Why are used Chevrolets so cheap?
I'm looking to buy my first car. My budget is only $4,000. I've been looking at sedans from toyota, honda and nissan, and all the ones that fall in this price range are from about 2008 or before, with around 120k miles, sometimes with accident bumps on them.
when i tried looking at chevrolates I found a lot of of them around $2,900-$3,000 from 2011 and 2012 with 100k miles. Why is that?
Long term reliability.
Because they are made in the U, S, A
Many Chevy models tend to require more repairs as they age compared to comparable Honda or Toyota models so those Japanese vehicles generally have a higher resale value.
They are generally not as reliable as some of the imports and therefore less popular. Supply & Demand drive prices.
However, sometimes the less popular brands can be good values.
About a dozen years ago, I was retiring as a low end car dealer and needed a car for myself.
Under $3000 was what I was willing to spend.
That was a slow auction day and there were only 2 cars that really interested me. A 94 Honda Accord with 150k that was really clean. And a 94 Buick Century that only had 59,000 miles and I could tell they were actual.
The honda was cleaner but I knew it would be popular and I would have to pay up for it. I determined I would pay up to $2600 because If I was buying to resell, I would not want to pay over $2100.
The honda went first. I started the bidding at $2000 hoping to dissuade others from bidding. Did not work. Lots of hands were raised and it quickly went past my limit. Ended up selling for $3550+ buyers fee of probably $175.
The buick was next and I ended up buying it for $2025+ $95 buyers fee.
So, the honda… With 150k went for $3725. The buick with 60% fewer miles for $2120.
The honda was probably a better car but the buick was a better value.
Lots of examples like that out there.
Not just chevrolet, ford & chrysler too.
GM vehicles are generally not as well-built and reliable as a comparable Honda or Toyota which is why their resale values are so low.
At $4,000 you can't expect to get much for your money, no matter what you buy.
American cars don't hold their value like they used to. I don't know why. Except trucks. American parts are cheap compared even to Japanese OEM.
With motorcycles, it's the other way around.
I read in a mag of a kid who wanted to build an auto crosser. He could not afford a Japanese car, he found a used Cobalt very cheap. It was easy and cheap to restore ( American parts are cheap and readily available); he built a Very Competitive autocrosser at a fraction of a Japanese one.
- Why don't used cars seem to matter about the make in pricing? I see Hondas with more mileage and older than BMWs priced at the same price (meaning a 2004 BMW priced at the same as a 2004 Honda.) Why don't the prices fluctuate much for used cars, but it's immensely different for new cars?
- Why does it appear used cars are more expensive than new? For example. I'm looking at a 2019 Honda City, new it's $17,990 drive away if I look on car sales the 2017 model is even $19,000. Ok the 2019 is a manual price but that's a huge difference and 2 years on. Please tell me what I'm missing?
- Why do used Hondas and Toyotas have double the mileage of GM, Ford & Chrysler? Shopping for used car and noticed Hondas and Toyotas typically have 200k or more miles while Big 3 only have 100k for the same price.
- Not used to my newfangled Honda, why does it do this? I've always owned manual transmission cars and just recently due to age and some other factors traded my last one in for a Honda. It's automatic obviously. My eyes still automatically look at the tach all the time though and I've noticed that when I go to pass someone on the freeway, it will rev up to about 2500rpms and then go back down. As if it is downshifting. Why does it do this?