05 LGT Depreciation

Does anyone know why that value of these cars are so bad? I have an 05 LGT with low miles and the trade in value is about 14,950 (terrible)! My brother has an 05 Impreza 2.5RS and the trade in value is at about 13,900. This is crazy that there is only about a $1000 difference when the price difference between the 2 cars was close to $10,000! BTW, this is all according to kbb.com. I am not planning on trading my car in any time soon b/c I love the car, but man do they stink at holding their value! Any one else notice this? I did a few searches and didn't find too much.

I have come to the conlcusion that its because people don't know these cars exist. I rarely run into people that know what it is...i usually get "Oh..I didn't know subaru made a car like this"

I had it explained to me that used cars aren't selling like they used to and more and more people are getting great deals on new cars. Therefore, used car values continue to decline. All I can say is Subies aren't as bad as the Hyundai I owned previously (yes, I said it...Hyundai) Had a 2002 Hyundai Elantra GT bought new for $14,500. Cherried the thing for 5 years, and I mean it was cherry (again, even though it was a Hyundai) and I only got $2,000 for it on trade in. values have been bad lately due to the

kbb doesn't mean anything and never trade in your car;

 

as an example, I had an SUV and dealer told me that they would give me $1900 for it; I sold it private party for $6000

Dealer trade in is not a great example of value/depreciation. I think they base those prices off how fast/easily they can process (cleanup/sell/etc.) your trade much more than what it's actually worth. Popularity plays into it quite a bit as well I think. More popular models can be sold faster.

trade ins up this way are based alot on what they are selling for at auction. my car for example actually holds it value quite well. awd+winter=value. a magnum on the other hand isnt worth crap. subarus here actually hold many of the top ten spots for trade in values based on short term leases.

"Oh..I didn't know subaru made a car like this"

 

ha, EVERYONE says that about ours!

 

or: "I thought you got a lesbian car when you said subaru" (thinking baja or forester I guess)

or: "Oh, It's not a wagon" as if that's all they made.

Buy used. Or new leftovers. I got my '05 with 50 miles on it for $6000 off sticker. Car wasn't even on my radar until I ran into the deal.

I believe after a few years it evens out, they hold their value very well. I could easily get $3500 for my 95. Find another car that has over 200K miles on it, and 12 years old and people WANT to buy it.

kbb doesn't mean anything and never trade in your car;

 

as an example, I had an SUV and dealer told me that they would give me $1900 for it; I sold it private party for $6000

 

I traded in my 05 Accord for $19000 and got a tax credit of roughly $1700 so I got about $20,700 total. I know it's been sitting at a lot near me for over a month now. They started it at $24,995 and lowered it a week later to $21,995 and it's still there. By the time they get rid of it the negotiated price might be closer to $21000. I also returned my extended warranty on it so I should be getting back another $1200-1500. I owed about $21500 on it at time of trade-in. Sometimes I'd rather not put up with the hassle of trying to sell it myself with all the flakey buyers, joyriders and lowballers around, not to mention all the financial paperwork that has to be done afterwards.

accord is different; I don't know why, but all americans think honda is the best car? maybe because it's the alternative to camry and cheap

kbb doesn't mean anything and never trade in your car if you suck at negotiating

 

as an example, I had an SUV and dealer told me that they would give me $1900 for it; I sold it private party for $6000

 

It depends on the situation. When I bought the LGT, the trade in I got was close to what I could have sold it for privately.

 

I traded the car ('02 2.5 RS) w/ 60,000 miles on the clock. Based on recent sales on Nasioc for similar cars and based on research on the internet, best I could have sold the car for was maybe 12,000, private party. Realistically, probably would have been about 11,500. Well, if I traded it to the dealer for 10,500, that's also $630 tax I didn't pay on the LGT. So I NEEDED to sell it for at least $11,130 just to break even on a private sale. I took the trade, because there was certainly no guarantee I could get $12,000 for it, or how long it would take.

 

But it's not like the dealer offered that figure of $10,500 on the trade in. I had to fight for it.

 

Ultimately though, it comes down to the actual value of your trade and what you can negotiate. If your trade is an 8 year old car with 120,000 miles, you can definitely do better with a private party sale. If it's a 2-3 year old car with less than 50,000 miles, you might do as well, if not better in some cases to trade it.

Buy used. Or new leftovers. I got my '05 with 50 miles on it for $6000 off sticker. Car wasn't even on my radar until I ran into the deal.

wow, exactly my same situation!