(OT)- Buying an old 'new' vehicle.

[Brandon]

I've managed to track down a potential steal if the price is right, a 2002 model Chevrolet Avalanche 4wd that just so happens to be brand new with the original sticker still in the window. It has every option. The question is, what's a reasonable price for it? MSRP is $38,500, but with 2005 models now out, one could argue that, being four model years old, its certainly worth nowhere near the sticker price. That said, I'm sure its worth more than a used one.

 

For reference, there's a used 2002 with 55,000 miles at another dealership nearby that I'm looking at as well. Its not quite as well equipped, but its still a very nice vehicle and the advertised price is $20,900, and most likely could be bought for a couple thousand less.

 

So I guess the question is, what kind of premium should the 'new' 2002 bring against the used one?

[Dan Gross]

Here is the first place I thought to go:

http://www.edmunds.com/tmv/used/2002/chevr...m3.0.chevrolet*

You know more about the engine/options than I do...

[eSJayDee]

I think the main question you have to ask yourself is, "Do you feel lucky punk?"

No, seriously the question is how long you intend to hold onto it. You're interested in minimizing your cost of driving it. Consider that you're essentially 'renting' or paying for how much you're gonna use it.

If you're going to hold onto it for many years (i.e. until it's essentially worthless), it's simple to compare it to a new 2005. What's the relative value of the warrantee/service; also the difference in equipment. This should be a relatively simple thing for you to evaluate.

Now, if you're only going to hold onto it for a year or 2, guess what, when you trade it in, you're going to be trading in a 5 yr old vehicle & it's value will be based accordingly. So it'll probably end up costing you more than driving a 2005.

Since the vehicle is 'new', I suspect that the dealer will be basing it's price accordingly, albeit w/ hopefully a steep discount. In which case, it will only make sense to buy it if you intend to hold onto it for several years.

Good luck.

[Alaska Darin]

I've managed to track down a potential steal if the price is right,  a 2002 model Chevrolet Avalanche 4wd that just so happens to be brand new with the original sticker still in the window.  It has every option.  The question is,  what's a reasonable price for it?    MSRP is $38,500,  but with 2005 models now out,  one could argue that,  being four model years old,  its certainly worth nowhere near the sticker price.  That said,  I'm sure its worth more than a used one. 

 

For reference,  there's a used 2002 with 55,000 miles at another dealership nearby that I'm looking at as well.  Its not quite as well equipped,  but its still a very nice vehicle and the advertised price is $20,900,  and most likely could be bought for a couple thousand less. 

 

So I guess the question is,  what kind of premium should the 'new' 2002 bring against the used one?

134734[/snapback]

I hope you understand that means that vehicle will lose nearly half its value in the first 2 years you own it. That's an awful lot of money to spend on a car that's going to drop so much so quickly.

 

Keep in mind that new vehicles are marked up by dealerships somewhere in the neighborhood of 20-25%. That's your baseline. There are also incentives available from the manufacturer for the dealer, especially right now, and especially with American vehicles. Carpoint. com used to allow you to do a VIN search (VIN is on the window sticker) and it would give you the dealer's invoice price plus any current manufacturer's incentives. It saved me nearly $8K when I bought my truck (for about 2 points over invoice).