Topic: Norm T on depreciating Lexus and appreciating Buick

[random006]

Nobody believed me, and most thought I was daft to buy a late 90s Alfa Romeo imported from Japan. But I had a hunch.

Bought the car for $10k, it is now perhaps worth somewhere around $30k. Not that it matters really, the car is for me, but it is nice to know I was right. Thank you Radwood.

Couldn't resist:   

[Sir Osis of Liver]

 

[ChaosphereIX]

 

good one

[KD]

I made my money back off a few beaters that I owned many years ago, if you don't include taxes. The only car that I truly made my total investment back was my S2000. 

Funny about the Lexus vs Buick thing though.  I test drove a 2013 Lucern before I bought the GS350 for the hell of it just to see how they compared and you'd have to be a complete numbskull, or a slappie extraordinaire to think they are competitive.  The Lucern was an utter blob as a drivers car. 

[ktm525]

I made my money back off a few beaters that I owned many years ago, if you don't include taxes. The only car that I truly made my total investment back was my S2000. 

Funny about the Lexus vs Buick thing though.  I test drove a 2013 Lucern before I bought the GS350 for the hell of it just to see how they compared and you'd have to be a complete numbskull, or a slappie extraordinaire to think they are competitive.  The Lucern was an utter blob as a drivers car.

 RWD vs FWD to begin with. Not surprising. Were they priced the same?

[CanuckS2K]

IIRC, I paid $16,500 USD back in 2008 for my S2000.  I honestly have no idea what it's worth now, but I can't imagine losing too much, if anything.  I paid $11,500 CDN almost 2 years ago for my MR2......no way in hell I'd sell it for that now. 

But as for my other cars in the past, I can't say I made money on any of them. 

[ChaosphereIX]

I made my money back off a few beaters that I owned many years ago, if you don't include taxes. The only car that I truly made my total investment back was my S2000. 

Funny about the Lexus vs Buick thing though.  I test drove a 2013 Lucern before I bought the GS350 for the hell of it just to see how they compared and you'd have to be a complete numbskull, or a slappie extraordinaire to think they are competitive.  The Lucern was an utter blob as a drivers car.

 RWD vs FWD to begin with. Not surprising. Were they priced the same?

The driven wheels are not the only drawback, you could argue FWD is perfectly adequate for that segment....however it is a nice stark contrast between a company that put thought and effort into a vehicle in order to have it be one of the best in the segment....and another company that really did not, and still does not, give a .

Yes, I work for the latter company. 

[KD]

I made my money back off a few beaters that I owned many years ago, if you don't include taxes. The only car that I truly made my total investment back was my S2000. 

Funny about the Lexus vs Buick thing though.  I test drove a 2013 Lucern before I bought the GS350 for the hell of it just to see how they compared and you'd have to be a complete numbskull, or a slappie extraordinaire to think they are competitive.  The Lucern was an utter blob as a drivers car.

 RWD vs FWD to begin with. Not surprising. Were they priced the same?

Haha, no, and I actually meant to mention there was almost $10k difference between them.  The Buick was private sale though and had a weird smell inside.    Still, I also tried a 2012 Avalon Limited and it blew the Lucern away for a couple of grand more but had almost twice the mileage, and also at a dealer lot.  I hated the Lucern.  The Regal seemed like a much better car for some reason.

[Blueprint]

Least beater depreciation:

1982 Mazda GLC winter beater, bought 225$, sunk 600$, sold for 400$ after 4 years.

1978 Buick LeSabre summer beater, bought 1200$, sunk 125$, sold for 900$ after 3 months.

New cars with least depreciation:

Wife's 1st new car, 1994 Toyota Tercel LS 5-speed, bought 11 500$, sold 8 500$ after 5 years.

And the champ - 2015 VW Golf TDI, bought back by VW through Dieselgate in 2017, after tax cost to me: 100$.

[sailor723]

In a similar vein to the VW story we bought a brand new 2009 Mini Cooper S convertible in Sept 2009, drove it for just a few days less than 24 months and then had it written off. The insurance check covered exactly what we had paid for it on the road less the $100 AC tax.  $4.17 a month in depreciation isn't bad. 

[quadzilla]

IIRC, I paid $16,500 USD back in 2008 for my S2000.  I honestly have no idea what it's worth now, but I can't imagine losing too much, if anything.

I think you could easily make money knowing how well you take car of your cars. Looks like they are going for $25-45K with most sitting around $30K.

[OliverD]

In a similar vein to the VW story we bought a brand new 2009 Mini Cooper S convertible in Sept 2009, drove it for just a few days less than 24 months and then had it written off. The insurance check covered exactly what we had paid for it on the road less the $100 AC tax.  $4.17 a month in depreciation isn't bad. 

Wow! Why did you replace it with the BMW?

[sailor723]

In a similar vein to the VW story we bought a brand new 2009 Mini Cooper S convertible in Sept 2009, drove it for just a few days less than 24 months and then had it written off. The insurance check covered exactly what we had paid for it on the road less the $100 AC tax.  $4.17 a month in depreciation isn't bad. 

Wow! Why did you replace it with the BMW?

As my wife put it, She had got the "Mini convertible" thing out of her system after two years. The Mini had been her 50th birthday present to herself. She really liked the Mini but after a while found the ride just too jarring on SJ's potholed and patched roads.

[OliverD]

I've had two Mazdas that didn't depreciate much but that's mainly because I got really good deals on them in the first place.

I bought a 1998 Protege from a friends' parents for $3k. Was worth more like $5-6k at the time. Unfortunately I got into an accident with it that cracked the front bumper and damaged the hood but I still managed to sell it for $1500 as is a year later.

Also bought a 2007 loaded Mazda 3 from a friend for $4k; at the time it was worth more like $8-10k. Sold it three years later for $4k.

[Sir Osis of Liver]

Suzuki GT550 that I hauled out of a barn for a few hundred dollars. Fixed it up, polished the cases, found an as-new set of pipes. Sold it after 5 years for $1800 IIRC. Didn't exactly make money, but it didn't owe me anything.

[ltruong]

Had a 1983 Yamaha Maxim 400.  My brother bough it in Calgary, drove it back to NB, then to Sudbury, back to NB. Then I drove it from NB  to Ottawa and kept it there for 2 years.  Put something like 45K km on it.  bough it for 500$, sold it for 350$.

[Gurgie]

Crap, I forgot about my bikes    Bought my 89 GS-500 for $2000, sold it for $2800 4yrs later, bought my 98 ZX6 for $3500 and sold it 10yrs later for $3000, and then my 06 ZZR-600 I picked up for $4k & sold for $4600 4yrs later.

[johngenx]

The bike I owned I wish I had now is the CB-X. They're selling for WAY more than I paid new. Now, if I'd invested the money for 35 years I'd be way ahead than if I'd kept the big six lunger, but if I had the bike today I'd keep it and love it, it's the bike I most regret selling.  The high prices just mean I can't justify looking at buying one now.