The used car market parallel

Well good news... I hope...

Wonder how it translates to classic car market. Need to thin the herd and release two Mustangs back to the wild
 
Diesel trucks from the pre-DPF/other emissions era are also through the moon. I know of several Cummins Rams from pre-08 that sold for thousands more in the past year than I sold my 06 for in ‘11...
 
L.C. Gray said:
Well good news... I hope...

Wonder how it translates to classic car market. Need to thin the herd and release two Mustangs back to the wild
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I think there's an POA rule around here somewhere that you just violated. You can't post something like that up without posting some pics!!
 
Could be that used car prices are up because folks aren't buying new cars/trucks. Probably also higher than normal demand now making up for the lower than normal demand from early last year - pent up demand coming on line.
 
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Last September I sold a 2005 F250 Powerstroke with 105,000 one owner miles for 4K over book. The truck market is hot.
 
L.C. Gray said:
Well good news... I hope...

Wonder how it translates to classic car market. Need to thin the herd and release two Mustangs back to the wild
Click to expand...

1000RR said:
I think there's an POA rule around here somewhere that you just violated. You can't post something like that up without posting some pics!!
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The ultimate, original "Classic"

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WDD said:
Could be that used car prices are up because folks aren't buying new cars/trucks. Probably also higher than normal demand now making up for the lower than normal demand from early last year - pent up demand coming on line.
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New car & truck sales are also very robust.
 
The used market has been a bit crazy over the years anyway. It’s been my experience that you really have to be looking for something over 5 years old to really save money. Of course this depends on what you are shopping for but I primarily drive GM vehicles. If you shop around it’s not uncommon to get 10k off the sticker. To buy the same car used just doesn’t make sense as it’s often more than the new one.
 
The used car market has simply never recovered from the massive elimination of quality inventory exacted by the staggeringly-bad “cash for clunkers” program.

It wasn’t for “clunkers” (candidate autos had to be validly licensed and roadworthy), it didn’t really save very many people any money (the federal subsidy was taxable income to its recipients, and many dealers useD the opportunity to increase the cost of the vehicle being sold); Plus, because of the mandatory destruction of the engines of the traded vehicles (as opposed to merely removing them from the road), the market for good, serviceable used engines was destroyed, and, as a result, many true “clunkers“ were forced to remain on the road much longer, with a disproportionate impact on those least able to afford to buy new cars.

It was brain dead, from the start. And, it was wasteful.
 
My goal is to buy low price cars, minimum of 15 years old, and I'll never pay the base taxes to register the stupid thing in Nebraska.

Another goal that has so far worked out great, no car payments, and liability only. IDK what I spend per year on land vehicles but so far its been a dirt cheap experience.

I just picked up a 2004 Grand Marquis LS with 111K miles on it, never been wrecked, heated leather interior, lived in South Dakota since new, two owners since new. $2500.
 
bnt83 said:
My goal is to buy low price cars, minimum of 15 years old, and I'll never pay the base taxes to register the stupid thing in Nebraska.

Another goal that has so far worked out great, no car payments, and liability only. IDK what I spend per year on land vehicles but so far its been a dirt cheap experience.

I just picked up a 2004 Grand Marquis LS with 111K miles on it, never been wrecked, heated leather interior, lived in South Dakota since new, two owners since new. $2500.
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this will be my new approach moving forward as well. I bought a new car two years ago and it will be my last. The prices have gotten out of hand and I find all the gimmicks more annoying than useful. Not to mention most new vehicles have uncomfortable seats and overly stiff suspensions compared to ones 15 years or more ago.
 
Grum.Man said:
this will be my new approach moving forward as well. I bought a new car two years ago and it will be my last. The prices have gotten out of hand and I find all the gimmicks more annoying than useful. Not to mention most new vehicles have uncomfortable seats and overly stiff suspensions compared to ones 15 years or more ago.
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I forget the number but I'm pretty sure for a brand new car of $35k in this state and this city, the first 5 years of ownership would cost $5k just in taxes.

$45k new pickup, first year is $3400 in tax.

I'm 8 miles round trip to work from home. Battery powered bicycle is next.
 
Grum.Man said:
this will be my new approach moving forward as well. I bought a new car two years ago and it will be my last. The prices have gotten out of hand and I find all the gimmicks more annoying than useful. Not to mention most new vehicles have uncomfortable seats and overly stiff suspensions compared to ones 15 years or more ago.
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Ugh, man isn't this the truth? I also hate the ginormous center consoles that 99% of new cars have. I understand it's for crashworthiness or some such, but my legs end up cramped in nearly everything I test drive these days.

We bought the i3 mainly because it doesn't have a center console. Legs and knees are free to roam the countryside as needed. Of course this means that our most comfortable highway cruiser is an electric car with 120mi of range. Sigh.

I've tried to sell the resto-mod Grand Marquis idea a few times, but no sale yet. :D Considering people of, say, the 1960s were smaller than we all are today, it's totally back-assward that cars from that era have acres of plush upholstery and seating and giant footwells, and we have these cardboard micro-buckets and little engineered corpus cubicles in today's cars.

Don't get me started on how many cars are equipped with a high-strung 2.0L turbo 4 banger as the sole powerplant option when a lazy V6 would do the same job with same mileage and greater reliability.
 
Most new cars are all about fuel economy they were engineered completely ignoring driving on dilapidated streets, or the overall cost of ownership.

A $3k replacement wastage & turbo assembly for that 2.0L?
$2500 worth of oxygen sensors?
$3k catalytic converters?
Low profile tires that bend/crack wheels and blow sidewall on a moderate pothole?

GTFOH, ain't buying it.

A brand new Tahoe rides worse than my 1998 Lumina

2010 Elentra ride worse than my 1979 3/4 ton Dodge pickup completely, also rides worse than the Lumina.
 
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schmookeeg said:
Ugh, man isn't this the truth? I also hate the ginormous center consoles that 99% of new cars have. I understand it's for crashworthiness or some such, but my legs end up cramped in nearly everything I test drive these days.

We bought the i3 mainly because it doesn't have a center console. Legs and knees are free to roam the countryside as needed. Of course this means that our most comfortable highway cruiser is an electric car with 120mi of range. Sigh.

I've tried to sell the resto-mod Grand Marquis idea a few times, but no sale yet. :D Considering people of, say, the 1960s were smaller than we all are today, it's totally back-assward that cars from that era have acres of plush upholstery and seating and giant footwells, and we have these cardboard micro-buckets and little engineered corpus cubicles in today's cars.

Don't get me started on how many cars are equipped with a high-strung 2.0L turbo 4 banger as the sole powerplant option when a lazy V6 would do the same job with same mileage and greater reliability.
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There are so many things on new cars and trucks that were changed for the sake of change and it sucks. For example, switching the shifter for a truck from the column to a counsel. You’ve placed an item you use a few times per drive in prime real estate for storage or other functions. Now they are going to push button or rotary controls that take up just as much room. Just bring back the column shift! And yes, I much prefer a bench seat to buckets.

as for ride, handling, and steering... if I want a sports car I’ll buy a sports car. Otherwise I want the suspension to be floaty, the seats to be cushy, and the steering feather light!
 
Grum.Man said:
as for ride, handling, and steering... if I want a sports car I’ll buy a sports car. Otherwise I want the suspension to be floaty, the seats to be cushy, and the steering feather light!
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And this is why there are so many different makes and models of cars out there. I’d hate having to drive your car just as much as you’d hate having to drive mine, and we’d both hate having to drive that other guy’s.
 
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I love feather light steering, the 79 Dodge pickup shines here.

(This one handed guy hates stiff power steering, I'm worried enough about getting arthritic in my only hand as it is)
 
I plan to keep the FJ forever, or at least as long as I can. Nothing new interests me.. I hate touchscreens and all the "smart" features. Lucky for me the FJ's been out of production for a while now and used prices are awesome for it.. it has one of the highest (if not, THE) retained values on the used car market
 
Speaking of floaty suspension.. Jeremy Clarkson would like to have a word

 
schmookeeg said:
Ugh, man isn't this the truth? I also hate the ginormous center consoles that 99% of new cars have. I understand it's for crashworthiness or some such, but my legs end up cramped in nearly everything I test drive these days.

We bought the i3 mainly because it doesn't have a center console. Legs and knees are free to roam the countryside as needed. Of course this means that our most comfortable highway cruiser is an electric car with 120mi of range. Sigh.

I've tried to sell the resto-mod Grand Marquis idea a few times, but no sale yet. :D Considering people of, say, the 1960s were smaller than we all are today, it's totally back-assward that cars from that era have acres of plush upholstery and seating and giant footwells, and we have these cardboard micro-buckets and little engineered corpus cubicles in today's cars.

Don't get me started on how many cars are equipped with a high-strung 2.0L turbo 4 banger as the sole powerplant option when a lazy V6 would do the same job with same mileage and greater reliability.
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I will say I prefer a turbo 2.0 to modern V6 engines in anything but a sports car. I like engines with gobs of low end TQ, modern V6 engines just don’t have it. I would take an old 4.3 or 3.8 over a 2.0T or modern 3.6V6 any day.
 
Grum.Man said:
Now they are going to push button
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I remember my dad had a '52 or '53 Plymouth that had a push button transmission. Huge giant tail fins and army green paint that came off on your fingers if you rubbed it. I was a teenager before I found out how you could get cars in other colors besides army green, air force blue or state white.
 
bnt83 said:
I forget the number but I'm pretty sure for a brand new car of $35k in this state and this city, the first 5 years of ownership would cost $5k just in taxes.

$45k new pickup, first year is $3400 in tax.

I'm 8 miles round trip to work from home. Battery powered bicycle is next.
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We pay once, 9.25% sales tax on the car, after that, it is $24/yr for tags. If I had to pay big tax every year on a car, I too would drive a low value beater. That's nuts!
 
Bill said:
We pay once, 9.25% sales tax on the car, after that, it is $24/yr for tags. If I had to pay big tax every year on a car, I too would drive a low value beater. That's nuts!
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Just one of taxes and fees on the bill. Add sales tax and wheel tax and all the little fees.

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upload_2021-2-4_10-54-58.png
 
SCCutler said:
the market for good, serviceable used engines was destroyed
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Boy don’t I know it.....

During the Clunkers program, the salvage yard I helped run received nearly 400 vehicles for free or nearly free (before, our average cost of acquisition per unit was $1250 landed) that did give us a big boost in overall revenue.

But engines were always our #1 selling part type in both requests and sales dollars. (Transmissions were #2, followed by truck rear axles #3). While glad for the extra raw inventory, not having the engine sales revenue was very disappointing.

And so frequently, the engine that got glassed and rendered inoperable was one that was always in demand we never had enough of.


(PS to @SCCutler... are we ever going to make good on our desire to do some flying together?)
 
Tantalum said:
Speaking of floaty suspension.. Jeremy Clarkson would like to have a word

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There is something truly surreal about an Englishman making derisive comments about a late 70s American car.
 
AggieMike88 said:
Boy don’t I know it.....

During the Clunkers program, the salvage yard I helped run received nearly 400 vehicles for free or nearly free (before, our average cost of acquisition per unit was $1250 landed) that did give us a big boost in overall revenue.

But engines were always our #1 selling part type in both requests and sales dollars. (Transmissions were #2, followed by truck rear axles #3). While glad for the extra raw inventory, not having the engine sales revenue was very disappointing.

And so frequently, the engine that got glassed and rendered inoperable was one that was always in demand we never had enough of.


(PS to @SCCutler... are we ever going to make good on our desire to do some flying together?)
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Some day, friend. It’s just such a strange time we’re in!
 
WDD said:
Could be that used car prices are up because folks aren't buying new cars/trucks. Probably also higher than normal demand now making up for the lower than normal demand from early last year - pent up demand coming on line.
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New vehicle sales are off the charts, the biggest slowdown is the lack of inventory! The reason last years new vehicle sales were down or appeared to be down, was the 2 month loss of production due to the virus. Now microchips are an issue and they are holding up production of some models.
 
Omalley1537 said:
Diesel trucks from the pre-DPF/other emissions era are also through the moon. I know of several Cummins Rams from pre-08 that sold for thousands more in the past year than I sold my 06 for in ‘11...
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I paid at the higher end of KBB back in October for my 03 Excursion diesel w/118K on the clock. I'm confident I could sell it for the same amount I paid for it, even if I put another 30K+ miles on it . There have been some absolutely crazy prices on some of them.

Sent from my SM-N976U using Tapatalk
 
SCCutler said:
There is something truly surreal about an Englishman making derisive comments about a late 70s American car.
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Doesn't have a choice. Has to talk about American cars. All the late '70s British cars completely rusted away long ago, after they were abandoned by their owners on the side of the motorway during a rain storm.
 
I donated a 2001 truck in December. The way vehicle donations are done is that you phone the charity, and they send a contractor tow truck. No contact. It’s towed to a big auction place. After it’s sold, they send you a letter telling you the price, so that you can deduct that amount from your income taxes.

I expected my rusty old hulk to auction for at most $1k. Maybe a few hundred. To my surprise, when the letter came, it had fetched $5500.

Used car dealers must be desperate for trucks to sell.
 
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In a few months when people see the crash coming, they'll hold on to their money like it was glued in their wallet. Sell now if you can.
 
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