dean1484 wrote:
I factor in the usage of the car as well. The millage I put on a car is the usage and thus I am willing to accept the cost of it. I also don't expect a car that has 50K miles at 5 years old to sell for the same money 2 years later with 75K miles on it. If you do I think that is an unreasonable expectation for most cars. Unusual or special 1-2 year only production models are different but for the most part the price of a car that is less than 10 years old is driven by the millage on it no matter how great the maintenance record is.
I completely agree. Part of the idea is that I have a paid-for Honda Fit that will eventually get sold to buy a Civic Hybrid for the daily commute. These cars are very cheap to own, are or will-be paid-for, and will take the overwhelming majority of my annual mileage.
I'd expect my mileage on the "toy" to be under 5k/yr.
I think it's come out lately with the Tesla stuff, but you'd be surprised how powerful the car dealers associations are in statehouses across the country.
Doesn't matter if you like elephants or donkeys, the car dealers have paid handsomely to have their opinions heard and, in my experience, no one is there representing our interests.
We pay tax on private party transactions here in FL. Granted one could fudge the bill of sale, but they are reviewed and bad things can happen if they decide to investigate.
It got so bad in Texas, they are now just doing a book value for taxes on private used car purchases. So they have the book value and if the papers say less than that, they charge you what the book says.
dean1484 wrote:
I factor in the usage of the car as well. The millage I put on a car is the usage and thus I am willing to accept the cost of it. I also don't expect a car that has 50K miles at 5 years old to sell for the same money 2 years later with 75K miles on it. If you do I think that is an unreasonable expectation for most cars. Unusual or special 1-2 year only production models are different but for the most part the price of a car that is less than 10 years old is driven by the millage on it no matter how great the maintenance record is.
A big way to help with depreciation is to drive the car MUCH less than 12.5K a year. That is achieved with having at least one daily driver. Sports cars have a different market demand than a Camry or Accord. I have been looking at C4 (and C5) Corvettes for about 3 years, and the late models (92-96) finally have started to drop under $10,000. It is probably from the C7 coming out. C5 Corvettes have held their value during the same time too.
In reply to Mr_Clutch42:
And even among sports cars Corvettes are weird because so many 'Vette owners want an automatic. With most sports cars the second and third owners seem to place a higher premium on sporty options, e.g. the tiptronic was a fairly expensive option when new, but the standard shift is worth more now in the used market.
But, generally, I completely agree with you on sports car depreciation. It's not like a '99 'Vette w/50k miles was worth $30k in 2005, the 29k in '06, 28 in '07, ... They don't follow a linear depreciation curve like that. The value is based on condition, options, mileage and year all wrapped up together, and they tend to only see steep depreciation tied to model year when a re-design has come out.
Of course, certain cars have stopped depreciating altogether. I thought I would buy an Integra Type-R or NSX someday, but neither of those cars depreciated as far as I thought they would.
In Missouri, if you buy another vehicle within 6 months of selling, you get credited for the tax you paid on the previous. Gets rolled over into your new purchase.
So says the lady at the DMV. Never did fact check it.
