Car depreciation?!?

[SanAnEliseMan]

I am not sure why all you guys cry about car depreciation (didnt your parents ever teach you not to buy new cars). . . I just sold my Elise for $2k more than I paid for it after putting 10k miles on it in 8 months. True I did not want to sell the car, but it sure makes the sale a lot easier when I can say I got paid to drive an exotic car! Plus now I can invest some of it for an Elise SC a couple years down the road when I return to the states!

Full disclosure: I sold my hard top separately to make a bit more.


And you thought this was going to be a repost Ace. . .

[Allan Gibbs]

I agree I sold my Elise to Abe (former Southbay Lotus) in June of '07 for $1K less than my payoff -and I paid full MSRP back in 11/2004! I think he sold it somewhere around low $40! So, I believe it now that the Elise/Exige have pretty good residuals.

With the discounts on Exige S right now, I think that would help offset the depreciation in the long run (say 3-4 years).

But alas, either I sell one of my bikes now for an Exige S or wait a year or so and probably keep all three.

[SanAnEliseMan]

That is definitely true. . . you can even pick up a new 07 Exige S for cost right now as a lot of dealerships are just trying to make space for the 08 SC and 240s.

But I didnt sell it for $2k more than my payoff. . . I sold it for $2k more than I actually paid when I bought it. You are right though if you get a great deal and give these cars time the depreciation is minimal. Just gotta find that one with 2k miles that was sitting in some rich old guys garage for a year.

[Allan Gibbs]

Originally Posted by SanAnEliseMan

That is definitely true. . . you can even pick up a new 07 Exige S for cost right now as a lot of dealerships are just trying to make space for the 08 SC and 240s.

But I didnt sell it for $2k more than my payoff. . . I sold it for $2k more than I actually paid when I bought it. You are right though if you get a great deal and give these cars time the depreciation is minimal. Just gotta find that one with 2k miles that was sitting in some rich old guys garage for a year.

Yes, but what I didn't mention is that I had an 84 month loan but at 4.%5 so I was pretty happy walking away with just $1,000 to write off.

And I agree. I think the Elise/Exige is one of the best cars to buy slightly used since many aren't frequent daily drivers so they're in pretty good condition and have low miles.

[SanAnEliseMan]

84 months?!?!?!?!? That could quite possibly be the most ridiculous auto loan I have ever heard! I figured they would have a higher APR for a loan that long! I cant believe you were able to sell it without being upside down. . . you have me beat!

[Bavarian Motorist]

One of the problems with resale on these cars, IN MY OPINION, is that the used price teeters between "affordable" and "not affordable."

That draws in a lot of buyers with lower budgets who sometimes land decent deals, thereby bringing down the price of the rest Good for them, I say, but maybe not so good over-all.



The primary reason for depreciation is because it's just not a mass-appeal vehicle.

[SanAnEliseMan]

I dont think people wheeling and dealing brings down the price of all the other vehicles. I could afford it and I got a great deal because I did my research and found someone motivated to sell.

I say the Elise is extremely affordable since my dad's new truck cost more than my "exotic" car. I say affordable as a generic term though because obviously there are a lot of people that cannot afford it, but I think the impracticality of the car is more of a deterrent than the price (that and guys who have wives that wont let them haha).

[Allan Gibbs]

Originally Posted by Bavarian Motorist

One of the problems with resale on these cars, IN MY OPINION, is that the used price teeters between "affordable" and "not affordable."

That draws in a lot of buyers with lower budgets who sometimes land decent deals, thereby bringing down the price of the rest Good for them, I say, but maybe not so good over-all.



The primary reason for depreciation is because it's just not a mass-appeal vehicle.

I guess it depends on the definition of affordable? I mentioned I sold my car to Abe about 9 months ago and said he probably got low $40s. About two weeks ago, Abe and I were talking about resale and he mentioned dealers getting around high $30s for the Elise. So, we're probably looking at about $2 to $5K depreciation in the past 9 months. That's not too bad IMO.

I remember when the Exige came out, there was a flood of 2005 cars and resale dropped like a rock but since then Lotus did a good job in cutting the supply down.

[Allan Gibbs]

Originally Posted by SanAnEliseMan

84 months?!?!?!?!? That could quite possibly be the most ridiculous auto loan I have ever heard! I figured they would have a higher APR for a loan that long! I cant believe you were able to sell it without being upside down. . . you have me beat!

Actually, there's more. There's the 96 month and 144 month loan. Also, there's the open end leases that get you an Elise for $5K down, $600 a month for 47 months and a balloon payment of $35,787 at the end*

I think given the right vehicle, right economy (low rates), and if you time the resale right, the longer loans can work out but it's a gamble. I actually financed a MV Agusta motorcycle when they first came out with the 144 month loan (Ironically, I asked for a 36 month but the bank offered the 144). I ended up selling that bike 18 months later and just walked away from it since the demand was still high. But I won't even try that now with an Elise/Exige or the MV Agusta. It's just not the right time.

* see post 80: NEW LOTUS BEVELRY HILLS INVENTORY