Planning on upgrading my 2005 for a 2009. Haven't decided when yet. My '05currently has 44k miles.
How much more will it depreciate once the bumper to bumper warranty is up?
Have the used RX-8 prices plateau'd yet or will they continue to plummet?
If the used car prices continue to plummet, then the best time may be now, but if a plateau is on the horizon I'll hang on for a few more years to get my money's worth. Thanks!

 

now is a terrible time to be trading in a car, given the surplus of them at dealerships and the foreclosure rates.

 

you're 10times better off selling it privately, trading into a dealership, you will get zip now.

 

I should have mentioned that I always try to privately sell first, and if it takes too long, I trade it in. However, the dealership is willing to give me what I owe on trade in, probably hoping to make up for it on the other end.

 

I will never ditch my 05 sport, I like the outer frame better than the 09s, they took off the front vent Overall, I prefer 08 and back.

 

yes selling privately you will get at least double what a trade in will get u

 

Selling privately is not easy either. It's no magic bullet. If you are not in a rush, then sell private. No one's interested in cars lately.

 

Unless you've got an absurdly long loan, what you owe on an '05 should be considerably less than what it's worth. You'll never make it up on the other end.

Trade-in time really depends on what having a new car is worth to you. If you're worried about money and the long run, the best strategy is to keep a car until it's worth very little, and junk it as soon as the first major thing fails.

Optimizing money isn't the only thing in life. But, at the very least, do a little research on trade in values, and don't let the dealer maneuver into terms like giving what you still owe.

Ken

 

Wait until later this year. Here's my reasoning and, while I'm no economic expert, I did stay at a holiday inn last night.

1. The value of your 8 is not going to change much over the course of the year, regardless of warranty. IMO (and I'm no expert on auction values, so maybe someone else can confirm/refute this) the auction value has been pretty steady in the 10k range over the last year or so.

2. The 2009 RX-8 will get bigger discounts +/- incentive deals as we get deeper into 2009. (I didn't even need the holiday inn to know that one )

3. The economy is getting worse by the day. Lay-offs abound and the foreclosure rate will likely sky-rocket this year as we see the "traditional" means to foreclosure (lay-offs & unemployment) bump the already large sub-prime foreclosure rate to an insanely high level. Dealerships will be severely hurting by mid-year, imo.

Keep an ear on Washington, though, as new stimulus packages are being worked out. Bailout money is set to be "freed up" (even though the banks are too broke to lend it to us anyway) and legislation is being discussed to reward new car purchases. (note - this will likely only be for US cars in order to help their sales & ensure the "Big" 3 can pay the "little" tax payer back.

 

sell private but buy new now. they are offering some great deals for the R3 models last i knew... closer to summer wont be as good of deals until end of fall (Q3) nears when its inventory time.

 

If the dealer will give you a decent discount for the '09, I would probably just get it now.

I think discounts on 09's will be much less than the discounts on the 08's. With the 08's the bottom suddenly dropped out of car sales when there was still a large inventory on dealer lots, so they only option was to offer massive discounts.

However, with the 09 model year, the expectations are much lower from the start, so rather putting themselves into a position where they will lose money from deep discounts, they will just build fewer cars.

 

What would be considered a 'great deal' on a new R3? I am just wondering how much off the MSRP a dealer would be willing to offer. Has anyone on here purchased one?

Also, what would be a good price for a used R3?

Thanks,
Roger