Milage vs Resale value
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Joined: Apr 2007
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From: Central Connecticut
Milage vs Resale value
Need some advice on car pricing.
NADA and Kelly Blue book's value's are flawed when it comes to vette's, what they consider a low milage vette(would show an add for milage), in the vette market would be considered high milage, ie- an 01 with 65k.
Extremely low milage cars are going to bring in top dollar, but as the odo rises, how quickly does the value drop. I realize the price needs to be adjusted for the season and region. For example the 2 01's, both excellent condition, well maintained, and stock.
thanks, Steve
NADA and Kelly Blue book's value's are flawed when it comes to vette's, what they consider a low milage vette(would show an add for milage), in the vette market would be considered high milage, ie- an 01 with 65k.
Extremely low milage cars are going to bring in top dollar, but as the odo rises, how quickly does the value drop. I realize the price needs to be adjusted for the season and region. For example the 2 01's, both excellent condition, well maintained, and stock.
thanks, Steve
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I believe in the Beer Fairy
just for kicks put in the same car with 0 miles and again with 45K and see what happens to the price....not much. Mileage is a perception kinda like the 3K oil change.....if the car has been maintained it shouldn't be an issue IMO. People are conditioned to think a car with 30K is much better than a car with 60K.....if the 30K car was beat, tracked every week and poorly maintained mechanically but washed to look like it is new how would you know??
I guarantee ya my 80K 1999 is probably better than alot of cars you will find with 40K on the clock
I guarantee ya my 80K 1999 is probably better than alot of cars you will find with 40K on the clock
Team Owner
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From: Here
Pilot of Beer Force 1
Tampa Regional Coordinator
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I believe in the Beer Fairy
well I guess what it comes down to is why is your car worth lets say $28K as opposed to $23K
no idea what dollar amounts we are talking but you know what I mean.....like you said the KBB and Edmunds numbers are vague at best....what you consider Excellent or Good is probably different than what other people consider Excellent or Good....
in the end its your car....you know what has been done to it so its your job to "sell it" if you will to a buyer....explain why its a better car for the money....
the sources are just for reference and by no means hard and fast values...as you well know..
no idea what dollar amounts we are talking but you know what I mean.....like you said the KBB and Edmunds numbers are vague at best....what you consider Excellent or Good is probably different than what other people consider Excellent or Good....
in the end its your car....you know what has been done to it so its your job to "sell it" if you will to a buyer....explain why its a better car for the money....
the sources are just for reference and by no means hard and fast values...as you well know..
Safety Car
Joined: Jun 2006
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From: Latrobe PA
The vette is a more "In demand" car than most others. This is not considered in the blue book prices. I think this is part of the reason that the resale values are very different putting more importance on the service history vs mileage.
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Burning Brakes
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From: Largo FL
I agree that a higher milage car that was well maintained is better than a low milage car that was beat on - however, most buyers just look at milage and year - sometimes a flawed perception as mentioned earlier. However, when buying any car, I always look for the best deal for my money - and C5's are selling cheap, at least here in Florida. IMHO, the best way to guage true value is to look in your local classified ads, auto trader and craigslist - not a generic book. I just sold my C4 vert with 102k miles (which have already bottomed out) for $6.5k and bought a 98 C5 coupe with 95k miles for $12k - both cars were in good condition for milage and year. 
Last edited by ronwc; Jun 2, 2007 at 09:06 AM.
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it's not a flawed perception as much as it's the only constant variable we have, which will therefore determine how much you will lose on resale.
I'd have no problem paying the same for a highway driven car with 70k over a city driven 30k, but I won't because i know the miles will matter on resale. If I expect to put 10k per year on the car, in 3 years I'll be selling either a car with 60k or one with 100k. We're talking a loss of a several grand, if I can even sell that car at all. I'd likely be giving it away. This is the only reason milage matters, because it's the only constant we have to compare. We can never really know how the car was driven, so we have to go by mileage.
In my opinion this is a horrible way to value a car. I think manufacturers need to come up with a better system than the odometer. We need something that gives us the overall mileage and a further button push will split that up between cruise and city. The obd computers today can easily be programmed to decipher this info based on speed/acceleration/deceleration of the car. Then we could pay more for a high mileage car with the confidence that on resale the next buyer will also pay more.
I'd have no problem paying the same for a highway driven car with 70k over a city driven 30k, but I won't because i know the miles will matter on resale. If I expect to put 10k per year on the car, in 3 years I'll be selling either a car with 60k or one with 100k. We're talking a loss of a several grand, if I can even sell that car at all. I'd likely be giving it away. This is the only reason milage matters, because it's the only constant we have to compare. We can never really know how the car was driven, so we have to go by mileage.
In my opinion this is a horrible way to value a car. I think manufacturers need to come up with a better system than the odometer. We need something that gives us the overall mileage and a further button push will split that up between cruise and city. The obd computers today can easily be programmed to decipher this info based on speed/acceleration/deceleration of the car. Then we could pay more for a high mileage car with the confidence that on resale the next buyer will also pay more.
Instructor
Joined: Jun 2005
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From: Coral Springs Florida
a car is only worth what someone will pay for it. High miles scare some folks, but if you really want to get scared, think about all the "rolled back" odometers out there. Don't think it doesn't happen (excuse the double negative).
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2005
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From: clackamas oregon
Hey try it the other way too. no difference in book value at 300k vs 110k either.the book will only add a max of say 30% for low mileage and only deduct the same % max for high mileage. a 2000 with 38k has an add of about $3000 for the miles. the same 2000 with 75k is about even on miles and books for approx. $3000 less. pretty sure everyone will agree that they would never rent their car out to somone to drive for 45k miles for $3000. mileage does matter to the value. just as much as condition does. thats not to say a beat low mile car is worth more than a avg mile nice car. you add value for low mileage. and deduct for high mileage and whatever reconditioning is needed on either.
Last edited by rgtkst; Jun 2, 2007 at 06:21 PM.
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From: Central Connecticut
it's not a flawed perception as much as it's the only constant variable we have, which will therefore determine how much you will lose on resale.
I'd have no problem paying the same for a highway driven car with 70k over a city driven 30k, but I won't because i know the miles will matter on resale. If I expect to put 10k per year on the car, in 3 years I'll be selling either a car with 60k or one with 100k. We're talking a loss of a several grand, if I can even sell that car at all. I'd likely be giving it away. This is the only reason milage matters, because it's the only constant we have to compare. We can never really know how the car was driven, so we have to go by mileage.
In my opinion this is a horrible way to value a car. I think manufacturers need to come up with a better system than the odometer. We need something that gives us the overall mileage and a further button push will split that up between cruise and city. The obd computers today can easily be programmed to decipher this info based on speed/acceleration/deceleration of the car. Then we could pay more for a high mileage car with the confidence that on resale the next buyer will also pay more.
I'd have no problem paying the same for a highway driven car with 70k over a city driven 30k, but I won't because i know the miles will matter on resale. If I expect to put 10k per year on the car, in 3 years I'll be selling either a car with 60k or one with 100k. We're talking a loss of a several grand, if I can even sell that car at all. I'd likely be giving it away. This is the only reason milage matters, because it's the only constant we have to compare. We can never really know how the car was driven, so we have to go by mileage.
In my opinion this is a horrible way to value a car. I think manufacturers need to come up with a better system than the odometer. We need something that gives us the overall mileage and a further button push will split that up between cruise and city. The obd computers today can easily be programmed to decipher this info based on speed/acceleration/deceleration of the car. Then we could pay more for a high mileage car with the confidence that on resale the next buyer will also pay more.
