Why low resale value for Saturns

I have a 2001 L300 with every option but the sunroof. I purchased it used
for $21,000.
A quick survey on Edmunds and Kelly's shows my car is worth between $85,00
and $11,000.
My car has lost a minimum of $10,000 value in 2 years. Why did my car's
value drop so much?

 

Because you bought it brand new. That happens with all new cars. If
you don't want that, buy a two or three-year old car.

 

Oops! I can read, really! You say you did buy it used? When, and with
how many miles? It must have been very close to new.

 

We went through the same thing with our loaded 2001 SC2 on the trade in. 2
years and 20k miles and the car was worth less than half the sticker price.

The used car market really stinks for vehicles that are only a few years
old right now, mainly due to the fact that a new car with 0% interest is
the same price as a year old used car at 5% or whatever the current "used
car rate" is.

In the long run, this makes it cheaper to buy new, and I would guess is
what drives the used car prices down.

I wonder how some of the smaller used car lots are staying in business
sometimes...

 

Saturns have always had poor resale value, but in your case, first of all
you overpaid for it to begin with, it didn't lose $10K in value. Second,
the very agressive discounting, not only the L series, but on its
competition,
drives down new prices, which drives down used prices. You can buy a 2003
Camry for $1000 less than we paid for our 1996 Camry ($16K versus $17K).
The Saturn L series is being discounted by up to $6000, because sales are so
poor. The falling prices on new cars drive down the value of used cars.

KBB and Edmunds tend to understate the wholesale value and overstate
the retail value.

 

well when we bout my wifes new saturn, the dealer said that if you trade
in between 3-4 yrs its a high chance you will get a minium of 1/2 what
you paid for it.

 

They used to boast "up to 75% if you trade in under 3 years or 30k miles
for a new saturn. Now they emphasize the UP TO part...and it is way less
than 75%.

 

I think it would be wise to look at the source of that "information" (a
salesman who won't be accountable for its accuracy and who is about to
make a big commission if you leave with a new car).

 

Saturns historically don't hold value, because folks aren't willing to
pay top dollar for used ones. Saturn hasn't marketed itself as well as
Honda, and therefore isn't as desirable a car. Hondas hold their value
better. Regardless of what anyone tells you, the price/value of a used
car is driven by market value, and that's driven by buyers. If more
people bought used Saturns, the value would increase.

The other problem you're facing is the economy. With all of the
incentives floating around lately on new cars (0% financing, or low
rates; thousands of dollars "cash back"; giving away computers and other
things) some folks who would normally buy used are buying new instead.
This has caused the used car market to drop considerably. That directly
affects the wholesale and retail values for used cars on the lot and for
trade-ins.

 

Right now, where I work in New York, a 3 year-old Saturn with reasonable
miles (under 36K) and in good condition sells for about 10 or 11 grand.

Considering they sold for around 20-23 grand in 2000, I'd say the
salesman is about on target, or maybe a little high --- if he was
talking about RETAIL value. You can get that much if you sell it
yourself, but not if you trade it in. Dealers have to make a profit,
and most of them will put money into the car to "certify" it for resale.
The trade-in value for such a car would be 7 grand at best.

When he made that estimate, he was telling the truth, because back in
2000 that's what was happening.

Right now, the market for used cars has decreased significantly because
of all the incentives the manufacturers are offering on new cars, and
used cars aren't selling as well as a result. So, used cars sitting on
the lot at 10 grand are being discounted, and trade-ins are getting less
money.

 

If I uderstand the way this works correctly, right now your car is
realisticly 3 years old, not 2. Any car dealer out there feel free to
correct me if I'm wrong, but a big value drop in used vehicle prices occurs
in September. I'm guessing this is because most new model years start
appearing in September, i.e. you can now buy an '04 Saturn.

Bryan
--

"To announce that there must be no
criticism of the president, or that we
are to stand by the president, right
or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and
servile, but is morally treasonable to
the American public."
Theodore Roosevelt

 

realisticly = realistically

(Gawd, do I feel dumb!)

--

"To announce that there must be no
criticism of the president, or that we
are to stand by the president, right
or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and
servile, but is morally treasonable to
the American public."
Theodore Roosevelt

 

Sorry for typo, websites state between $8500 ( not 85,000) and $11,000.

I bought it used in 2001, it was one about one year old. I had no choice
but to pay the Saturn price (no haggling policy).

 

Correct. My in service date of my car is Sep, 2000. But Edmunds and KBB
don't ask for when the car was made, just the model year. It's techically a
2001 model year.

Thank you everyone for responding. I will keep my car until it dies. I
bought the extended warranty.

 

First of all, you should not have believed that there was no
haggling on Saturns, because despite all the hype, there is,
especially on used cars.

Second, you had a lot of choice. You could have bought something
else. If you had to have a V6, there were a lot of new V6 mid-size
cars available for about $21,000 two years ago. You could have
bought a Maxima, Camry, or Accord for that much money (street
price). Furthermore, while the 4 cylinder L series is underpowered
with an automatic, and should be avoided, there are 4 cylinder mid-size
cars with very respectable 4 cylinder engines.

Somehow I get the feeling that this thread may have started with
a troll post, as I doubt that anyone would pay that much for a used
2001 Saturn L300.

 

No, he's posted here for quite a while.

We leased our loaded 2002 L300. I am very happy with the car. I
wouldn't have touched the L200, but this L300 is great. With resale
so low, the residual on my car that Saturn is stuck with is not
realistic. I actually may lowball them at the end of my lease to see
if I can get the car for much less, and just buy it outright.

Although $21.5k is a lot for a *used* 2001 L300, the cars are easily
worth that much when they're new.

Not everyone in the world likes camrys and accords, and the L300 is
just as capable of an automobile as the aforementioned.