22nd Oct 2010, 18:13
I sold my last Dodge (bought used) after 4 years for exactly what I paid for it. I also sold one of my last Fords (also bought used) after 3 years for exactly what I paid for it. I also sold my Dodge truck (bought new in October 2000) in January of 2006 for only $830 less than I paid for it brand new. People fail to understand that imports are sold for full list, and REGARDLESS of higher resale values, you seldom ever recover all that you paid for the cars.
Granted, I take immaculate care of all my cars and they are kept literally in showroom condition. Beat up junkers with dents, dings and never-waxed faded paint will drop in value like a brick, whether they are domestic or foreign.
Oh, and last year the BEST resale value on ANY vehicle was a GM (The Chevy Suburban). The lowest was on a Nissan. Recently a report in USA Today noted that the car spending the MOST time on a dealer's lot was the Toyota Camry. The fastest-moving seller was GM (the Traverse).
There are tons of myths out there about imports (all carefully spread by import car companies of course) but the truth is rapidly coming out. Toyota (The Recall King) just recalled ANOTHER 1.5 MILLION cars for brake problems. Honda also issued a brake recall. Watch for falling import resale values (coming soon to a used car lot near YOU!!)
22nd Oct 2010, 16:34
Original poster here: I'm not talking about buying a new vehicle off the lot here, I buy GMC Vandura vans for $1000 - $2000, use them for work and drive the heck out of them for a year, then sell it for $1000 - $2000 and buy a lower mileage one in better shape for the same price. I always get my money back, because these vans are made tough and require very little maintenance.
Basically I drive these cars for free instead of paying $400 a month in car payments, plus taxes, depreciation, and expensive imported replacement parts.
I'm not saying everyone can do this, but just stating my opinion. With the amount of construction materials I haul with my van, I would kill any import in less than 6 months, except for maybe a V-8 Toyota or Nissan, which would run me at least $20-$40k, then it would depreciate a whole bunch if I actually used it for work.
There is no better investment than a GMC product, no one is going to convince me otherwise, I've owned over 20 vehicles in the past 10 years, imported and domestic, GMC is the only sure bet.
I've owned 2 Hondas, 1 Toyota, and 1 Hyundai. I was really not impressed with the build quality, and had more problems with my $3000 Civic than my $500 Buick Century. I gave imported cars a few chances, and got ripped off every time, so no more imports for me! Too cheaply made...