"Jim Zeigler" (jimzeigler)
02/05/2016 at 10:50 • Filed to: None
5
12|
"Jim Zeigler" (jimzeigler)
02/05/2016 at 10:50 • Filed to: None | 5
| 12 |
About a year ago, !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . It was, in my mind, a mature decision. The Fit was a practical car, a respectable choice that would signify to the world that I may not be “making it” yet, but I’m at least making good decisions. I kept my previous daily driver, a ‘94 Miata, as a sort of vestigial tail of rebellion. Plus, it was fun to say that I had a “weekend car” when talking to people at the bar.
Two things happened that would result in my mutiny on the Good Ship Maturity:
I sold my Miata. It wasn’t getting driven with the regularity it deserved, and seeing it in my carport was a bitter reminder of how cool I
used
to be. I then blew the money on
stupid shit that I would eventually regret or sell
.
An uninsured driver sideswiped the rear quarter panel of the Fit in a location that couldn’t be PDR’d into perfection. The insurance estimate was just under my $1000 deductible, a number I had chosen with misplaced confidence in the driving ability of my peers.
I left the dent on the Fit as a mark of shame and because it didn’t seem like it was worth $950. Meanwhile, the car was falling apart in a manner that ill befitted the H-badge on the grille. The top of the huge dash panel had shrugged its way out of alignment, and interior panels were falling off like Ja Rule circa 2003. Front bumper cover sag, a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! on these cars, was making itself apparent with the panel gaps on the front end growing ever wider. And though I frequently shouted at the car while driving for its !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! characteristics, it did not make any efforts correct these flaws.
The honeymoon was over, but I knew that I couldn’t sell the car as it sat without taking a huge hit because of the body damage. I found myself sitting in front of an estimator’s desk at a local body shop, preparing to pony up the required ducat for the repairs that would free me from the clutches of this foul subcompact. After he hit me with the expected estimate, he suggested in passing that I run it past CarMax before I lay down the cash to fix it. Worth a shot, he reckoned.
That estimator is the hero of this story.
The next free Saturday, I drug the Fit to Big Blue with an unwashed exterior and the interior covered with fresh coffee from a fistfight with a cortado dulce. I fiddled around with the Scion iQ in the showroom while they dissected my car, all the while girding my loins in preparation for what I was quite sure would be a four-digit number. 45 minutes later, the saleslady called me into her office and handed me a sheet that offered $13,500 for my car.
$13,500 for a base model Fit with an “undesirable” 6-speed manual, a sideswiped quarter panel, and 15,400 miles.
$13,500, or about $300 less than KBB’s “Very Good” private party number (which is admittedly bullshit, but everyone uses in negotiation).
$13,500, or about $3k more than I owed on the car, meaning I’d be walking away with cash in my pocket.
I may frame this.
I sold the car one week later for that exact number after calling around to several local dealers (including local sleazeballs Texas Direct Auto) to see if they’d match it. Nobody got within $1000, even
before
figuring in the body damage. The process was painless, even though I’m almost convinced they made a mistake in offering me what they did.
The drive-out number at the dealer for my Fit was $16,500, meaning that the price before TT&L was around $15,300. That’s $1800 to drive the piss out of a brand new car for the better part of a year, or around $165/month. I know people with smartphone bills that high. It’s money I’ll never get back, but it was entirely worth it to drive a reliable, ostensibly fun car with a bangin’ stereo for the better part of a year.
It is very stupid to sell a car less than a year after purchasing it new, but if you’re going to do it, buy a Honda. And if you’re going to have it for longer than that, the depreciation curve would flatten out
significantly more
after a year.
Stay tuned for the tale of its replacement.
Author’s note
:
I hope this didn’t read like a CarMax ad, but just in case it did:
never ever buy a car from CarMax unless it’s hugely unreliable and you get the warranty - they’re selling my Fit for more than it cost new.
Also, I don’t know how leases work, so let me know if they’re better deals than this.
Raymundo
> Jim Zeigler
02/05/2016 at 10:58 |
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I sold my Miata. It wasn’t getting driven with the regularity it deserved
/golfclap
BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind
> Jim Zeigler
02/05/2016 at 10:59 |
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Re: leases. Not really. Maybe if you get a stellar deal, but it’s unlikely. Taxes may be more to you’re benefit on a lease in this scenario, but it’d be close.
Re: CarMax. That's awesome and really surprising that they'd give you that much - mostly, I bet, due to the low miles. I often wonder if I should stop by my local CarMax just to see what they'd give me, but I think both of my cars have too many miles for them to really want em.
CalzoneGolem
> Jim Zeigler
02/05/2016 at 11:01 |
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Leases can be better if you don’t exceed the mileage. What you should do is by a ~$1,800 car and drive it for a year instead.
Rico
> Jim Zeigler
02/05/2016 at 11:12 |
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Nice! Sad that the Fit was falling apart in a year. The car gods have blessed you by not only getting you out of that car but not owing any money. What you should do is treat yourself to a car you actually want and not whatever is the “sensible” choice as making that decision once almost screwed you.
Master Cylinder
> Jim Zeigler
02/05/2016 at 11:18 |
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Sucks about the Fit but at least you got away relatively unscathed. My dad had a first-gen Fit and it was a tinny little econobox but still built with typical Honda quality and was quite a lot of fun to drive. I guess the later ones weren’t quite up to snuff.
shop-teacher
> Jim Zeigler
02/05/2016 at 11:23 |
|
Nice sale! A couple years ago, I also bought a boring car that was supposed to be a mature decision because it would be reliable. It was a piece of crap, and I was hating myself for spending money on something that was both boring AND unreliable. Never again will I buy something boring.
Several years ago I dumped a 10 year old Cadillac Deville on CarMax. The car had been beaten on by my parents after they inherited from my Grandma, and then they gave it to me. The interior had been smoked in to within an inch of it’s life, the torque converter wouldn’t lock up, it had been in several small accidents, and I had cleared “Check Engine” codes about a week earlier and crossed my fingers. The only thing it had going for it, was a low mileage of 52k. After they gave me the offer, I called my wife and told her to come pick me up. At first she was pissed that I was interrupting her ... whatever she was doing. Then she asked me how much they offered.
“$3,500"
“Shit! I better get there quick, before they change their mind!”
Svart Smart, traded in his Smart
> BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind
02/05/2016 at 12:06 |
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You probably already know this, but not everything Carmax buys ends up on one of their retail lots. They often buy cars and send them to auction. Either way, of course, lower miles = better money.
Bytemite
> Jim Zeigler
02/05/2016 at 12:35 |
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Why did you sell the Miata. Now you just have enough money to buy another one!
Luc - The Acadian Oppo
> Jim Zeigler
02/05/2016 at 12:40 |
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I’ll tell you what if you ended up with cash in your pocket you did DAMN good.
Hell if I ended up breaking even I’d dump my car in a heartbeat. Not because it’s a bad car I just want something different.
Normally you end up owing more than the car is worth(my current situation) ending up with 3k back on a car you weren’t happy with to begin with is a fucking fantastic deal.
Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
> Bytemite
02/05/2016 at 12:54 |
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Yeah unless you have a bundle of kids to transport then a Miata is a perfectly sensible and grown-up choice. Just think of all the less-reliable, gas consuming, death traps you could buy instead. Then think of the Miata and how friendly and loving it is.
Chasaboo
> Jim Zeigler
02/05/2016 at 13:17 |
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Ha! This reads like my modus operandi for my Fit. Well, except for the parts about hating it etc. I flog the snot out of mine and it’s an amazing car. I can’t believe how little gas it uses. Saves me so much money every week. Also, when I drive people around, they always say from the outside, “What a small car.” Then inside they say, “It’s so big inside!”
Love the thing and I’m hanging onto it for a while. No flaws with it and it’s grin inducing thrashing it around a city. Best new car I’ve bought so far.
v8RWD4doorSTICK
> Jim Zeigler
02/17/2016 at 14:26 |
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This is funny cause i generally buy newish cars and keep them for a year and then get rid of them. If the car is new, i buy it for invoice less rebates. Used is a diff story.
2012 mustang 5.0 i lost 2k after a year and 18k miles.
2007 mini cooper s i lost 3k in a year and 20k miles
2014 focus st i lost only $200 after a year and 19k miles
2015 mustang 5.0 im loosing 4k after a year and 10k miles.
So that is less than 2k a year and ive never had to replace tires, some cars i never had to do an oil change. I always get my own financing and never buy warrantys or gap.
So, if your smart and research you can get away with it.