All across the nation, SUV Sally's and Sam's are cussing at the pumps. They're watching the readout with mounting horror: $80, $100, $120+ per fill up. The automotive source of this pain of portly plenitude is has become the pink elephant of the American lifestyle. And it's true: SUVs suck. Not just gas. Depreciation, insurance and street cred. And so, the "Livin' Large" folks of the Oil War Era are giving up their SUVs en masse. Which brings us to a simple question. Should you?
The first thing you should consider is whether anyone wants your SUV. Really. That's not a misprint. The purveyors of maximum mass, maximum profit vehicles have been overproducing these beasts for nearly a decade. GM, Ford, Chrysler, Toyondissan, Audi, Porsche, Saab and even granola-happy Subaru joined the fray of seemingly endless profit and demand. And now we have the Mother of All Gluts. On EBay, you'll find a 2006, 23k-mile Ford Explorer Limited ($33k new, at least in theory). The owner's asking $23k. Good luck with that; there isn't a single bid on the vehicle. Not one.
We hear reports that some dealers won't take your SUV in trade. Period. Of course, everything sells at a price. So take four good pictures of your vehicle. Write a glorious soliloquy of its qualities. Price it according to the completed items section on EBay. Put ads on Craigslist and Autotrader. Once you get two serious inquiries on your vehicle that don't involve low-balling, you'll see how bad things really are. And they are very bad indeed. And getting worse.
OK, so, you sell X. You buy Y. The cost to trade is pretty easy to determine (if hard to stomach). The hard part: take into account all the other costs that go into the equation. Depreciation (again), insurance, maintenance, even the ungainly pitfall that is financing are part of the wallet-draining process. These "hidden costs" determine the real cost of escaping your Escape.
A buyer of a Mercedes 320 CDI may love to brag about their outstanding fuel economy– until they start paying for the outstandingly expensive blue urea fluid that can only be had at the dealer. Likewise, a friend of mine absolutely adored his Jetta Diesel– until the dealer billed him over $1300 for 'regular maintenance.' One call to a dealer (or independent shop), a quick visit to an enthusiast's site can add an awful lot of wisdom to your final decision.
When it comes to car buying, knowledge is more important than imagination or instinct.
Along the same lines, you have to be honest with yourself, and God forbid, your spouse. Would either of you really feel comfortable making a leap from Canyonero to Cobalt? Safety, interior quality, and dare I say it, the pleasures of driving these money-suckers should be given weighty consideration over the course of weeks.
In my experiences, folks who drive Suburbans rarely fit in Fits. But they can be more than fine in a Camry hybrid or Malibu. By the same token, drivers who own and enjoy a compact SUV may be perfectly happy in a compact car. My wife went from Volvo wagons and minivans into a Honda Fit without any regrets. However the Scion xB and xD were rolling Edsels in her eyes. We all have our likes and dislikes. Be true to them.
Finally don't be sold on being sold; $2.99 gas, free maintenance programs and lifetime warranties may be a dream come true. But the car behind the fine print 'bling' may be a rolling shit can. When you drive away from the lot, the car will determine the quality of your "ownership experience." If you decide to buy used, it will be the prior owner. And if you keep what you have, it will be your own driving style and maintenance regimen that will likely have the most impact on your satisfaction.
It's true. In these days of $4 gas, many of us have been able to achieve fuel economy figures which exceed the EPA ratings by anywhere from 20 to 30 percent, just by changing the way we drive. Learn to coast. Keep the rpm's low. Pay attention to the traffic. Turn that cell phone off and make driving a 'mileage' game. Hypermiling– within reason– can put dollars back in your pocket and add years to your SUVs life.
In an SUV buyer's market, it's best not to sell an SUV. So how long before the market recovers? At best, two years. At worst, never. If it galls you that you're now an SUV owner for life, don't panic. Drive less. Drive more sensibly. And relax. It still beats walking.
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SUVs can probably be converted to drive water pumps, sawmills, etc. It’s been done before. :-) Willy’s Jeeps did serious service as powertrains for lots of different applications post-WWII.
The depreciation on SUVs is incredible – I had one which this spring lost value with each tick of the clock. People were standing in line for them a few years ago.
Makes you wonder about the latecomers to the SUV “party.”
Amusingly enough, I’m freakishly tall and fit in a Fit but not in many larger cars and trucks. The above article makes a good point about challenging vehicular assumptions.
I’d have to say that walking beats driving, at least for commutes. When I lived within walking distance of work, it was a nice way to get my thoughts in order before the day starts and to decompress on the way home. I can bike now, but you don’t get the same “zen” factor.
A Suburban owner can probably fit in a Fit. After all, what did people do before the SUV craze? They drove cars.
When autoblog posted about that Geo Metro fetching $7300, I did an eBay completed items search and found the following:
2002 Honda Insight with 45,000 miles sold for $18,000
2005 Hummer H2 (loaded, LCD in headrests, etc.) with 35,000 miles sold for $18,200
Most know that the original MSRP differs widely between the two vehicles, not to mention the age difference.
Times, they are a changin’
So, why not keep the suv and buy a Fit or Yaris as a commuter? Keep the suv for weekend trips? The depreciation of just selling the suv almost equal the entire purchase price of a small car. In short, you don’t gain any money by selling the suv.
In Europe, Renault have released the Koledos, a 4×4 SUV.
Brilliant timing, Renault!
Personally, I never saw what the fuss was about with SUV’s. I drove a Lexus RX400 and while I liked it, I felt dirty after driving it. It was so dripping in gadgets, wood veneers and high quality materials, that I felt bad about how many resources were used to make a car which you don’t really need. I really fail to believe that families NEED an SUV. I think it’s more a bunch of “soccer moms” who want to protect their “babies” no matter what the cost. Even though a well built VW Golf or Accord would protect just as well.
It’s just people buying cars (and other stuff) they don’t really need. If you live in the mountains or some other rugged area, then fair enough. If you live in a suburb, then get a proper car, you stupid tools!
Amusingly enough, I’m freakishly tall and fit in a Fit but not in many larger cars and trucks. The above article makes a good point about challenging vehicular assumptions.
I sat in a Hummer 3 recently and said “well, this doesn’t seem any bigger than my wife’s Hyundai.” Did some checking, and yup, my wife’s Hyundai actually has an inch more shoulder room than a Hummer 3. Incredible.
So what is the point of driving this big tank if it has no more room than a Hyundai? It’s all show and status and marketing. We can all fit in smaller vehicles, we just have to get used to it.
John
Unless one is wealthy people should always carefully balance need versus want. You can always splurge a little but I have no sympathy for someone making a vehicle purchase that can’t afford the gas now. If a extra hundred dollors a month is going to break you then you have no business buying the vehicle.
It was never cool to drive a Minivan, or even a wagon like the Mazda5. This adds to the hype of a “tough, rugged” SUV that the carmakers had marketed very successfully.
Great advice from Steven, as usual.
I suspect that many SUV owners are in trouble becuase they are underwater on their purchase, and have trouble paying for gas. These are likely the same people who pay more than they earn in interest every year, what with the balances on their credit cards and 2-3 mortgages on a single home they never could afford in the first place.
The gut reaction from these people is, of course, to go shopping. Rush to the Toyota dealer who will helpfully get you into a new Prius for just $4K over list, and be happy to help you roll your current debt into a new car payment.
Which will fix things. Until the next invented crisis, the next self-created drama.
A Suburban owner can probably fit in a Fit. After all, what did people do before the SUV craze? They drove cars.
That was before obesity became so normal. The proportion of the US population that is severely overweight or obese is growing (no pun intended), and yes, some drivers really do have difficulty fitting into regular cars. I would not be surprised if this weight factor played a role in some proportion of SUV sales.
Pch101,
If you are obese, at least you don’t look as ridiculous getting out of a Suburban as you do getting out of a Mini.
I am guessing the over-shopping for SUVs and the over-eating are somehow related.
I agree with SherbornSean,
This article illustrates a symptom of what’s really hurting most modern economies (not just the US) and that is a lack of financial dicipline combined with a sense of entitlement and instant gratification.
Don’t like your house? Buy a bigger one! Your current vehicle not working out for you? Trade it in! Sunday shopping! Open all night! Instant approval!
Once upon a time, people got a loan or a mortgage, made payments, paid to term and then made their next financial decisions.
People need to be re-educated that financing something or getting a loan is a responsibility and a millstone. That’s why our parents endeavoured to pay them off as fast as possible and made every short-term sacrifice in the book to do so in order for long-term success.
We seem to be in a place where the opposite is true (and I have been guilty of such).
So keep your SUV, tough it out if you can, if you can’t, take the hit and chalk it up to a valuable learning experience.
I own a 6 cylinder F-150 I am contemplating selling only because I never use it. Although pickups are out of style, full size work trucks with the big six are sought after by tradesmen who can’t use a Fit to get to work. I steered clear of V-8s when i bought this truck 5 years ago even though gas was cheap. It gets 20MPG on the highway and that bests a V-8 4WD monster truck by a lot.
I never understood the SUV craze, but I don’t have kids either. I work with a lady who just has two kids and owns a 7 passsenger Expedition. Why?
I’ve driven SUVs a few times and they all feel the same, very fat and heavy, sluggish steering, and most have bad interiors (even the new Fords). We saw a brand new GMC Denali the other day being advertised for $56k!! You could get an awesome luxury car for the same amount with plenty of room for storage, such as a used 7-Series or a newer 5-Series!
My fiance and I both have Civics, and occasionally we have a storage issue, but 99.9% of the time we have no issue driving smaller cars.
I’m six foot nine and two hundred and fifty pounds. I can drive a Honda Fit or Toyota Yaris. I can also drive an Element, Matrix or Rondo easily. I can drive a Mazda3, 5, Corolla or Malibu. I can drive any minivan and any Volkswagen.
I can’t manage a Miata, Civic or Accent, mind you, but I also can’t fit into a 4Runner, H3 or Grand Marquis, so car size has little to do with it.
If I can do all this, some pipsqueak that’s a foot shorter can do the same, even if they’re about my weight.
People who made some bad choices are looking for an easy way out of a bad situation. Dealer are still doing 100+% of value loans, so they may find that they can dig in deeper, if they like.
But it’s lifestyle changes that can make a bigger difference. Carpooling, mass transit, walking, biking, whatever, requires no up-front investment but a new way of thinking about getting around and a new appraisal of what’s one’s “needs” and “wants” really are.
However, our king-size lifestyles close off some avenues for many… urban sprawl makes mass transit infrequent and inefficient, walking and biking become very time-consuming (and unpleasant, these streets aren’t made for walkin’).
We never did think ahead, collectively and (mostly) individually, to what life might be like if oil got expensive. Now we pay for that failure.
@ psarhjinian
I can’t manage a Miata, Civic or Accent, mind you, but I also can’t fit into a 4Runner, H3 or Grand Marquis, so car size has little to do with it.
Six-three, 185 lbs here, and I’ll admit the Civic gives me trouble, too. It’s a hoot to drive (and it’s just an LX) but my knees have nowhere to go with that stupid hand brake. We bought it for my wife, who finds its proportions to be ideal, though.
Foot room is a disaster in the Fit. No left dead petal, no place to rest either foot when cruising. No place to rest elbows. I’d much rather drive the Civic.
My Chevy Malibu Maxx is the ultimate tall person’s car. I actually adjust the seat several clicks forward from the full-back position. And my six-three brother-in-law can sit behind me and not bump his knees. I will reiterate my assertion that GM needs to give this a quick styling touch and bring it back to market ASAP.
Hmmm, Kia is just launching a full-sized SUV with the V8 from the Hyundai Genesis. *sniff* I smell a huge freakin’ bargain coming.
Steven – I have one issue with your first paragraph, and it’s not you, it’s really everybody. Who cares if it costs $120 to fill up your SUV, it’s the frequency of fillups that matter. It only costs me about $30 to fill up my CJ, but I have to stop to fill up everyday I drive it because of the tiny gas tank. People need to stop looking at how much it cost to fill up and only look at how much it costs to drive on average, you know, MPG? (Really we should all switch to miles per dollar, MPD, beacuse of E85, Diesel, Biodiesel, Hydrogen, PHEV, etc) I know the best and the brightest know this, I just feel like ranting about it. My ‘07 4Runner which is a pig gets 20MPG in use as my daily driver, that includes rough dirt roads and lots of A/C usage. My Subaru got 25MPG under the same use. That’s not a big difference considering that the 4Runner is much more comfortable to drive and handles the rough roads much better. Now the 4Runner has a much larger gas tank than the Subaru, so it looks terrible when I put $100 into the gas tank, but I’m only doing that every 2 weeks. So it’s not a big deal. If people thought more about it, they wouldn’t be buying $2500 bikes after one $70 fill up :)
KatiePuckrik: It’s just people buying cars (and other stuff) they don’t really need. If you live in the mountains or some other rugged area, then fair enough. If you live in a suburb, then get a proper car, you stupid tools!
yup. I’m guilty of it on a few levels. I think most people are.
I listened to my cousin’s wife complain about gas prices over the 4th…she just sold her ‘02 Jetta and bought a Honda Pilot. They have no kids, and my cousin works construction, so he has a Silverado. The reasoning? They were moving, and the new house has longer, uphill gravel drive. Plus, she said she needs it to go to work in the winter.
This is a common excuse, at least around the north east. I had SUVs for 9 years, and upon moving back to a sedan, promptly purchased a set of steels and dedicated winters. The TSX with winters is MUCH better than the SUVs with all-seasons ever were. And I don’t think people are understanding of that, or willing to spend the extra $500 for a set of winters that they have to get changed out with 2 half hour visits to the garage. Now, I’m sure there are people doing off-road stuff, and I’m sure 4WD is better if you’re stuck in the mud, but most people that think they need it do not.
I’m six foot nine and two hundred and fifty pounds. I can drive a Honda Fit or Toyota Yaris. I can also drive an Element, Matrix or Rondo easily. I can drive a Mazda3, 5, Corolla or Malibu. I can drive any minivan and any Volkswagen.
You sound as if you’re tall, not fat. That’s more easily resolved — you shove the seat back, and turn your four-passenger car into a three-passenger with extra room for a hat.
Since I can’t offer up myself as an example, I’ll use instead a friend of mine who is quite obese — about 5′10″ and very, very heavy. He can barely fit in a normal car as a passenger, let alone as a driver.
He needs to tilt the steering wheel in order to reach it properly. Since he has a waist that is not proportionate with the length of his legs and arms, he needs a vehicle that allows him to both reach the controls and fit behind them, simultaneously. In his case, the seating position and width make a lot of difference in whether he is comfortable or not.
I doubt that his weight would be particularly good for a vehicle’s suspension, either. Since he’s the weight of at least two regular-sized adult males or three women, that’s quite a lot of weight to put constantly on one side of a standard car.
My friend is not alone. Much of the population resembles him in some way. They would not do well in your average Accord or Camry for long periods of time. They truly don’t fit very well in them.
Dear Honda: the next Ridgeline needs to be based on a stretched CRV chassis, with a 4, 6 and hybrid option. Keep the styling somewhat normal and you’ll sell as many as you can make. Please keep the new Pilot’s stylists off the project.
Meanwhile, my 16 mpg SUV sucks $75 of gas a week out of me, but is paid for, comfortable, and serves my needs. Down the road in 4-5 years when it is time to replace it, I look forward to seeing the number of choices (roomy hybrid wagons would be ideal) I’ll have.
If I had an SUV now and was feeling the pinch of fuel costs, I would probably consider buying a more economical vehicle but NOT selling the SUV. Yeah, you have to do the math, and the math probably doesn’t work out for most.
But if 75%-90% of my driving could be done with a smaller vehicle and if I had room to store the SUV, I’d probably go for it, and just keep the SUV for that remaining 10%-25% of my hauling needs.
John The Accountant: I work with a lady who just has two kids and owns a 7 passsenger Expedition. Why?
Child-safety seat laws, that’s why. Children must use child-safety seats until they reach a certain height, and many children don’t reach that magic number until they are 7-8 years old. Granted, an Expedition is overkill, but jamming two kids in the back of a Fit or Yaris is not much fun.
Good article Steven. A buddy who works for a dealership has been talking about the same thing. Eighty percent of the trades he’s seeing are SUVs and since they don’t want any more, he’s been offering the most intentionally low insulting trade-in values he can. Even then more than half take the offer and turn themselves so upside down that they are paying thousands more for the new car. There is simply no way this can be a cost savings over keeping the SUV.
For those of you who have paid off your SUV, for pete’s sake don’t trade it for an econobox (unless it’s an even trade)! Raise you deductible or drop collision insurance if you want to save money! If all you want to save is gas, walk or ride a horse.
For those of you who still owe on SUV loans, my condolences. Maybe part it out? I’ll give you $500 for your Vortec V8.
geeber, they can’t fit in the back of a Camry, Accord, CR-V, RAV4, Sonata, Malibu, Vibe, Matrix, etc?
A friend of mine has a huge chevy minivan that she bought used (it’s a lemon too, but that’s a story for another time) and loaded. She had such problems with it, that the dealer offered to buy it back from her for what she paid, and get her what she wanted. It’s Pontiac dealer, and they have Chevy, across the street. I told her to get a Malibu or a Vibe, and she immediately says “but it won’t have the DVD player and sit up high. My son likes the dvd player and it keeps him quiet while I drive”
I bit my tongue…
There is some good news. Scrap metal prices are at an all time high.
Dave M.:
Dear Honda: the next Ridgeline needs to be based on a stretched CRV chassis, with a 4, 6 and hybrid option. Keep the styling somewhat normal and you’ll sell as many as you can make. Please keep the new Pilot’s stylists off the project.
Addendum: Give us your new diesel as a fourth drivetrain option.
Axel,
I’m with you on the Malibu Maxx. I have two tall teenagers to chauffer around and there is no problem with the backseat in the Maxx.
I was disappointed when GM didn’t revive the Maxx for this generation of Malibu. Not like it would be hard, just sneak the Opel dies over here and stick a bowtie on it, and we’re good to go.
I guess I will keep the Maxx forever. Maybe someone else will come up with another long wheelbase hatchback midsized car… Or I’ll have to move to Germany to get a REAL 5-door Opel, not a Saturn…
Axel and Dave M,
How would you feel if Honda took the Element, turned it into a small, short bed pickup, maybe with an Avalanche-style midgate. Add a 2.2L diesel for good measure.
Steven Lang:
Why did your friend take their Jetta to the dealership for work? Apparently some edumacation needs to be completed. VW dealers are not your friend. Tell your friend to go to tdiclub.com next time before the stealer bends them over and find a qualified local mechanic.
To stay on topic, SUVs are useless, but if I owned one, I’d likely keep it as well. There’s no point in trying to sell one right now. Might as well drive it until it’s dead and then downsize.
Regarding the need for a huge vehicle to fit child safety seats:
I find this frequent argument to be a little self-deceptive. My wife and I are successfully transporting our two small children in safety-seats in a 4dr ‘03 Passat. No, we can’t take grandma and the whole pre-school class with us, but putting people the back row of an SUV with car-seats in the middle row is a PITA – even with LATCH anchors. At least most mini-vans have a walk-thru to the rear. We recently took a week-long trip to the beach and rented a Sienna. 330 bucks once, vs. the sunk costs associated with driving a more expensive vehicle that gets ~10 fewer mpg on a daily basis. I expect to continue renting rather than buying for a while yet.
Also, after the kids are out of infant carriers, the regulations for seats are age and weight related. In NC its 8 yrs or 80 lbs. Your kid will likely have 3 different size seats by the time they are done… ($$$)
-RML
(my first post by the way. long time lurker..)
I’ll gladly swap my ‘03 S2000 for an ‘07 or ‘08 GXL 470, R-Class or GL-Class.
SherbornSean:
Axel and Dave M,
How would you feel if Honda took the Element, turned it into a small, short bed pickup, maybe with an Avalanche-style midgate. Add a 2.2L diesel for good measure.
My primary purpose for wanting such a vehicle would be to tow stuff: a small camper, a boat, or a cargo trailer. Therefore a bed isn’t all that important unless it’s big enough for stuff like full-sized refrigerators, couches, or maybe an ATV. Otherwise, the bed is just wasted space that could be a fully enclosed cargo area.
Main point is, a sturdy unibody with a 2.2L diesel would be highly useful as a high-MPG vehicle that can still do real work.
If Subaru were to license Honda’s diesel and put it in the Outback, that would be twelve kinds of win. The H6 gas engine is rated for 3000 lbs already. Beef up the body and the tranny and it could probably take on 7500 with a diesel.
Hmmm never thought of it before but this is actually a real opportunity for non traditional truck companies like Honda and others to put into priority developement light 4 or 6 cylinder Element type vehicles to capture some of the former truck market which they could never hope to get before. Whoever gets there first and does it right wins.
Before you trade, do the cost-benefit. How much are you going to spend on trading vehicles vs how much will you save on fuel.
After one of the oil embargoes of the ’70s, Tom Schelling, the winner of the 2005 Nobel in economics, traded something or other for a Pinto. My father asked him if he’d done the cost-benefit. He hadn’t. He did it. He found the savings was not going to offset the cost of the trade (showing that even the brightest of the best and brightest isn’t immune from these mistakes).
SherbornSean Says:
How would you feel if Honda took the Element, turned it into a small, short bed pickup, maybe with an Avalanche-style midgate.
Ford have a small pickup (Courier) that is based on the Fiesta and is sold in just about every country but the US. I imagine it would suffice for 90% of contractors’ needs (and 100% of pickup-poseurs’ needs).
To stay on topic, SUVs are useless,…
Not exactly, as a strictly passenger vehicle I might agree. But try towing a 16 ft. livestock trailer full of critters with your CRV or Element, or even your Explorer; and carry 3-4 people. That’s when you need the big iron. Useless, no. Just for limited, specialized uses when nothing else will do. (I drive a Matrix back and forth to work, 80 mile round trip a day)
How would you feel if Honda took the Element, turned it into a small, short bed pickup, maybe with an Avalanche-style midgate. Add a 2.2L diesel for good measure.
Works for me. I really like the current Element except the bus-upright windsheild and sunroof in the rear. What that about?
“Tell your friend to go to tdiclub.com next time…”
Excellent advice.
That’s what I did when I had my TDI. The dealer never touched it and I did all the work myself or with some guidance from that crew. It definitely made owning a TDI much more rewarding and less expensive.
rmlindsay,
I would agree that in general a car has no less room for car seats than a SUV. The one difference that was relevant during our infant seat days is the lower height of a car if you have a bad back. It was much easier for my wife to get that into her old SUV than my sedan where she ended up throwing out her back.
rmlindsay Says:
Also, after the kids are out of infant carriers, the regulations for seats are age and weight related. In NC its 8 yrs or 80 lbs.
They must also meet a height requirement.
Can’t believe nobody answered this yet…
Can you name the car with four-wheel-drive?
Smells like a steak and seats thirty-five!
Canyonero! Canyonero!
Well, it goes real slow with the hammer down.
It’s a country-fried truck endorsed by a clown.
Canyonero! Canyonero!
Twelve yards long and two lanes wide,
sixty-five tons of American pride!
Canyonero! Canyonero!
Top of the line in utility sports!
Unexplained fires are a matter for the courts.
Canyonero! Canyonero!
She blinds everybody with her super-high beam.
She a squirrel-squishin’, deer-smackin’ drivin’ machine!
Canyonero! Canyonero!
In all honesty, not a single person I know who drives an SUV has ever used it for its supposed intended purpose (going off road and towing). Not one. Everyone I know that does serious offroading uses old pick up trucks that they don’t mind knocking the crap out of and for which parts are comparatively cheap and plentiful. The few people I know that tow bigger boats and horse trailers drive real pick up trucks. The SUV does not need to exist…at all. In the vast majority of cases a good wagon would do and in rarer cases it can be replaced with a pick up.
I misplaced my ‘Steven Lang’ moniker so for all intensive purposes, this is me when I’m not home (I mentioned this in one other comments section).
Stein… you’re right. Many SUV’s can be converted in one form or another but the laws of physics are still on a car’s side. One of the hidden costs of most conversions is that the quality and craftsmanship involved can be anywhere from world-class (usually $$$$$) to below Chinese (Reminibi, Reminibi)
Ingvar… everyone has a ‘unique’ financial situation. Crunching the numbers and determining whether it’s worth the lifestyle change is what every SUV owner who is considering a replacement vehicle should do.
To the Big and Talls… cars like the Fit, Rondo and Mazda 5 are more like minivans than SUV’s. Regardless it’s not so much the driver/passenger dimensions that will change but the actual cage that’s around you. Very high strength steel will likely do more to change the automotive landscape during the next couple of years than hybrid technology. In layman’s terms… smaller cars nowadays are far safer and more fun to drive than most 1990’s SUV owners can imagine.
To the towers/family haulers… it may make more sense to keep an SUV or pickup amongst four or five families for occasional use than to keep one for the daily jaunts. If there’s any lesson to be learned from the current market drama it’s that ’specialized’ vehicles like SUV’s and pickup’s would liked be better off rented or shared than owned and regularly driven over the long run.
To the TDIowners… I’m actually a huge fan of the A3/B4 TDI’s. One of the most difficult decisions I had this year was selling a 1998 Jetta 5-speed with 109k that I bought at $2870 and sold for $7000. The A3 Jetta really suits my driving style very well and hypermiling happens to be one of my favorite on-the-road hobbies. Two other auctioneers in my area now drive diesels thanks in good part to my zeal for them.
My bet for right now is that Honda will offer an outstanding package that will greatly reduce the value of the TDI’s in the used car market. Even if it happens though, I still will have fond memories of the Jetta. In fact out of the hundreds of cars I’ve had the only two I’ve had any regret in selling are the 98′ Jetta and an 01′ Prius that had been dealer maintained since Day 1. The later car I bought for $6650 back in 2006 and came with a new battery to boot. That would have been the perfect car for my wife.
On the other side of the coin, the three Mercedes diesels I’ve sold over the years I really couldn’t give two flips about. Just please don’t the folks at mercedesshop I said that.
I sat out the SUV craze during it’s peak due to what may be called ‘philosophical’ reasons. But I also believe the free market is far smarter than any government decreed measure that’s pushed by the proverbial nanny brigade in this country. If a Ferrari can be enjoyed on the road, so should an SUV. I just won’t be driving em’.
re child safety seats, regulations, and the need for a bigger, higher, mult-door something.
geeber: the thing is that getting your kid in and out of small cars should not be a problem for parents after their kid turns 3. My daughter’s almost 5 and she’s been buckling herself in for almost 2 yrs now. so, YOU may not be able to bend way down or squeeze through the tiny opening between the front-seat back and the B-pillar in your yaris, but your 4 year old better be able to. given that, who cares that child safety laws require kids to be in the “boosters” until their 8 or 9. the last 5 years of that time you’re not doing anything anyway.
pch101: there are a lot of obese drivers who “need” to lose, i mean need to drive a bigger car. now, if someone’s got a 4 yr old that is immensely obese and requires a full sized door in order to facilitate ingress and egress . . . too bad, you’re screwed, you should have been buying fruit at the grocery store rather than chips (incidentally fresh fruits and vegetables are multiple times cheaper than unhealthy processed foods too).
re SUrVival
my wife drives a V6 explorer and somehow manages to only get about 14 mpgs out of it (”turn off the AC and roll down the f-ing windows, damnit! we live in Hawaii for God’s sake!!!”). i don’t know, she’s just an amazing woman. but the thing’s paid off so it’s going to be cheaper to keep than get anything else unless its a beater like an early 90’s honda or toyota. in that case, i’d rather her keep what she’s got. lucky for me she’s not into trading in the old reliables in her life for newer models . . .
as for me, i drive an 03 protege that gets 30 mpg. i’d like something with a little more power and better dynamics (like a cooper S or GTI), but given our financial situation, i’ll probably be floggin’ the mazda for another 5 years. until then, i plan to drive it like i stole it . . . i can afford new tires.
Once you get two serious inquiries on your vehicle that don’t involve low-balling, you’ll see how bad things really are.
I’d argue that there’s no such thing as low-balling in such an uncertain market. There are people who still want SUVs and there are people who want to give them up. It’s the potential buyers who determine the market values, not the seller’s idea of what a serious offer is.
There is a problem with the “keep the SUV because you’ll get killed when you try to trade it it” argument.
The problem is that the value of a given used SUV is only going to get lower. A 2005 H3 with 30K miles might be worth 18K now, but in 2011 when it has 60K it may only be worth 3K.
So do you want to take that 6K a year hit on the H3 for the next 3 years, or buy a comparable 2005 car that may only lose $2K a year in value?
Gas prices are going up and we’re going into a very deep recession. While now is not a great time to sell an SUV, it is a much better time than 2, 3, or 4 years from now.
Here in California, even in most suburban areas, the vast majority of people do not have extra off-street parking to store an SUV while using a car as a commuter. I imagine the same is true is much of the east coast and in urban areas everywhere.
And storing an SUV on street parking is a good way to damage your vehicle, get parking tickets, and annoy your neighbors.
Also California and several other states tax the value of a car. Not a huge deal, but the yearly tag fee for a $25,000 SUV is about $270. Plus $40-70 more for a smog check every other year.