used car values

[Like2Plan]

I was trying to look up used car prices for comparable vehicles to what we own and I was a little surprised at how high they were.
Is this just because there are so few used cars for sale these days?

And, anyone know how to figure out how to value a vehicle that has high mileage? (Or, at least higher than any of the others that are listed).

[bjl584]

Covid shut down the factories.
New car inventory dried up.
Consumers looked to the used car market which is driving the price up.
That's a simple overview of what is going on.
The market is a bit warped from the shutdowns.

KBB should give you a decent estimate of what your car is worth.
High miles may or may not effect the value.
It depends on the model.
High miles on a 4 wheel drive pickups has less of an impact than it does on a sedan for instance.

[Like2Plan]

One of the cars has almost 280,000 miles. It is a 2012 Dodge Charger (I "think" it is the SXT option-obviously I don't drive it. ). It was pretty fancy for its day- the cup holder has the option of keeping drinks hot or cold. DrDre Beats sound system, navigation system, back up camera, ESC, leather seats, Moon roof, spoiler etc. Two most often comments folks make about the car--they can't believe how clean the car is. (And, from the service folks-- how many miles are on it. ) KBB trade in range 3800-6600 (5242 trade in) and private party 5600-8800 (7261). I am really shocked at how high it is.

The other car is o-o-o-old: 2005 Pontiac Vibe has around 87,000 miles on it. The trade in range 2800-4000 (3419 trade in) and private party range 3800-5700 (4779). This is my primary driver. I still like driving it, but I have been thinking about getting a new car with a few more safety features-possibly a hybrid.

[bjl584]

One of the cars has almost 280,000 miles. It is a 2012 Dodge Charger (I "think" it is the SXT option-obviously I don't drive it. ). It was pretty fancy for its day- the cup holder has the option of keeping drinks hot or cold. DrDre Beats sound system, navigation system, back up camera, ESC, leather seats, Moon roof, spoiler etc. Two most often comments folks make about the car--they can't believe how clean the car is. (And, from the service folks-- how many miles are on it. ) KBB trade in range 3800-6600 (5242 trade in) and private party 5600-8800 (7261). I am really shocked at how high it is.

The other car is o-o-o-old: 2005 Pontiac Vibe has around 87,000 miles on it. The trade in range 2800-4000 (3419 trade in) and private party range 3800-5700 (4779). This is my primary driver. I still like driving it, but I have been thinking about getting a new car with a few more safety features-possibly a hybrid.

That is a lot of miles for a 2012.

I saw a Pontiac for sale the other day near me for $5000.
Not sure of the year or model though.
It has to be no newer than 2008 though, since that was the last year GM made them.

But, probably a decent way to get a feel for selling price is to hop onto Autotrader and see what similar makes and models of your cars are selling for in your general region.
It's pretty easy to filter your search criteria on their site.

[Like2Plan]

That is a lot of miles for a 2012.

Yes, it is a well loved and well used vehicle. I was thinking that it "might" get $1,000 as a trade in as a good will gesture from the dealership because of the miles, so I was surprised the values are so high on KBB.
But, I don't know--I have been surprised by total strangers coming up at the filling station admiring the car. I will admit that it is a fun car to drive--it has some real get up and go. (I don't typically get an invitation to drive it though ) It gets great gas mileage for a "muscle car". It averaged 26 mpg (highway) on a recent trip. (Of course city driving is not nearly as good).

I saw a Pontiac for sale the other day near me for $5000.
Not sure of the year or model though.
It has to be no newer than 2008 though, since that was the last year GM made them.

But, probably a decent way to get a feel for selling price is to hop onto Autotrader and see what similar makes and models of your cars are selling for in your general region.
It's pretty easy to filter your search criteria on their site.

On the Pontiac:
Autotrader has a 2004 (166190 miles) $3499,
2004 (108,392 miles) $4995,
2004 (166,190 miles) $3499,
2005 (155,156 miles) $4390,
2006 (141,899) $4200,
2006 (127,806) $4292,
and a 2007(139,092 miles) listed at 5,000

Are these the private sale type numbers? (And, I guess that is the asking price--not necessarily the sale price?) I suppose dealer trade in is quite a bit less.

[bjl584]

Just look to see who the seller is.
Autotrader lets you filter that too and sort by dealer sales or private sales.

Whether private or dealer you will see the asking price.
You can always negotiate down, but not much in this market.

[MonkeyMama]

Yes, it is a well loved and well used vehicle. I was thinking that it "might" get $1,000 as a trade in as a good will gesture from the dealership because of the miles, so I was surprised the values are so high on KBB.
But, I don't know--I have been surprised by total strangers coming up at the filling station admiring the car. I will admit that it is a fun car to drive--it has some real get up and go. (I don't typically get an invitation to drive it though ) It gets great gas mileage for a "muscle car". It averaged 26 mpg (highway) on a recent trip. (Of course city driving is not nearly as good).



On the Pontiac:
Autotrader has a 2004 (166190 miles) $3499,
2004 (108,392 miles) $4995,
2004 (166,190 miles) $3499,
2005 (155,156 miles) $4390,
2006 (141,899) $4200,
2006 (127,806) $4292,
and a 2007(139,092 miles) listed at 5,000

Are these the private sale type numbers? (And, I guess that is the asking price--not necessarily the sale price?) I suppose dealer trade in is quite a bit less.

My kids have a 2003 Vibe (hand-me-down from grandparents). Living in the big city, people are always leaving notes on the car that they want to buy it. I was going to say, whatever you think you might get for it, I'd add a thousand or two and see if you get any bites. It's a great car to sell private party. At some point KBB was something like $4,000 on this car, with 200K miles. That was pre-pandemic. (I personally think that is ridiculous, but it's what people will pay. My kids' car is an old beater. Meh. I am sure my in-laws bought the most stripped down version they could find, which is some of my "meh". I've also kept much older cars for 20 years & 200K miles. So I am not personally that impressed. Most definitely not "$4,000 for an 18yo car" impressed). Since it was a hand-me-down, I expect we will pass it on to a niece or nephew eventually. We probably won't cash it out.

Private party pricing is generally between trade-in and used car lot/dealer prices.

[Like2Plan]

My kids have a 2003 Vibe (hand-me-down from grandparents). Living in the big city, people are always leaving notes on the car that they want to buy it. I was going to say, whatever you think you might get for it, I'd add a thousand or two and see if you get any bites. It's a great car to sell private party. At some point KBB was something like $4,000 on this car, with 200K miles. That was pre-pandemic. (I personally think that is ridiculous, but it's what people will pay. My kids' car is an old beater. Meh. I am sure my in-laws bought the most stripped down version they could find, which is some of my "meh". I've also kept much older cars for 20 years & 200K miles. So I am not personally that impressed. Most definitely not "$4,000 for an 18yo car" impressed). Since it was a hand-me-down, I expect we will pass it on to a niece or nephew eventually. We probably won't cash it out.

Private party pricing is generally between trade-in and used car lot/dealer prices.

That is amazing! I still like driving my Vibe, so I am torn about replacing it. One thing that I was surprised was all the door handles broke in two (starting maybe a year ago). I didn't know that was even a thing. I replaced them myself after watching several YouTube videos. Have you had to replace the door handles on your 2003 Vibe? ( I wonder if the CA climate is kinder.) My vehicle is very basic, too, about the only upgrade was leather seats. It was about 19k when I purchased it new (IIRC).

[MonkeyMama]

That is amazing! I still like driving my Vibe, so I am torn about replacing it. One thing that I was surprised was all the door handles broke in two (starting maybe a year ago). I didn't know that was even a thing. I replaced them myself after watching several YouTube videos. Have you had to replace the door handles on your 2003 Vibe? ( I wonder if the CA climate is kinder.) My vehicle is very basic, too, about the only upgrade was leather seats. It was about 19k when I purchased it new (IIRC).

Whatever you do, don't test drive newer cars. LOL. We tend to keep our cars for decades, but going newer (and electric) the last few years, I think is some of our "meh" about the Vibe. We've been spoiled and gotten used to a lot more luxury and modern technology.

Yeah, the CA climate is very kind to cars. Is probably most of why I wouldn't pay the premium for a car with a longevity reputation. This might make more sense in harsher climates. We have not had to replace any door handles, but my in-laws are coming up today and I can ask them if that is something they did. My son drove me somewhere recently and was showing me that like covering for the door lock and window buttons had come loose. We were talking about how we might just need to glue it down. Again, problems I never had with older cars, but the older cars probably had manual window levers and not a bunch of fancy buttons. I think some of the trim on the outside is also coming loose.

[MonkeyMama]

Yeah, the CA climate is very kind to cars. Is probably most of why I wouldn't pay the premium for a car with a longevity reputation. This might make more sense in harsher climates. We have not had to replace any door handles, but my in-laws are coming up today and I can ask them if that is something they did.

I confirmed, no door handle problems with the 2003 in mild climate. That is really strange. In fact, my in-laws kind of looked at me like I was crazy when I asked if they had to replace the door handles. LOL.

[Like2Plan]

I confirmed, no door handle problems with the 2003 in mild climate. That is really strange. In fact, my in-laws kind of looked at me like I was crazy when I asked if they had to replace the door handles. LOL.

It could be that in addition to the climate (hotter than heck in the summer), my family is tougher on the door handles?

The Toyota Matrix and the Pontiac Vibe are supposed to be "twins", but I'd have to say fraternal twins in this case. (The inner workings are slightly different when it comes to replacing the door handles. ) Although, a few years back I kept getting an engine error code that I determined was due to the gas cap. I was able to go to the Toyota dealer and get a (Matrix) gas cap that worked perfectly for the Vibe.

[Nutria]

Covid shut down the factories.

Computer chip "factories" (cars & trucks can't run without chips...) were also shut down by the combo of COVID and drought in Taiwan.

[ua_guy]

DH and I worked another car deal yesterday. His trade is worth $5k more than it was in 2018 with 30k fewer miles on it. Just more insanity in the used car marketplace. That included the car having a cracked windshield and needing a major service due at 80k ($1,000 retail).

[LivingAlmostLarge]

DH and I worked another car deal yesterday. His trade is worth $5k more than it was in 2018 with 30k fewer miles on it. Just more insanity in the used car marketplace. That included the car having a cracked windshield and needing a major service due at 80k ($1,000 retail).

What did you do? Get a different car?

[ua_guy]

What did you do? Get a different car?

Yes. We replaced DH's old one.