Prices for fuel-saving used cars to drop

[08EscapeHybrid]

The "your job is your credit", "buy here, pay here" model is a ripoff. I ran into that when I first started driving. I was looking at ads in the paper and asked my dad what the deal with some of them were. One that stuck in my mind all these years was an AMC Concord wagon, advertised as "$800 down and $100/mo" IMHO, that car was barely worth $800 to begin with!

They prey on ignorant people who don't know their true options and/or know how to manage their money. I'm sure in some cases they get to sell the same car a couple times. Get a down payment, maybe a payment or 2. If they pay it off great, you made a killing. If they don't pay it off, repossess it, shampoo the carpets, wax the paint, a spritz of armorall on the tires, and put it back on the lot.

[ALS]

For the last three or more months I've been getting Emails and snail mail letters from my dealer offering me "Top Dollar" for my 2010 Prius. If these used Prius were not in demand and going to be making the dealer some serious profit they wouldn't be sending me these monthly letters.

I checked Auto Trader and the prices around me haven't come down on a used Prius. 2011 Prius II with 32K they're asking $23,345, another 2011 PII with 33.3K miles they want $21,900. There is a 2008 with 51K miles and the dealer is asking $18K.

When I was looking for a used Prius back in the summer of 2009 the 2008's with 20K miles were going for $19,995.

The author is dreaming if he thinks the prices are dropping. If they are it isn't happening in western Pennsylvania.

[WriConsult]

I agree that the "buy here, pay here" model is a ripoff, but I'm not convinced that it exactly dominates the used car market at this point. From what I can see, the market is still dominated by traditional used-car dealers and the used-car lots at new-car dealers.

That may be changing as used-car prices stay high, pushing more people like myself into the arms of new-car dealers, but I don't think we're there yet.

[ALS]

I have a neighbor Mike who has a use car lot. I've been asking how business is over the last couple of months and the look tells me everything before he even started talking.

He has pretty much said people are tapped out and they don't have any money.

Not that they don't have a job or income but they are drowning in debt. They may have a $50K income but don't have enough left over to make a $200 a month payment.

[thunderstruck]

I'm not sure people are going to be rushing back to bigger thirsty vehicles just because of a drop in gas prices. We've seen this before, where the price goes down, people let their guard down, then gas goes back up at the drop of a hat. Hurricane season is usually a good excuse to jack the price up. I don't think people are quite to ready to believe if the price of gas goes down it will stay down as used to be the case.

[Indigo]

Originally Posted by thunderstruck

I'm not sure people are going to be rushing back to bigger thirsty vehicles just because of a drop in gas prices. We've seen this before, where the price goes down, people let their guard down, then gas goes back up at the drop of a hat. Hurricane season is usually a good excuse to jack the price up. I don't think people are quite to ready to believe if the price of gas goes down it will stay down as used to be the case.

You give humanity way too much credit. Most consumers have the attention span of a goldfish. If, by some miracle, gasoline drops to $2.99, Americans will be scrapping in the streets for a place in line to buy 11 MPG SUVs.

[08EscapeHybrid]

Are 11 MPG SUV's even on the market anymore? Even a 4wd 2012 Suburban is rated for 15 city.

[RichXKU]

GMC Yukon 2500/Chevy Suburban 2500 are 12 MPG combined.

[WriConsult]

Suburban 1500 has improved to 15 city, but the GMC Yukon XL 1500 (its corporate twin) has not. Still stuck at 13mpg (see below).

And the 2500 versions of these rigs are the biggest swine of SUVs rated by the EPA, at just 10mpg city.

There are no SUVs rated for 11mpg, but there are plenty of 12mpg losers:
- BMW X5 M and X6 M.
- Jeep Grand Cherokee V8 (AWD) and Grand Cherokee SRT8.
- Land Rover LR4, Range Rover and Range Rover Sport.
- Lexus LX570.
- Mercedes G550 and GL550.
- Nissan Armada.

At the 13mpg level you start seeing some SUVs that are still very popular:
- Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV and Escalade EXT.
- Dodge Durango 4WD.
- Ford Expedition 4WD.
- GMC Yukon Denali and Yukon XL 1500.
- Lincoln Navigator 4WD.
- Mercedes GL450.
- Nissan Pathfinder V8.
- Toyota Sequoia 5.7L, Sequoia 4.6L w/4WD and Land Cruiser.

[ALS]

There is a guy around me that drives this monstrosity.

350hp and 1,050 ft lbs of torque from the 8.3 liter Cummins ISC,

Yep it is a real 10 mpg pickup truck

The Freightliner Sport Chassis Pickup.