by "BJohnson11" (brettjohnson01)
Published 05/26/2017 at 00:06
by "BJohnson11" (brettjohnson01)
Published 05/26/2017 at 00:06
No Tags
STARS: 1
Just sold off my sister’s Acura, which got me thinking of all the cars I’ve bought and sold. So far, I sold every one of my family’s cars that I grew up with.
2003 Acura TL-S we had owned for ~10 yrs, sold for $1500
Mom’s 2004 VW Bug, owned since new, sold for $2300
Family 2000 Ford Expedition that my dad and I had supercharged (I miss that thing), sold for $2500
Sold my grandma’s first gen Prius (2002?) That had like, 70k miles on it. Sold for $7000.
Lemons project car, 350 swapped 84 r 7, never really ran, forget what we sold it for. Sold engine separate.
1974 Chevy C10, bought for $2200, sold for $5500, loved that thing, just couldn’t justify keeping it when moving up to the Bay Area.
1984 MB 300d, current car, bought for $1700, over $5k into it.
Interesting thought, the ignoring the Prius, the loudest and second loudest cars I’ve had sold for the most money. My mom always scoffed at “paying money to make the car louder!” But hey, there’s some correlation there!
Anyways, what’s your history Oppo? Any interesting trends?
"RallyWrench" (rndlitebmw)
05/26/2017 at 00:26, STARS: 0
My only trends have been breaking even on purchase price, and in a few cases selling just before the car explodes in value. Sometimes I’ve made a little money or covered what I have invested, but that’s never been my goal. Overall I’ve lost money.
"BJohnson11" (brettjohnson01)
05/26/2017 at 00:38, STARS: 0
I think that’s a global trend. Only a precious few have figured out how to make money flipping cars. If I break even over the course of ownership it’s a win.
"RallyWrench" (rndlitebmw)
05/26/2017 at 00:40, STARS: 1
That’s how I see it. If I’ve been able to enjoy or get good service from a car and sell it for what I paid, I’m happy.
"aberson Bresident of the FullyAssed Committe" (emaxxbl)
05/26/2017 at 00:45, STARS: 3
I bought this in 2012
and then a year later i bought this
and then three years later i bought this
In my 5 years of car ownership I have sold a total of 0 cars
"Wagon Guy drives a Boostang" (gimmeboost)
05/26/2017 at 00:46, STARS: 1
I’ll start in the olden year of 1991. these were all my cars, not those of significant others or family members...
1979 chevy Malibu 4-door bought for $2350, sold for $2300 two years later
1977 Cadillac Coupe Deville - bought for $700, engine blew while driving cross country, traded for a 1977 Buick Skylark Wagon at a convenient junk yard
1977 Buick Skylark Wagon - rusty mess, no brakes, but the Rocket 350 started in the coldest weather. I stopped it by plowing into snow banks. Sold for $50 to a scrap yard.
1980 Chevy Malibu wagon - bought at auction for $125, a little effort put in as well as a set of tires and brakes, traded off for $700
1991 Honda Accord Coupe, 5-speed manual - I don’t remember what I paid for it, but it got totaled on the back of a Ford pickup. Insurance payoff $3500
1981 Datsun 280zx - bought for $3200, sold five years later for $3200, now worth $10k, stupid me.
1989 Nissan 240sx - Bought for $600 with a bad timing chain, drove it for 10 years, sold it for $600 with a constant overheat condition.
1971 Datsun 510 wagon - Bought for $800
1972 Datsun 510 wagon - Bought for $2000. Sold both as a package deal for $3500 with a garage full of spares. The ‘71 had a crunched front end. The ‘72 had a head with a dropped intake valve. the conbined contents of the garage could have rebuilt them both.
2003 Subaru WRX Wagon - Bought for $10k, totaled by an inattentive driver at a stop light. Insurance payout $10,500 after three years of driving it.
2014 Ford Focus Hatchback - Bought NEW for $17,500, traded off for $8000, depreciation sucks...
"Theropod" (theropod)
05/26/2017 at 00:55, STARS: 1
1976 Triumph Spitfire from 1978 to 1979 - Total Loss
1976 Triumph TR7 from 1979 to 1992 - Sold
1964 Chrysler New Yorker from 1980 to 1982 - Trade for Ford Fiesta
1980 Ford Fiesta from 1982 to 1988 - Sold
1984 Ford Tempo from 1988 to 1990 - Sold
1989 Suzuki Sidekick from 1989 to 2007 - Sold
1991 Dodge Caravan from 1991 to 1998 - Trade for Ford Expedition
1998 Ford Expedition from 1998 to 2009 - Trade for VW Jetta
2001 Hyundai Elantra GT from 2001 to 2007 - Sold
2001 Ford Focus from 2004 to 2008 - Sold
2006 Hyundai Sonata from 2006 to 2007 - Total Loss
2007 Hyundai Sonata from 2007 to 2012 - Sold
1997 Mazda Miata M from 2007 to Current
2009 VW Jetta TDI from 2009 to 2013 - Trade for Subaru Forester
2012 Honda Odyssey from 2012 to Current
2014 Subaru Forester from 2013 to Current
"BJohnson11" (brettjohnson01)
05/26/2017 at 01:00, STARS: 0
Any more pics of the Alfa? Looks bitchin.
"Ssfancyfresh" (scotttt)
05/26/2017 at 02:14, STARS: 0
New 2002 Cavalier for $18,500 (I know, dumb) sold in 2006 for $5500
New 2005 Colorado for $23,500, sold in 2010 for $8500
2001 Audi TT for $10k in 2009, sold in 2015 for $5500
2014 Audi A4 for $36k in 2015
Prior to the A4, I’ve put 100-150k miles on all those cars.
The TT is unique in that I spent more on maintenance than the purchase price of the vehicle. Doesn’t matter. The love anffair was a passionate one, and I would do it 100 times over
Outside of regular oil changes and tires, I maybe put $500 into the Colorado. Great vehicle.
The Cavalier was a learning exercise in depreciation. These have a bad rep, but god was it fun to drive and super easy to work on.
The A4 just is. It’s sort of so great at everything it does that I haven’t really got any feelings toward it whatsoever. I drive it and just don’t think about it. Maybe that’s luxury. I dunno.
"BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires" (biturbo228)
05/26/2017 at 06:00, STARS: 1
Vauxhall Corsa 1.2 - first car, given to me by family member. Given to cousin when she started driving.
Alfa 156 V6 - Managed to wrangle this becoming my car after the Corsa went. Still own and on semi-regular DD duty 8 years later.
Jaguar XJ40 3.6 - Bought from an uncle for £60. Dragged out of his garden, got halfway through a manual swap and a tree fell on it. Still sitting in my parking area waiting to donate some parts and be scrapped. Just need the time.
Triumph Spitfire - Bought as a project for £1000. Still going on it but it’s getting there! Project creep is a very real thing.
BMW E36 325i - Bought from a mate as an MoT failure for £330. Fixed, drove for 6 months, crashed into a barrier, fixed and sold to people who sold me the Citreoen for £150.
Fiat X1/9 - Bought for £330. Just got it running and was gearing up for rust repair when the same tree as killed the Jag did for it too (big 300+yr old Oak). Sold to an X1/9 breakers for £100.
Jaguar XJ40 4.0 - Felt sorry for myself after having my cars squished so bought a manual 4.0l Jag for £1360. Most expensive car I’ve ever bought. Was on partial daily driver duty for a number of years but the headgasket’s gone so it’s in the repair queue.
Lada Niva - Bought jointly with my dad for £1000. Brilliant little thing but led a hard life. Repaired loads on it so far but too much still to do so it’s a farm hack.
Citroen BX non-turbo-diesel - Bought for £256 as a runner needing welding. Welded up, dailied for a year, got a bit smitten with it so it stays. Water pump went and then a hydraulic return t-piece. Just finished repairing the hydraulics so it’s awaiting MoT :)
Triumph Spitfire - 2nd project Spit bought for £1200 because it was too good of a deal to pass up. Came with RV8 an 5-speed worth £500 alone. And it was painted! Sold unwanted parts for £300.
Nissan Micra - Picked up for free. Sold two days later for £300.
MGB GT Rustbucket - Bought accidentally for 99p. Gave the guy £100 for the parts that came with it because I felt sorry for him. Sold those parts for £150-200 I think.
Triumph Spitfire - Bought for £120, again I think accidentally. Had nice alloys with it which I sold for £120 on their own. Sold some other bits and pieces I don’t need for another £50. Still have the shell, suspension, chassis, and a really nice pair of seats :)
MG F VVC - Bought for £150 from a mate’s colleague’s wife because she knew we’d take care of it. Excellent little car. Taken me to the ‘ring and back as well as daily duties. Just had a sticky throttle body and rear balljoints replaced and it’s back on the road :)
BMW E46 330i Touring - Sort of bought from the same mate who sold me the last Bimmer. Fixing it up for him then we’ll sell and split the profits. Not a bad car per se, but it’s been frustrating to work on and the the throttle response is god-awful. How BMW could feel that is acceptable is beyond me.
So, trends?
- Buying dirt cheap MoT failures, fixing them and enjoying them
- Buying far too many crusty British projects, often accidentally
- Buying knackered BMWs from my mate. Really should have learnt not to do this by now. He’s not someone who takes good care of cars.
"UnderSTeerEnthusiast - Triumph Fanboy" (smithtaylorm)
05/26/2017 at 06:21, STARS: 0
Bought an 02 Cavalier in ‘10 off my brother
Then an ‘09 Cobalt from my dad in ‘14
Kawasaki Ninja 250 in ‘15
A ‘17 Ford Focus ST two weeks ago
"BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires" (biturbo228)
05/26/2017 at 06:25, STARS: 1
You’re doing the Lord’s work ;)
"BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires" (biturbo228)
05/26/2017 at 06:25, STARS: 0
Neat! What was the TR7 like? Always liked them :)
"XJDano" (xjdano)
05/26/2017 at 07:30, STARS: 0
Stanza - scrapped
Thunderbird - scrapped
Suburban- dad sold $800
Tan XJ - sold $500/ broke even, didn’t run
Green XJ - stripped & scrapped
Silver wing - sold $900 broke even
Metro- $140 consider that break even
Bought & still have an XJ, 2 mk1 Gti, another silverwing, hand me down equinox from buying my wife a van & my brothers R1 that doesn’t run.
"My citroen won't start" (lucasboechat)
05/26/2017 at 07:44, STARS: 0
I usually sell my cars when a repair bill estimate goes over 25% the value of the car. I have never sold/bought/had a car with more than 60k miles.
2 of them had air suspension
Most if not all were autos
One was an Alfa Romeo Wagon
Actually most of them were wagons
The Range Rover I sold because it did not have any issues for a long time, which meant a lot of repairs were imminent -think calm before the storm-
I only miss my first car, a Citroen ZX Dakar 16V with manual trans and sunroof.
"BJohnson11" (brettjohnson01)
05/26/2017 at 09:11, STARS: 0
Hey, uh, why don’t you stop parking under that old ass tree? Haha, impressive list though!
"404 - User No Longer Available" (toni-cipriani)
05/26/2017 at 09:31, STARS: 0
2002 Chevrolet Cavalier - Lease Return
2006 Pontiac G6 - Traded in for my Solstice, dealer paid around $7000
1990 Mazda Miata - Group project disbanded, bought for C$1800 sold for C$2200.
"Milky" (jordanmielke)
05/26/2017 at 09:34, STARS: 0
Jeep Cherokee - $200. Sold to a family friend for parts after I jumped it.
Jeep Grand Cherokee - $500. Craigslist, can’t even remember what broke that time on it, but it was towed away.
SC400 - $500. Craigslist again, also towed away after I crashed it drifting.
Whenever I get around to buying something else the Crossfire will be listed for $2500 on craigslist. I pretty much drive ‘em into the ground.
"BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires" (biturbo228)
05/26/2017 at 09:58, STARS: 3
Thanks dude!
Bit tricky at our place :s the whole house is surrounded by absolutely enormous trees. There’s probably not a single place you could park without them being at risk.
Saying that, to get that big they must be quite good at not falling over, and it was a hell of a storm that put paid to the other one. Have been considering putting steel girders in our garages, but I doubt they’d stop a ~50,000lb Oak falling at maybe 40mph. They’d probably just do a more thorough job of squashing what’s underneath...
"1967ers - lover of dead auto marques" (1967ers)
05/26/2017 at 10:02, STARS: 1
1985 Honda Prelude - bought 1996 for $2100, donated to clean air fund in 2002 - I think I got $60.
1997 Honda Civic CX-G - bought 1999 for $14100, traded in on Elantra.
1991 Pontiac Sunbird - given to us 2001. Gave it back 2 months later. Worst car I’ve ever been associated with.
1998 Hyundai Elantra SE - bought 2001 for ~$13000, sold as-is 2008 for ~$1200.
1965 Corvair Monza - bought 2002 for $800 US. Sold 2017 for $4500.
1965 Corvair Corsa turbo (1) - bought 2004 for $500. Sold 2005 for $250 but kept a bunch of parts.
1965 Corvair Corsa turbo (2) - bought 2006 for $3000. Parted out 2013. Kept driveline and other interesting bits for the Monza.
2001 Toyota Sienna LE - bought 2006 for $14500. Sold 2015 for $2900.
1999 Honda Civic EX - bought 2008 for $3300. Donated 2013 for charity receipt. I think I got $500.
2008 Honda Odyssey EX-L - bought 2012 for $21K. Still have it.
2001 Saab 9-5 Aero wagon - bought 201.4 for $3200. Still have it.
1989 Saab 900 SPG - bought 2016 for $5300. Still have it.
Honorable mention to my father, who bought a 1974 Dodge Tradesman van in 1975 and still has it in the garage.
Moral of my story - depreciation on newer cars sucks. The cars I’ve been happiest with cost me the least to buy. The Odyssey is good, but I want at least 7-8 more years out of it.
The Prelude, Corvair, Civic EX and 9-5 cost me about $10K between them and have given me 238,000 km of driving. Yes, I put a bunch of parts into each of them, but they were all full value for what I spent.
Also - man, did that Sunbird suck.
"Dave the car guy , still here" (a3dave)
05/26/2017 at 10:13, STARS: 0
Most Opponauts I’ve met don’t know I’m past 60 so I’m not posting all my car deals here. I’ll tell you of two. First is more recent. In early 2000's I bought my A4 quattro used with 42k miles . It was a loaded 2.8 with every option package. I was second real owner, was in 3 dealers hands. Got it for $16,500 because nobody knew the optioning and that it sold new for $40k. After 14 years of ownership I got $3k for it with 135k + miles. Picture above was at a TSD rally in winter about 4 years ago. It was still clean and ran well.
The other car was my 1963 Triumph TR4 that I bought in 1973 for $275. It needed a crank and connecting rod. Spent about $900 on it and a lot of my labor. It got engine work, drivetrain, carpet, paint, TR6 seats , top, etc.
Drove it for 2 years and got $1300 on trade for it on a used 1973 Saab 99EMS in 1975. One of my best deals ever. The Saab had been part of a local doctors collection. He was going through a divorce. It sold new for $7k in 1973 , my price before trade in 1975 was $3500. It only had 14k miles. I’ve never done the exact percentages but it was likely my best horsetrading of my life. I drove the Saab over 90k miles the next 3 yrs.
"Theropod" (theropod)
05/26/2017 at 11:12, STARS: 0
Great balance, low power. Lots of fun to drive. How else could I have learned the importance of topping up your dashpots every 3k miles? It had the usual Lucas electrical problems, including a nasty ground fault that left me stranded in St. George, Utah; the car would only run if you pushed up really hard on the lever that opened the vents. It was not a fun way to drive across the desert. I think my right thumb is still dented.
"BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires" (biturbo228)
05/26/2017 at 11:29, STARS: 0
Haha :) everything I expected. I still want a V8 one myself. It’ll be rebuilt though so hopefully no electrical gremlins ;)
"Theropod" (theropod)
05/26/2017 at 11:44, STARS: 1
I still miss it, even with all the problems.
"jonny11quest" (jonny11quest)
06/08/2017 at 16:08, STARS: 0
93 Grand Am - paid $1500 - rolled in ditch and let the wrecker have it for the price of tow ~$400
92 Grand Marquis - paid $500 - sold for $400 or $500
2004 Sonata - paid $5500 - sold for $4000
2004 G35 - paid $6000 - sold for $6200
2002 Focus ZX3 - paid $1000 - sold for $1300
1990 Miata - paid $600
2016 FiST - paid $22000 - sold $17000
2010 BMW e90 - paid $10000