She's now making over 600 buck in monthly payments. She traded in her Grand Prix for about 8 grand. How in D hail can she be making payments that high on a Teachers salary.

People at work constantly telling me to trade it in, trade it in, yeah right, I'm in too deep. This will be another debt out of my hair and I can use that remaining money to pay off other debts and add to the savings for my son's future. Again, I won't considering looking for another car until I have all my debts payed off, but the repair on the rack and pinion gave me a serious reality check for this will be the most expensive repair I've had on the car.

[JMJ]

Originally posted by mhd:
great comments, JMJ, honestly, lease payments seem to be at an all-time low nowadays. good points, EXCEPT, you assume that driving a new car is important. the last two cars i bought were over 7 years old, the newest car i own is 11 years old. i have three cars an 89 and two from 92

Certainly nothing wrong with buying older cars, particularly Honda or Toyota. Groove isn't going to trade his seven year old car for another seven year old car though, which is why I suggested the three scenarios in my earlier post. To avoid nickel and diming or repairs, warranty is important, and since he's talking about a down payment, he's obviously financing, so he should be looking at a 'newer" car. with the economy in the shape it's currently in, it's a buyer's market. That was my point....JMJ

[lola desire]

sounds like what you all are saying is buy the car you want (or can afford--damn you dream car!!!), drive it for as long as it can go and don't expect too much on the trade cuz it's hopeless anyway???

[GROOVE VICTIM]

Originally posted by mhd:
great comments, JMJ, honestly, lease payments seem to be at an all-time low nowadays. good points, EXCEPT, you assume that driving a new car is important. the last two cars i bought were over 7 years old, the newest car i own is 11 years old. i have three cars an 89 and two from 92

Right now, I don't have the credit to qualify for a lease, plus I don't want to be stuck with penalties such as, going over the miles allocated per year, and what ever else is in the fine print.
I'll probably never look into buying a new car, but something that's atlease 3 to five years old.

Peace

[mhd]

Originally posted by GROOVE VICTIM:
5 months from now I will own my car. When I purchased this one back in 2000, I put 1500 down and 500 for a trade in. I manage to get a payment of 220 a month for 36 months. It worked out for me and I'm happy that I was able to take control of the negotiations while looking at the car.

What I don't understand is thie:

There's this teacher I worked with who recently purchased a 2002 Chevy Tahoe. She had a 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix and she says that she got screwd on her payments. She's now making over 600 buck in monthly payments. She traded in her Grand Prix for about 8 grand. How in D hail can she be making payments that high on a Teachers salary.

People at work constantly telling me to trade it in, trade it in, yeah right, I'm in too deep. This will be another debt out of my hair and I can use that remaining money to pay off other debts and add to the savings for my son's future. Again, I won't considering looking for another car until I have all my debts payed off, but the repair on the rack and pinion gave me a serious reality check for this will be the most expensive repair I've had on the car.

that't the thing groove, if it was a honda i would say keep driving it, you got reliable transpo and no car note, but i just don't think a cirrus was built for the long haul

[GROOVE VICTIM]

True indeed MHD, which reminds me. I was asked about a year ago about my car and if it had any major problems from a couple of people who owned Plymouth Breezes and Dodge Stratus's. I told them no and went on my very way but your comments about the "long haul" I should really take into consideration. This was one of those economy cab foward designs that Chrysler had in the mid nineties. The car sold like hot cakes but when they came out with the Plymouth Breeze, it killed the sales for the Cirrus. These cars saturate the Rental market now. This is one thing I need to take into consideration also.

Peace

[mhd]

Originally posted by lola desire:
sounds like what you all are saying is buy the car you want (or can afford--damn you dream car!!!), drive it for as long as it can go and don't expect too much on the trade cuz it's hopeless anyway???

first thing is to realize that a car is a depreciating asset as opposed to a house which, (usually) is an appreciating asset. my advice is to get reliable, cheap, safe transportation. better yet, don't buy a car at all if you live in a city with good public transportation, and rent a car when you need one. in most cases a car is a tool, like a shovel, computer or a ****ing stapler. its not a reflection of you. that is why groove's co-worker is paying a mortgage on a car note.