Ok,

I have a 2002 WRX Sedan w/ 12k mi. on it. According to my friend who used to sell Toyotas, if I were to trade in my WRX right now, I could get about $17k or so for it.

I'm interested in buying an STi not this summer, but next summer, when the '05's are being made. I was wondering if anyone who has prior experience with selling cars or the used car market could give me a number I could expect to sell a used 02' WRX for. I'm assuming by next summer, the car will have about 24-28k mi. on it.

I'm not sure if it would be more worthwhile to sell my WRX by this summer in order to purchase an STi, or just hang onto it for another year. I'm afraid that the value of the WRX would devalue over the extra year if I wait.

:(


Anyone have any input?
Thanks,
Sam:D

Originally posted by SBoneWRX
Ok,

I have a 2002 WRX Sedan w/ 12k mi. on it. According to my friend who used to sell Toyotas, if I were to trade in my WRX right now, I could get about $17k or so for it.

I'm interested in buying an STi not this summer, but next summer, when the '05's are being made. I was wondering if anyone who has prior experience with selling cars or the used car market could give me a number I could expect to sell a used 02' WRX for. I'm assuming by next summer, the car will have about 24-28k mi. on it.

I'm not sure if it would be more worthwhile to sell my WRX by this summer in order to purchase an STi, or just hang onto it for another year. I'm afraid that the value of the WRX would devalue over the extra year if I wait.

:(


Anyone have any input?
Thanks,
Sam:D

What would you drive in the meantime? The values will go down when the new headlights get here, but shouldn't get too much worse a year later, I wouldn't think.

And, it's Vader, not Vadar.

Good luck.

Well, I think I'd be buying a bike or using my good old feet while without a car. I figure it'll build that much more appreciation for the STi when I get it.

Man, I'm just embarassed at the thought of having to ask my friend or brother for a ride to the Subaru dealership! :lol:

I wonder if it'd be more feasible to just sell the WRX ASAP now......who knows. Anyone else?

-Sam :D

well, with any car, you take the biggest hit your first year. And also, figure trade in at about $1500 less than you could get on a private sale.

cannot really comment on what it would be worth, since there are too many other factors in effect.

In my opinion though, from experience, the car will not devalue as much as some people think when the new model is out. It will have absolutly nothing to do with styling as well. The biggest factor in value is demand. a year or two from now, the market will have quite a few pre-owned WRX's, and they will still be selling hot. After all, think of how many people could not afford the $22K-$25K for a new one, that would gladly drop down $15K-$17K for a good used one. After all, the 2.5RS still holds its value well.

So yes, your WRX will decrease more, but not over the rate any new car does in the first year.

hope this helps a little

p-rex

Yeah, that does help. Thanks P-rex.

I know selling a car privately usually results in the best deal for both parties.

However, if I'm unavailable to sell the car privately, is there any incentive to sell my WRX back to a Subaru dealer? Would I necessarily get more money for my WRX if I were trading it in to work towards the STi?

Thanks,
-Sam

If you're paying MSRP for the STi I would expect to get more for your WRX as trade than if you were paying invoice+$500 for the STi.

Glenn

this is what I'm thinking of doing as well. The longer you keep the car the better off you'll be as a general rule. I mean think about it, unless you have to have the STi now why would it make more financial sense to trade your car? The answer is it never makes financial sense to trade the car unless you're getting a ton of money for it or it's costing you in repairs.

My plan is to stop all mods on the WRX and just enjoy the car this summer at auto-x and a couple track events and just work on paying the rest of my loan off. Then around next spring or early summer, evaluate what the STi situation is as far as price and availability meaning can we buy them for invoice or 500 over or is there a huge markup still. My guess is it will be the prior as well as having a few minor issues with the car worked out which is normal. Will I still want one then?

So to answer your question, I think the best thing to do is just to wait and drive your car another 18 months or so and do the best you can to pay it off, then if you want to sell it I think you'll be in a better position to do so. The 02's already lost a lot of value the 1st and 2nd years, just one more year isn't going to make a lot of difference as long as you take care of the car.

I'm definately waiting till the STi is out for about a year to buy one.

I did the same for the WRX and I got decent deal.

23k

and I had the boost gauge, auto dimming mirror/compass, armrest ext.

they wanted 25.5k for it because they were still in demand.

I agree with rupture. It is nice to wait until the impulsive buyers are all out of the market before trying to deal with the dealers.

I agree too, I would not even consider buying an STI for another year b/c demand will be too high untill then. I can handle driving my "base" WRX for another year (at least). Also, any bugs that it may have can be worked out. I also agree with ellisnc in that the longer you keep the car the better in terms of financial sense.

Hehe, thanks for the good advice.

I think I will wait, because I will have a better shot of buying an '05 STi without a premium and closer to invoice.

I just don't want to trade my WRX in and get offered only $12k or so, half of what I paid when it was new.

Stupid devaluing cars. I wish I could sell it for $24k. :)

-Sam

bump

Just to think only 2 years have gone by with the round(er) headlights of the Impreza WRX, so it might be a less common car..

More Money

Selling WRX for STi (http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=308955)

I'm in the same situation as you. My advice (after thinking on it even more) is to sell your car a.s.a.p. True, the depreciation *per year* drops the longer you keep your car, but the total amount of money you lose (ie: purchase price-selling price) is less the sooner you sell it.

Of course, this only holds true if you have a second car to drive after you sell your current car...otherwise, it's probably best to keep your car until you buy the new one (unless you buy a really cheap beater car in the meantime...such that the price of the beater plus the depreciation of your WRX right now is less than the total depreciation of your WRX would be by the time you get the STi). :cool:

Keep in mind, that if you wait a year you will start hearing rumors of a 350 hp STi coming to the U.S., making you think twice about buying a 2005 or just waiting for the 350hp version. Its a vicious cycle isn't it? :D

I think I will wait till the hype dies down a bit. I do not think we heard the last from Mitsubishi.

Oh god, you're telling me there's a possibility of a 350hp STi? I should just give up now and not even bother ever buying a new car. Hehe.

I'm thinking about trying out a Z, actually. I can get a pretty loaded Z for the same price as a Base STi. Then again, I probably wouldn't want any options for the STi anyway...

Anyone here anything about option availability?

-Sam

From www.fool.com

On average, cars (and trucks, too) lose more than 20% of their value in the first year. Some vehicles lose as much as 40%. The second year isn't much better, as they disintegrate another 15% or so in value. (Take heart, Fool. Each year the bite is a little smaller, i.e. 13% in the third year, 12% in the fourth, etc. And don't forget we are talking averages here; your new Foolmobile may depreciate by more, or less, in any given time frame).

What it comes down to is that cars are NOT investments, if you're going to be swapping cars every 2-3 years. YOU WILL LOSE MONEY. If you really must swap cars, then LEASE, you'll still lose money, just not as bad.

From a purchasing point of view, it just doesn't make sense to sell your 2 yr old car for the lastest and greatest. Especially, for a hot new STI. People are jumping all over it from the get go and dealers are just loving it. Because they know they can get MSRP (or more) for the "hot new car".

When the WRX first came out, everyone was happy paying over MSRP, 6 months later WRX's are sitting on the lots just waiting to deal. The same will happen on the STI, so be patient. It will still be there, when you can afford it. (That's what I keep telling myself).

Also, you can bet money that 6 mos from now there will be a share of "used" STI's for sale, because someone wanted to be first in line, and really can't afford the payments (the insurance) because school started, got laid off or what not. Let them take that 20% depreciation hit, and you get a fairly new sweet STI. :)

Slim

I had my door scraped/ dented in two days ago from parking. How much does my WRX devalue now? :)

One thing to remember if you trade in your WRX to a dealer when you buy a new STI, you only pay tax on the difference. So if say you get $1000 or $1500 less from a dealer than you could from a private sale, it's kind of a wash if you can save that amount in sales tax.

if you trade in your WRX to a dealer when you buy a new STI, you only pay tax on the difference.
This isn't true in all states, so check your local laws first.

No one has seemed to have mentioned mileage. Under 30,000 you can expect to get a reasonable amount for your trade. After that it's value drops considerably and then again at 50,000. Best bet is to dump it before it reaches 50.

Well - any way you slice it, you are going to loose a fair chunk of change trading in a 1 or 2yr old car (as was already pointed out) - also, as far as the argument that demand will sharply drop in year 2, remember that this is a very low volume car - most dealers already have all of the cars they will receive for my04 sold, and they aren't even here yet... my dealer is getting 6... that's quite a bit fewer than the number of WRX's they have sold - you could readily get deals on the WRX after a year or so, but that was also after many more cars had sold.

for the impact of the door damage on resale/trade-in - that hurts you much more with the dealer than a private sale - they want cars which are more or less perfect, so that they can turn them around quickly and cheaply - less than perfect generally gets sold to a wholesaler - and they don't pay top dollar.

One thought, though - if you are a member of IMBA for a certain ammount of time, doesn't Subaru let you buy cars at or near invoice? That would be a thought...

Originally posted by DrD
One thought, though - if you are a member of IMBA for a certain ammount of time, doesn't Subaru let you buy cars at or near invoice? That would be a thought...

STi excluded.

Why did you buy the '02 WRX?

Doesn't sound like you even needed a car (if you can live without one for 1.5 years until you buy the STi).

If your reasons for owning the WRX are still valid then keep it.
If not, you'll save some money - depreciation, tax, gas, insurance, and maintenance -- by selling your car ASAP.

Here's a crazy thought: get a part time job.
You may need to keep the car to get back and forth to work, but you could make more money than you'll save on dumping the WRX early -- especially if you have a year and 1/2 to work.

When you get the STi, quit.
That'll double your appreciation for the new purchase.
;)

Oh, I'm not looking to go a year and a half without a car. I was just saying I could wait until 2005 to buy an STi.

I'm thinking about looking into used BMW 330ci's now :)

Super fast STi, or Super sweet Beamer?

-Sam

Here is the altimate plan!!!

All you need to do is spend about 3G's for a flashy paint job over an extream body kit with some decals from bumber to bumber. Then, have it featured on Fast and the Furious 3.

Then put it on ebay and sell it for 75G's :D

with that you could just bye a GT-R lol

Sounds like a plan.

Hey, didn't that kid from Malcom in the Middle buy the White Volkswagen from the Fast and the Furious? Eeeh...talk abou tacky. Agent Cody Banks really knows how to flash the cars.

-Sam:D