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Smart Shopper Smart Shopper-Archives Any Questions for a Car Dealer? 
16377 messages, Last post on Feb 11, 2006 at 4:59 AM
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Id depends on the Finance company. A lot of it is based upon your Beacon score, which perhaps 2 or 3 people on the planet can accurately describe. Seriously, it's a numerical score based on your creditworthiness. Have perfect payment history but 20 maxed credit cards? Low score. Etc.. Also, Chrysler Financial will be a lot more forgiving than most. Bill |
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| There are legislative moves afoot -- some federal, a few in some states -- that will give consumers direct access to FICO data (Fair, Isaacs) which is the basis of Beacon and other scores. Right now, the only way to find out is if you have a friend -- banker, mortgage broker, etc. -- in the financial services industry. An auto salesperson would work, too. He/she can pull your scores for you. That's what I did, just to check for fun. I won't get into the issue of the information which affects the interest rates you pay for everything, from mortgages to other loans to credit cards, being inaccessible to you. | |
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Going into Consumers Credit Counseling is a decision that should not be taken lightly. It is a hell of a lot better (and more responsible) than declaring bankruptcy however. Normally, until the debts are paid while "in" CC, you cannot take on any more debt. I'm surprised that Chrysler would have approved that loan. Still, desperate companies will do desperate things. I've seen Ford Credit approve people who should be in jail! |
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I found that out while I was paying my credit cards off how hard it was to secure more credit, so I paid them back as quickly as possible. I was actually on a 5 year plan, but paid it off in 2 1/2. I tried to refinance my mortgage during that time, but nobody would even touch me, so I just paid extra into that, as well. Maybe because I was able to pay everything off so quickly, it improved my credit rating? Also, about 6 months after paying off CCCS, I had no trouble refinancing my mortgage. I was under the impression that my credit would still be screwed for a couple years! -Andre |
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Do American cars (or cars in general) depreciate quicker than they used to? I was just wondering...my grandfather saved the paperwork on just about every car he'd ever owned. And it looks like back in the 50's and 60's, he would get about 1/2 of what he paid for his cars when he traded (usually about every 3-4 years). For example, he bought a 1957 Ford Fairlane 500 for $3500, and got around $1700 or so when he traded it for a 1961 Galaxie 500. Come to think of it, I think he got about $6800 tradein on his 1985 LTD when he traded it for an '89 Taurus, and that was about 1/2 or a little more than he paid for it. But nowadays, I doubt a 4 year old Taurus, Intrepid, or Lumina with average miles would be worth half its original selling price. -Andre |
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The Dec. issue of Kiplingers has tables that indicate the projected resale value of most of the cars on the market after 2 years and 4 years. The resale value is indicated as a percentage of the original MSRP. The figures came from a leasing consultant company. In general, big three domestic cars do depreciate faster than many imports, but there are also exceptions. In general, Honda, Toyota, Subaru, VW and many luxury brands depreciate slower, but so do some domestic models such as the Pontiac Firebird and Chevy Camaro and Corvette. In your example, here are the figures provided by Kiplingers for competing family sedans, 2 year/4 year: Ford Taurus 53/35 Dodge Intrepid 50/33 Chevy Lumina 46/32 Chevy Monte Carlo 56/42 Acura Integra 59/46 Honda Accord 61/47 Mazda 626 58/36 Mitsubishi Galant 55/41 Nissan Altima 58/41 Olds Intrigue 49/35 Pontiac Grand Prix 56/39 Subaru Legacy 58/44 Toyota Camry 57/43 VW Jetta 60/45 The paper magazine has the cars in tables, but you can look up individual cars on Kiplinger's website at: http://www.kiplinger.com/php/cars/2001/ The web site provides the same resale value information for each model. |
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Kip lingers certainly has some interesting information about automobiles on their Web site. Thanks for sharing the link with everyone, Tim. Car_Man Host Smart Shoppers / FWI Message Boards |
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That Kiplinger's link is great! One thing I find interesting is that the Dodge Intrepid (which I own) numbers are close to the Taurus and Lumina, and even the new Impala is rated at 53/38%. I keep hearing people say how horrible depreciation is on Intrepids, although it looks like its numbers are in the ballpark with its closest competition. -Andre |
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You're welcome! But please remember to take the figures with a grain of salt. I'm not questioning Kiplinger's integrity or accuracy, but you do have to remember that the figures they provide are "in advance" projections used to calculate lease payments. What the actual depreciation of a car will be in 2 or 4 years might be quite different, due to supply/demand at that time (as SUV owners will find out, I predict). I'm sure Isell or Bill might pop in and relate their experiences that, say, Toyotas or VWs or whatever actually do better than projected in holding their value while Chryslers or Pontiacs do worse (just examples). In other words, while the projections used by leasing companies are valuable information, actual results might tell a slightly different story. p.s. Andre, the one that surprises me most on the list is the high expected resale value of the Chevy Monte Carlo. It is way out of trend with most other GM cars (other than Firebird/Camaro and Corvette). |
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The problem with the kiplinger type statistics is that everyone thinks their cars or truck is the pefect one...I have found plenty of toyota's that have 95% deprec after 36 months and some Ford's with much higher resale than the toyota... It truly depends on the individual car and how the owner keeps it... Also when you call the 1-900-crystalball number you bank on things never changing. But they always do...this is why the so many huge players in the leasing business are out of the business or near financial ruins basing things on kiplinger type statistics...consumers change long before the statistics do... look at the statistics on Audi before and after the phony 60 minute story.. BTW: some of the numbers are rather accurate but some are totalreal world fiction (like the camaro /monte) Rich |
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Smart Shopper Smart Shopper-Archives Any Questions for a Car Dealer?
