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Used car market gets even more bizarre

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Re: Used car market gets even more bizarre

#271

Post by BoorishBears »

joezydeco wrote: post #248
neogodless wrote: post #108

All I can offer is an anecdote. I have a 2015 Mazda 3 (top trim level, with 34,000 miles on it.) Purchased 4.5 years ago with 8k on it for just under $20k. Well over a year ago, I started checking KBB.com values to either trade it in or sell it. Back then, trade was close to $12k, and private party was a bit over $13k. I've checked several times since then, and the price has basically grown and grown. As of today, it…

If you really want to see something insane, get a quote on Carvana. I have a 2018 Mazda3T Sedan with really low miles (thanks COVID) and they're offering me more than the MSRP when I bought it three years ago.

> really low miles

This is key, otherwise you should save your time, private sales are the way to go in the current market for higher milage vehicles

Re: Used car market gets even more bizarre

#272

Post by noduerme »

OnlineGladiator wrote: post #236
noduerme wrote: post #221

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I understand this. To be clear, I'm willing to use GPS. I'm willing to carry a cellphone. I'm even willing to use those things in conjunction when I choose to put a battery in and turn mobile data on and location on. If there were a car with a built-in GPS that didn't have cellular reception, I would get it. (I used to use a TomTom). But I won't buy a car where those things are integrated and can't be turned off. Sev…

I'm saying it's really easy to just kill the cellular modem in pretty much any car. Just short it with solder if you want to. Now you can enjoy almost any car with none of the privacy concerns. If you prefer older cars that's fine, but there's an easy workaround if the issue really is whether or not there's a cellular modem. I've done this before on multiple vehicles and it won't void the warranty for anything other…

Hm. Interesting. The newer navigation systems are based on Android I think - right?

My GF has a 2008 Lexus with a GPS/nav that is definitely not Android. All the maps are onboard on a drive. She actually can't update her maps anymore because the physical ROMs or whatever stopped being produced a few years ago. I'm assuming that newer cars just download their maps from (somewhere? Is this connectivity part of what's sold as a "navigation package"?)

There are other reasons I'm not a fan of newer cars (auto-braking, too much fly-by-wire stability/antilock/nonsense pushing your pedals when you don't want them pushed, and "hill hold"). But disabling the tracking stuff would make it more palatable.

Ironically, my radar detector knows exactly where I am and communicates with a network all the time when it's plugged in. But that's for my own joy =D

Re: Used car market gets even more bizarre

#273

Post by OldHand2018 »

avidphantasm wrote: post #150
olyjohn wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It was likely replaced with another used engine. No mechanic is gonna warranty that for 2 years, and I doubt they'd even warranty a new engine for 2 years unless they rebuilt it themselves. You'd have to take that up with the engine manufacturer / refurbisher or the person who sold it.

It's a Subaru, they blow through engines. A relative had a 2014 Forester and it had two engines replaced under warranty. This is apparently a known problem with a certain recent version of their 4 cyl. boxer engines.

For sure. If you want a Subaru that lasts forever, get the 3.6R - it's a bulletproof 6-cylinder paired with a heavy-duty transmission. They stopped making them about 2 or 3 years ago.

Re: Used car market gets even more bizarre

#274

Post by noduerme »

hyperman1 wrote: post #136
noduerme wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I still won't even buy a car with GPS. Seems I'm in a vanishing minority. It won't pass, because people born after 1990 have spent their adult lives in a world with surveillance machines in their pockets at all times. Their cars are just big phones. By 2040 you probably won't even be allowed to drive your own vehicle.

To be honest, not being allowed to drive your own vehicle is probably a good thing. See e.g. https://www.cdc.gov/injury/features/global-road-safety/index... . From the first few paragraphs: Road traffic crashes are a leading cause of death in the United States for people aged 1–54 More than half of those killed are pedestrians, motorcyclists, or cyclists. Drivers risk other people's lives, hence, other people have a…

>> If someone wants to do some old school driving in 2040, go have fun on a private racetrack or whatever

This reminds me of how only rich people could afford to fly places in the 1940s; then the upper-middle class could afford airline vacations in the 60s-80s; then by the 2000s, it was available to everyone so everyone had to be treated like scum/cattle, and once again if you wanted to take a nice vacation you had to be rich and buy first class tickets, or rent a jet.

So your ideal vision for 2040 is that everyone is herded everywhere and no one gets to experience even a fleeting sense of freedom on the road, except the extremely rich who can afford cars that aren't road-legal and can only go to racetracks? Or maybe large private land holdings?

Because currently, we still live in a society where the average person can experience a modicum of freedom - mobility, autonomy, and privacy - by getting in their car and driving it without help from a computer or monitoring from the government. I think that's worth preserving. A generation that grows up without ever feeling that freedom will be way too easy to control.

Maybe driving your own car will seem anachronistic like, say, writing in full sentences without emojis. But if you think about what we'd be losing, as a personal experience of having the privilege to take yourself anywhere on your own recognizance, it seems like a massive step backwards to deprive humans of that. And it sounds like imprisonment.

Re: Used car market gets even more bizarre

#275

Post by grp000 »

csteubs wrote: post #171
sokoloff wrote: post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Jumping from only light maintenance to changing a rear main seal is quite the leap!

No better feeling though! Especially when running the numbers post-fix (insert CS joke here) and comparing to shop quotes. I keep spreadsheets for two cars and an older jet ski and I've saved ~$12k this year alone by wrenching solo assuming $100/hr = standard labor rate. I've learned a TON of cross-functional skills, have full control over the parts and repair, and it's just a feel-good way to step away from my desk…

You'll probably be less time efficient than a full-time mechanic though.

Re: Used car market gets even more bizarre

#276

Post by postsantum »

Scoundreller wrote: post #263
postsantum wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am sure it would work great with the upcoming quarantine of 2038. Fellow citizen, for your own good, your car has been geofenced to your local grocery shop

bicycles (wo)man!

With the current average BMI my point still stands

Re: Used car market gets even more bizarre

#277

Post by bruce511 »

dawnerd wrote: post #207
dlmiller wrote: post #2

My car died, needing a new engine, so I was forced to get one in October. I usually only buy used, but prices are so inflated it didn't seem worth the premium. Used 2017-2020 Toyota Rav4's with 30-60k miles were the same price as a new 2021 model, if you could get one. I knew it was bad, but I was shocked of how bad it was. I went to multiple mega dealerships with 500-1000 cars that were all spoken for. Most had 0 ne…

And when you find a car that’s available they all are stacking an extra 10k “market adjustment” on top. It’s a huge scam.

Isn't that just market economics? Supply and demand? Isn't the greatness of the USA supposed to be predicated on the market being king, and the freedom of people to do what they like?

Until there's a shortage of something you want, which in turn drives up the price - then it's a scam?

Re: Used car market gets even more bizarre

#278

Post by SilasX »

jiveturkey wrote: post #267
SilasX wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s the opposite: Normal market: “this product costs $2.60.” ‘Wasn’t it like, $2.10 a week ago?’ “Yes it was.” Cars: “This car is $26k. Oh, also you have to pay a $2k market adjustment, because man things are just crazy.” That is, in normal markets, you just raise the price , you don’t need to refer to an explicit “market adjustment”, especially not as a random addon.

It's completely fair to raise the price due to supply and demand, just as its fair to lower it. I don't think you are objecting to that, in either direction. But your complaint that it should just be called the price is a bit puzzling. Honestly, what do you (anyone) care what it's called ? It's not a random addon, it's a carefully calculated (and continually tested) clearing price. Normal market car pricing: "This ca…

Most markets don’t put you through that garbage, no.

And it’s not fair to advertise one price and add on a market adjustment when someone asks to buy it.

Re: Used car market gets even more bizarre

#279

Post by BoorishBears »

moosebear847 wrote: post #252
Loughla wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bought a new Subaru Impreza this spring. We had been saving for a couple years for my (close enough) dream car (wanted the WRX STI, but that maintenance is a real bitch). We have now had 4 calls from the dealership where we bought it offering to buy it back for thousands of dollars more than we paid this spring . So far their best offer was $6500 more than what we paid. It's outrageous.

Does this mean the dealership thinks they can sell it for $10K+ more now even used?

Even if they sell it for what they pay OP they can make money off financing

Re: Used car market gets even more bizarre

#280

Post by digianarchist »

Jxl180 wrote: post #245
tnel77 wrote: post #233

I know this is anecdotal, but I ran a Carvana offer today just to see what they’d give me for my one year old Subaru Forester. Their offer is $2,000 higher than my payoff quote from the bank. I haven’t tried shopping around to see how that offer compares to Carmax or a dealership. I still need this vehicle, but it’s crazy nonetheless.

Carvana is offering me $7k over my payoff quote on my 2.5 year old lease.

My lease ended recently and Subaru cut me a $5k check to take it back. They gave me another lease on a new vehicle for a lower payment.

It's 2.5 years but I only need it a year. They suggested I bring it back in then and they'd likely buy it back off me if things don't improve.

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