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Sounds like Carvana might end up as the next Zillow Offers, but in the meantime I believe it… I bought a pickup truck new just before the pandemic, and dealers

Sounds like Carvana might end up as the next Zillow Offers, but in the meantime I believe it… I bought a pickup truck new just before the pandemic, and dealers are selling my model and year of the truck, with more miles, for $10-20k more than I originally bought it for. I’d consider selling, but what would I replace it with? New cars are just as expensive, hard to get ahold of, and on top of that have all kinds of corners cut because of the chip shortage…

silisili 5y ago
In my (and sounds like your) case the real benefit is that cars aren't depreciating. I bought a new truck in 2019 that is now somehow worth $4k more than I paid for it. To buy a brand new, 2022 version, would cost me about $2-3k out of pocket before taxes and fees. That's completely unheard of in my lifetime. Sure you don't -need- an upgrade, but just extending the warranty out that long is almost worth it. If I weren't in a homebuying process at the moment, I'd have jumped all over it.
- matheweis 5y ago
  From a real value standpoint the cars have to be depreciating. You’re presumably putting miles and real wear and tear on the vehicle. There’s a perfect trifecta of reduced supply, increased demand, and inflation. I’m not sure it’s worth it to upgrade in all cases; the corners cut on the newer vehicles might mean that the newer vehicle is of a poorer build quality than your existing one.
  - empthought 5y ago
    > real value standpoint What does this even mean, if you ignore low supply and high demand?
    - matheweis 5y ago
      In the long run wear and tear on the vehicle will eventually render it unusable. Unless you’re parking it in a climate controlled garage you’re contributing towards that wear and tear, using up a fraction of it’s lifetime utility, and thus reducing it’s real value.
  - wil421 5y ago
    What corners are they cutting? I’ve been looking at new cars and they have reduced options. In some case they even give money off the price since the features are lacking.
    - matheweis 5y ago
      Reduced features, cheaper components, etc. GM trucks are leaving out fuel management modules (reduced gas mileage): https://www.theverge.com/2021/3/15/22331766/gm-pickups-semiconductor-shortage-fuel-economy-emissions https://www.theverge.com/2021/3/15/22331766/gm-pickups-semic... Tesla removed a backup steering motor: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/07/tesla-cut-a-steering-component-to-deal-with-chip-shortage.html https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/07/tesla-cut-a-steering-compone... BMW pulled touch screens from their cars: https://www.theverge.com/2021/11/5/22765709/bmw-chip-shortage-touchscreen-car-suv-manufacturing https://www.theverge.com/2021/11/5/22765709/bmw-chip-shortag... GM leaving out wireless charging: https://www.theverge.com/2021/7/13/22575836/gm-wireless-charging-cadillac-chevy-tahoe-chip-shortage https://www.theverge.com/2021/7/13/22575836/gm-wireless-char... I’m sure there are more and these are just the ones making the news. All things being equal I wouldn’t expect a 2022 car to be as good as a 2020 car.
fredophile 5y ago
Do you need a newish truck? In your situation I'd be inclined to spend $2000 buying and fixing up something that barely runs and selling the current vehicle. In two years you should be able to buy a new vehicle again at normal rates and get rid of the junker. Worst case for that would be something like donating it for a tax write off. In the end you should still come out ahead with extra cash and a slightly newer new vehicle.
- matheweis 5y ago
  That’s fair, and definitely something I’ve done in the past.. the tradeoff is whether the time and money spent wrenching on the old vehicle comes out ahead. I’d have to think about that carefully.

silisili 5y ago

In my (and sounds like your) case the real benefit is that cars aren't depreciating. I bought a new truck in 2019 that is now somehow worth $4k more than I paid for it. To buy a brand new, 2022 version, would cost me about $2-3k out of pocket before taxes and fees. That's completely unheard of in my lifetime. Sure you don't -need- an upgrade, but just extending the warranty out that long is almost worth it. If I weren't in a homebuying process at the moment, I'd have jumped all over it.

matheweis 5y ago
From a real value standpoint the cars have to be depreciating. You’re presumably putting miles and real wear and tear on the vehicle. There’s a perfect trifecta of reduced supply, increased demand, and inflation. I’m not sure it’s worth it to upgrade in all cases; the corners cut on the newer vehicles might mean that the newer vehicle is of a poorer build quality than your existing one.
- empthought 5y ago
  > real value standpoint What does this even mean, if you ignore low supply and high demand?
  - matheweis 5y ago
    In the long run wear and tear on the vehicle will eventually render it unusable. Unless you’re parking it in a climate controlled garage you’re contributing towards that wear and tear, using up a fraction of it’s lifetime utility, and thus reducing it’s real value.
- wil421 5y ago
  What corners are they cutting? I’ve been looking at new cars and they have reduced options. In some case they even give money off the price since the features are lacking.
  - matheweis 5y ago
    Reduced features, cheaper components, etc. GM trucks are leaving out fuel management modules (reduced gas mileage): https://www.theverge.com/2021/3/15/22331766/gm-pickups-semiconductor-shortage-fuel-economy-emissions https://www.theverge.com/2021/3/15/22331766/gm-pickups-semic... Tesla removed a backup steering motor: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/07/tesla-cut-a-steering-component-to-deal-with-chip-shortage.html https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/07/tesla-cut-a-steering-compone... BMW pulled touch screens from their cars: https://www.theverge.com/2021/11/5/22765709/bmw-chip-shortage-touchscreen-car-suv-manufacturing https://www.theverge.com/2021/11/5/22765709/bmw-chip-shortag... GM leaving out wireless charging: https://www.theverge.com/2021/7/13/22575836/gm-wireless-charging-cadillac-chevy-tahoe-chip-shortage https://www.theverge.com/2021/7/13/22575836/gm-wireless-char... I’m sure there are more and these are just the ones making the news. All things being equal I wouldn’t expect a 2022 car to be as good as a 2020 car.

fredophile 5y ago

Do you need a newish truck? In your situation I'd be inclined to spend $2000 buying and fixing up something that barely runs and selling the current vehicle. In two years you should be able to buy a new vehicle again at normal rates and get rid of the junker. Worst case for that would be something like donating it for a tax write off. In the end you should still come out ahead with extra cash and a slightly newer new vehicle.

matheweis 5y ago
That’s fair, and definitely something I’ve done in the past.. the tradeoff is whether the time and money spent wrenching on the old vehicle comes out ahead. I’d have to think about that carefully.