31st May 2010, 16:21

"NO DOMESTIC WILL EVER compare to that kind of resale value... NONE!"

I'm afraid I have to take issue with this statement. I sold my 2001 Dodge truck in 2006 for only $835 less than I PAID for it brand new in October of 2000. Yes, it was immaculate and only had 50,000 miles on it, but I've never heard of anyone driving any vehicle for 5 years for only $835 loss on the purchase price. I bought the truck during a special promotion Chrysler was having and got it for $6000 off list. No import can EVER be bought as cheaply as ANY domestic, with the possible exception of Toyota now that the truth about their horrible quality has come out.

1st Jun 2010, 21:02

Does he know about the federal investigation on the Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan for "gas-pedal entrapment"?

2nd Jun 2010, 10:58

It is virtually impossible for the floor mats on the Fusion to "entrap" the gas pedal. Ford (unlike Toyota) uses very high quality mats that are incapable of moving around. The cases of "entrapment" involved cheap replacement mats that could crumple up under the driver's feet. Hardly Ford's fault. Our 5-year-old Fusion still has the excellent Ford factory mats, and they remain firmly in place at all times.

2nd Jun 2010, 20:03

There is a HUGE difference between what you are saying and what my experience was with the Honda. Yeah, if a dealer is going to give you an insane deal to get rid of a truck, then yes you won't lose as much on it down the road. Did you trade it in 5 years later or sell it privately? I am betting you sold it outright as a dealer would have killed you on trade in for sure. I did my figures based on trade-in, which is much lower than I could have gotten on a private sale.

If you did a book value on your truck after 1 year, I can assure you it would have lost much more money than the difference between MSRP and invoice. My Honda was still above the invoice price I paid for it a year later. My deal was nothing too special with no crazy rebates or anything, but my point has nothing to do with the deal I got on the car anyhow. I merely stated the small margin of loss over the first year compared to ANY domestic car out there.

You are right when you say no import can be bought as cheaply as a domestic. That is usually the only way they can clear their lots is to dump the vehicles for ridiculously low prices. I looked at Dodge Nitros one day last year, and one of them listed at $27K, and they were offering it for $17K. The salesman told me they still had room to negotiate! I was laughing at how desperate they were to sell their vehicles.

The biggest test of value is how I was never upside down in my Honda from the day I bought it. My Focus, that had a $2,500 rebate on it with an extra $1,000 dropped in addition along with really good financing, has kept me upside down for over a year of ownership. It stickered at $19,480, I drove it off the lot for $16,700 tax included, and I still owe about $2,000 more than it is worth right now... in mint condition with 18K miles on it... Pitiful!

3rd Jun 2010, 08:07

My worse resale ever was a Honda. I got just under a third of its price new at 3 years old, due to Carfax reporting the trans replacements. It was 41000 miles black TL type S mint and garage kept. Mechanical issues reported was brutal. Waste of money for us. We drive GM models now.

3rd Jun 2010, 09:02

Last time I checked a TL was an ACURA, not a Honda. That is like saying a Cadillac is a Chevy, and trust me, if you had a Cadillac, you would have lost more money than that on trade in. Next time, try selling it outright as dealers will take you for anything they can get... if you let them.

Plus, what did you trade a "mint" car for anyhow?

3rd Jun 2010, 15:43

The May sales figures for U.S. car sales are in: Top seller (as always) was GM, followed very closely by Ford. Toyota DID manage a distant third place, but it was noted that their May sales were "very disappointing", as they had the smallest sales increase of any major major (a dismal 6% compared to Ford's 22%). Look for this trend to continue.

In our area Honda resale values are still on a par with Ford's (which means that due to the higher sales price of the Honda the Ford still returns more of your dollar). Toyota resales here are plummeting, with 2009's going for under $15,000.

3rd Jun 2010, 18:11

"No import can EVER be bought as cheaply as ANY domestic"

2010 Honda Civic MSRP: $15,455

2010 Toyota Corolla MSRP: $15,450

2010 Hyundai Elantra MSRP: $14,145

2010 Toyota Yaris MSRP: $12,605

2010 Honda Fit MSRP: $14,900

2010 Hyundai Accent MSRP: $9,970.

There, there's some import starting MSRP's. The only overpriced one I can find is the Fit.

Now let's look at a few domestic starting MSRP's:

2010 Ford Focus MSRP: $16,290

2010 Chevrolet Cobalt MSRP: $14,990

2011 Ford Fiesta MSRP: $13,320

2010 Chevrolet Aveo MSRP: $11,965

All of this data was taken DIRECTLY from each of the manufacturer's websites.

As for the Cobalt being cheaper than the import competition, well that's true in more ways than one, considering all the serious front end and steering issues. It's hardly worth comparing.

The Honda Fit is pretty overpriced, I'll say that. However, with the Yaris and the Accent being far better vehicles than the Aveo (which is so well known for snapping timing belts) and being a better price (the Accent is much less expensive as you can see, and the Yaris is only $640 more. Which may I add is still cheaper than the engine replacement that will be required on the Aveo if you don't change the belt at 40,000 miles. Check out the reviews on this site, that's where most of them snap) why would you even consider the Aveo?

I wish I could compare a few more domestic companies, but that's really all there is to offer in these segments. Can you find cheaper domestics? For the most part. But your statement "No import can EVER be bought as cheaply as ANY domestic" is completely wrong.

4th Jun 2010, 14:59

Comparing LIST (MSRP) on cars is totally meaningless. No import dealership (except the now disgraced Toyota) EVER discounts more than a few dollars. Just try buying that $15,000 Civic for the $11,995 that our local Ford dealership sells the equally-equipped Focus for.

4th Jun 2010, 16:12

Minor correction: the Aveo is domestic in name only. The manufacturer is Daewoo Of Korea. There they call it the Kalos.

4th Jun 2010, 20:28

"The May sales figures for U.S. car sales are in: Top seller (as always) was GM"

That's funny since GM wasn't on the list AT ALL in March or April... so what do you mean by "as always"?

4th Jun 2010, 20:38

Honda and Ford are fairly comparable in most of their lineup. The Focus is a cheaper car than the Civic overall, but the quick loss of value on the Focus after you drive it off the lot still warrants buying a Civic. I have a Focus so I have been booking it and it is dismal compared to the Honda. As far as the Accord to Fusion... The Honda lost about $1,000 from sticker in one year and 19K miles in 2008/ 2009 according to KBB (I booked mine before trading it) whereas the Fusion dropped about $7,000 in the first year of ownership with the same miles. Not sure what you mean by a huge difference in price as they are pretty close (I shopped both when I bought the Accord). The $6,000 depreciation difference after one year of ownership makes the Honda a much better choice either way.

You can argue this, but I am just going by book values and those are the honest numbers I came up with.