What's my older vehicle worth?

Reader Alan W. Yerger asks:
Question on fair value of 1983 chev. cavalier CS 2 Dr. hatchback 2.0 fuel injection F41 Yype-10. Same family since new, 72,000 miles, always garage kept.

Cory responds:
Dear Mr. Yerger,
Thank you for your interest in Cory’s Car Questions.

This is an interesting question and one that I am asked many times, what is a well kept, but older, vehicle worth? The answer is not simple and will require some work if you want to maximize the value of your vehicle.

When you are dealing with a late model vehicle the pricing process is much easier; there are several sources that can give you book values, kbb.com (Kelly Blue Book), NADA.com (National Automotive Dealers Association) and Edmunds.com. You can look at these guides and come up with a strong idea of where your vehicle should be priced, however these sources do not go back to 1983.

With your vehicle you will have to do a little more work. First you should search on line and in the paper for like vehicles and see what others are asking for them, then also evaluate where you think your vehicle fits in with them. If some of these vehicles are local you may even want to go see them. This will help you evaluate where yours fits into the mix.

Next you will want to get your vehicle ready for sale, make sure it has been detailed inside and out, the tires have the proper pressure and its overall appearance is as good as it can be. With the low miles and the way your vehicle was kept, you want your potential customers to see it for all the value it has. Then you will want to market the vehicle, set a budget and make sure you keep it in consideration as you are selling the vehicle because this will come directly out of your profit.

I would start with the vehicle on craigslist.com, autotrader.com and auto trader print as well as a classified in your local paper and any shopper type magazines you might have. Please also put it in the front yard with plenty of signage to let people know it is for sale.

The more places you have your vehicle available to people the more chances you have for finding someone who is interested. You should be able to do the above marketing for under $100. The first time around I would ask the most amount for the vehicle you feel it is worth and let people know you are willing to hear their offers.

You can always reduce the price next time if it does not sell. Your vehicle is one to sell privately if possible, because a dealer will not be able to give you a great value for it. They have to resell it and there is a tight margin on inexpensive vehicles. If your vehicle is nice and runs well, I would ask $1900 for it and let people know how nice it is. If you were to take it to a dealer, you would be lucky to get $300 to $400 for it. Good luck and good selling.

Cory

Why a car questions column?

Thank you again for reading Cory’s Car Questions, I hope we have been of some use to you.

I have been asked by both people in my industry and people shopping for vehicles a simple question. Why? Why write an article helping people make educated vehicle buying decisions?

Don’t you want people in the dark about your profession? Isn’t that how you make more money? My answer has been the same since I started in this business, an educated automotive consumer is by far our best customer.

An educated consumer does not come to the dealership and expect to buy a vehicle valued at $20,000 for $10,000. He or she does not buy a vehicle from me and then talk to people who tell them they overpaid and become upset with me or my business. They do not tell people they feel they were “ripped-off” or duped, because they know a good deal and what a good deal for them is.

It is a shame that my industry has received such a black eye at times, because all the information is out there and all people have to do is a little homework to make their car buying experience a pleasant one.

Remember, dealerships have a lot of people watching them: the media, local, state and federal government as well as lawyers hoping to make a quick buck by praying on businesses that actually produce something.

For the most part no reputable dealer is trying to rip you off. The price of the vehicle is stated, the payments are explained and the vehicle is available for your inspection and test drive. If you do not like anything stated above you simply do not have to buy the vehicle, there are plenty of other dealerships ready to try and earn your business.

When you buy a vehicle, you sign anywhere from ten or more documents explaining what you are doing, and again, if you do not like what you are doing, simply do not do it.

If you ask yourself the right questions and do a little work, or ask me, to find the right answers, you will find your vehicle purchasing process to be more pleasant...or even fun. After all, it is not every day that you get a new car. No matter what type of vehicle you are getting, they are not inexpensive, so if you are going to part with your hard earned dollars you should at least make it an enjoyable experience.

You can do that with just a little research and then everyone can have a great day. Please let me know if I am able to help you. Good luck and good shopping.

Cory

Ask Cory your car question

To ask Cory a question about buying, selling, or trading a car, just place it in the comment section and your question with Cory's answer will be incorporated in an upcoming post. It's that simple!

New or used: The debate continues

Should you buy New or Used? This is a question I often get asked and the answer really depends on the type of buyer you are, however I will tell you that most millionaires actually buy used over new.

If you are a value minded individual and are willing to invest a little time in shopping for your ride, then a used vehicle is the way to go.

Even the best vehicle at holding it’s value, the Mini Cooper, has a residual value of 86% currently, thus proving the fact that vehicles are depreciating assets at best.

This is why most people who are smart enough to make and hold on to a million dollars or more tend to go used.

That being said, when you buy used, you need to be more careful than when you buy new; you are buying a used complex piece of mechanical equipment. You will want to do your research on how reliable the vehicle is and what types of price range it should be in.

When you have picked the vehicle out, you should have it mechanically checked, see a CARFAX and make sure the title is clean. If getting the most for your money is your main objective than used is the way to go.

New vehicles may still work for you if the following is true; you prefer to be the only one who has owned your vehicle, having an extensive warrantee is important to you, you are planning on owning the vehicle for seven years or more, you put normal miles on your vehicles or there is a great factory incentive that makes it advantagous to you, like 0% for 72 months.

There have been a few times in my career that it was economically more effective to buy new rather than a late model used vehicle because of the incentives. Payments were actually lower on the new vehicle vs. the late model used vehicle because of the interest rate incentive.

If new is for you, your goal should be to keep your vehicle for at least seven years, that is when you have gotten the best use out of it on a yearly cost basis.

A new vehicle depreciates the most in the first two years of service. After that, the depreciation percentage becomes less and less, so for every year you keep your new vehicle after the two years you will be lowering you annual cost of usage on the vehicle.

New or used is a question that only you can answer. The key is to research and balance your needs with your wants and make sure you pay attention to the overall economy of what you are looking to do. Good luck and good shopping.

Cory

Ask Cory your car question

To ask Cory a question about buying, selling, or trading a car, just place it in the comment section and your question with Cory's answer will be incorporated in an upcoming post. It's that simple!

More on green transportation

(Editor’s Note: Reading last week’s column by Cory made one reader take exception.)

Last column Cory noted:
As it stands right now hybrids are not a practical money saver. That's right, trying to save money is not a good reason to buy a hybrid. Actually, the opposite may be true. With what you have to spend on any hybrid above and beyond what you spend for a comparable traditional gas powered vehicle, the saving just do not ad up. Here is an example: the topselling hybrid and the symbol of the hybrid movement is the Toyota Prius with claims of up to 50 MPG. The purchase cost of a new Prius is about $25,000. Right now used ones are actually selling for more because of short supply. A similar sized combustion motor vehicle is the Toyota Corolla with a rating of 34 MPG highway. It sells for about $17,000 for a basic model. That's a $7,000 swing. Lets say you are average and drive around 15,000 miles per year; the Corolla's annual fuel cost at $4.00 per gallon would be $1,764. The Pruis at the same useage would cost $1,200 per year saving you $564 per year. At this rate it will take you 12.4 years to just get even. Most people do not keep a vehicle for 12 years and 180,000. To me the economics to not make sense, however if it is a green thing then it may be worth it to you. All I am saying is it has to be about more than the money to make a hybrid work for you. Good luck and good shopping.

But annonymous said:
Now try it with an Aptera (www.aptera.com) vs. Corolla. The hybrid Aptera is going to cost about $30k. But, it gets 300 mpg. So under your assumptions, you are going to be using 5 gallons of gas a year (score one for the environmentalists). So you would be saving $1,744 per year. It would become economically efficient by the end of the eighth year to own an Aptera vehicle. And some battery manufacturers are claiming to get 2000 cycles on their batteries before their is a significant decrease in their capacity. The batteries would last about six years if you charged them every day. Every other day, and they last 12 years, meaning that you would save almost $9k by the time you have to replace the batteries. Surely enough to cover the replacement cost and then some.

And Cory’s response:
Dear Anonymous,

Thank you for your interest in automobiles, the environment and this blog. Though I think your infatuation with the Aptera vs. any current automobile is a little premature. Looking into this vehicle; I say vehicle instead of a car because it is classified as a motorcycle and not a car, it may or may not be available for public consumption until 2009, will only be available in California, and is currently not suitable for higher elevations or hilly terrain. This vehicle reminds be of the Honda Insight, impractical, quirky looking and not able to move much more than two people, except the Insight was mass produced by Honda who already had a network of dealerships in place. Aptera has no plans for dealerships. Please do not get me wrong. Concepts are where it all begins and the Insight beckoned in a whole new generation of automobiles known as “Hybrids” and will always have its place in history, however impractical it was. It will also be interesting to see just how much the concept bends to reality when the Aptera does become available to the public. Most prototypes change quite a bit when faced with the realities of the real road. Please also remember that the belief that a plug in vehicle is the Holy Grail of eco-friendly vehicles may also be a little off base. Plugging in will not produce pollution at your house, it may not create pollution on the road, but it does produce pollution some where. Coal, gas or nuclear power is producing that electricity that your vehicle is drinking in, so the pollution may not be near
by, however it is still happening. Also, they claim that the Aptera will only cost $2.00 or so to charge overnight, well that’s $730 dollars per year added to your fuel costs, plus gas, plus daily charges. Again as we grow into cleaner electricity, like wind and hydro, the plug in factor will grow cleaner, but it will also grow more expensive. A vehicle that produces its own energy, like a
Hybrid or a Hydrogen car is ultimately cleaner than any vehicle that is dependent on an outside source. That vehicle is simply moving the pollution rather than eliminating it. Like I said before I am not anti-Hybrid or any alternative fuel vehicle. I am simply stating that they are not yet in the position to claim economical superiority. In reality, if being green is your motivating factor, a Hybrid or Hydrogen vehicle are great choices, even better than a plug in, because they produce their own energy. But I will tell you, we are many years away from the Hybrid being the choice of economy. Sorry, being green will have to be enough for now. Good luck and good shopping. Have a great one.

Cory the Car Guy