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Jul 21, 2009 -- Unloved smaller cars are a deal now that gasoline is cheaper
In a complete reversal from last summer, the average cost of a used SUV or truck has actually gone up. This while used vehicle sales overall are down some 30% year over year!
Tribune News Service reports used SUV prices are up 26% and used truck prices are up 27% year over year. Seems like the national gas average of $4.11/gallon that scared people away from larger vehicles one year ago is now just a distant memory.
As you might expect, smaller vehicles are now going unloved in the marketplace, as the price at the pump continues on its downward slope. In one very telling illustration of what's going on right now, Toyota abandoned construction of a Prius plant in Mississippi in mid-project!
Now is the time to zig when others zag, if you can afford it. Some small new cars are selling for under $10,000! And used vehicles that are smaller continue to be a real deal.
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What others are saying
My small car will always be loved
It is a Volkswagen New Beetle, and we plan to die with it. Yep, they will have to pry my cold dead hands from the stearing wheel from me.
I say two things:
Buy the car you really love and then keep it forever.
Live where you love to vacation. Build your job, career where you love to vacation, and it is amazing how if you live in a tourist town how many relatives visit you.
Used small cars
I bought my 2003 Hyundai Elantra in March. The Blue Book value on it was $6800, but the dealer in a rural area surrounded by pickup trucks had it advertised for $5000. After only a little negotiation, I paid $3750 for it. He said he flips trucks in a couple of days, but small cars can sit there for months. If you live in a large city, drive out in the boonies a hundred miles or so and you might find an even better deal!
Smaller cars are getting cheaper
Small cars for the model year 2008 and new are still not sold because the dealer wants full sticker price for them. Go figure? I agree with Vyrus, where are the deals? The dealers seem to think the government will help them out. Maybe the government will pay them to crush the cars. I noticed some local dealers are low on inventory and I hear that the dealers can't get loans on cars to have in inventory.
