Author Topic: When is a good time to sell a car?  (Read 2636 times)

mpg350

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When is a good time to sell a car?
« on: June 07, 2016, 08:36:26 PM »
I have a 06 Rav4 with 160k miles and my wife a 08 Camary with 150k miles.

I am trying to figure out when is a good time to sell...both cars have been reliable.

Our next cars will be bought cash so either way I don't know if it makes sense to drive another 2-3+ years or just sell while I could get
5-7k for them now...instead of selling in 2-3 years for 3-4k.

Or drive till they die? Then sell for 1k, any input would be appreciated.


bobechs

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Re: When is a good time to sell a car?
« Reply #1 on: June 07, 2016, 08:39:34 PM »
Sell them when you don't need them any more.

That's the best time to sell them.

rvg

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Re: When is a good time to sell a car?
« Reply #2 on: June 08, 2016, 07:04:51 AM »
Usually when the repairs outweigh the private sale value of the vehicle. So most likely when the engine or transmission dies.

acroy

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Re: When is a good time to sell a car?
« Reply #3 on: June 08, 2016, 07:27:23 AM »
Those things are barely broken in
Take care of them and keep using them. 300k no sweat!

Syonyk

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Re: When is a good time to sell a car?
« Reply #4 on: June 08, 2016, 08:30:08 AM »
They're Toyotas.  Change the oil, keep up on maintenance, and they're at least 250k mile cars.

ketchup

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Re: When is a good time to sell a car?
« Reply #5 on: June 08, 2016, 09:20:36 AM »
A week and a half ago, I was on the highway 100 miles from home with my 1999 Chevy Metro.  I had 150lbs of frozen beef (for dog food) in the back of the car.

The engine quit on me in the left lane while doing 70mph.  I tried in vain to start it up again in neutral, then switched lanes and pulled over.  I called my insurance roadside assistance phone number and got towed off the highway.  I rented a U-haul truck with a car dolly trailer, and with the help of a Good Samaritan, got my car up onto the trailer.

I towed it home, threw the beef in the freezer, dropped off the U-haul truck, biked home, and took a look at the car.  Had good spark and fuel, and the starter was definitely trying, but it wouldn't start.  I took a closer look, and the timing belt had jumped a few teeth.  I took a closerer look, and the crankshaft wouldn't turn over all the way.  I removed the spark plugs, and one was broken with a 1/2" piece down in the cylinder.  I suspect it dropped a valve, and may have cracked a piston.

The car already had lost second gear, was beat up and rusty (rust would probably have killed it within a year or two tops), had a damaged airbag system (air bag light was on), and the engine was low-ish compression before all this.  It had never left me stranded before, but it did have a slow oil leak.  It also has no air conditioning, and my girlfriend hates it.

That's a good time to get rid of a car.

It was a 1999 with 182,600 miles on it.  Our other car is a 1992 with 198,000 miles on it.  There's no rule of thumb for age or miles that is really useful for this decision.  Get rid of it when you have a reason (a real reason) to suspect its reliability, and when that reason cannot be fixed.  Or when it fails catastrophically like mine did.

I've seen people dump a Toyota at 150,000 miles that I thought were insane to sell because it ran perfectly (and the next owner is still driving it), and I've seen someone sell a Saturn at 110,000 miles that made me wonder what took so long (the car looked 100% perfect cosmetically but was total garbage mechanically).  It depends on the car.
They're Toyotas.  Change the oil, keep up on maintenance, and they're at least 250k mile cars.
Also, this.

Cassie

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Re: When is a good time to sell a car?
« Reply #6 on: June 08, 2016, 06:56:18 PM »
WE sold our Saturn at 140k because we had a chance to buy a toyota corolla with 27k miles on it for 9900.00. It was a 2007 and looked like new. I knew that the Saturn was on it's last legs and sold it for under BB in case it died quickly.