Dealerships are like pawshops, they will offer your half-3/4 value of your car. It's bussiness, get use to. You are in a hurry? That' what you get

 

For what it's worth, I bought my 08 MR for $60k and traded it in last oct for $31k with 18500 miles

 

2011 GSR, I paid 35K out the door with extended warranty and tax, was offered 28.5 6 months later with 2K miles on it. I was considering getting something better on gas (considering the GTI or GLI) but after seeing how much money I was losing, I decided it really wasn't worth it.

 

as soon as you drive it off the lot and its titled, it is now considered a used vehicle and knocks about 2,000 to 5,000 off

 

The warranty and GAP insurance are cancel-able. You'd have gotten a lot of that money back. So if you factor that in, you're really talking about being offered 30, and well - you're never going to recoup the tax. When you look at is that way it was a fair offer.

 

I thought it was fair too, I didn't really NEED to sell the car though so I decided not too.

 

Look, I don't want to be a troll in this thread... But...

You do realize what you are saying? You are willing to lose $5,500 to drive a less "cool" car than the Evo because you are going to get that $5K back over the course of 5 years? O.O Honestly, I don't see a single benefit in that. You'll end up breaking even, possibly even losing more on a car that might depreciate more (Soul).

Unless of course, there are other reasons you would rather have the Soul (more space, more family friendly, you like it more etc). If that's the case, then more power to you sorry for my ranting.

 

This, This, This x1,000.

Sit down with a cool head and do your math to the T.

5 years down the road you've already paid off the Evo X or be close to paying it off. Losing $5,000 on the Evo now doesn't mean you won't lose in the Soul also. The moment you walk out the dealership, your soul is worth 80% of the credit you just took out.

$14,000 base price + $5,500 upside on a Soul, is a $19,500 car plus tax and fees, for a car that will be worth 10k in 3-5 years maybe? 3-5 years down the road and your Evo X is still worth 20k+

And how much cheaper is the insurance? My wife's 2012 Outlander Sport pays $97, and my Evo is $112 right now. There are some things you can "sacrifice" in order to lower your insurance premium, such as increasing your deductible, lowering your mileage use under 7,500 year, etc.

Unless you really, really need to sell the Evo. I'd say keep it if you can afford it comfortably, save up $2,000 and buy a used POS to drive to work and back mon/fri, and keep your baby for some weekend fun. Unless again, your reasons for getting rid of the Evo go beyond what you've already mentioned.

Believe me... I did THE SAME thing before. Traded in a Lancer with a good 4.5k in upside for a '11 Eclipse GS Sport, the car was 24.5k, that was a 29k Eclipse off the bat, not including tax, dealer fees, etc... I walked out with a nearly 32k Loan on a car that if I was to sell/trade back a week later it would be worth about 21k maybe... a year after I bought it, I was looking to get 16.5k from Mitsu themselves!!! Ridiculous!

Look at all the outcomes possible before you pull the trigger :\ Sometimes we make bad (or really bad) decisions and all we can do is swallow the bullet and pay the price.

 

Aint that the truth. Back in 08 I bought a 08 Eclipse Spyder GS loaded for almost $30k. Then agreed to a horrible 10% interest rate. With my interest rate I paid about $40k for the car.

With depreciation, $0 down, and a high interest rate I was never able to get out from under the car. I thought about loosing money and trading in but ultimately I kept it and paid it off. Since the car is now only worth $12k in trade in I guess I will keep the car until the wife crashes it or it gets stolen or something.

I have learned if you buy a car new make sure its something you will want to keep and pay off or get ready to loose alot of money. Cars depreciate way to quickly these days. Much quicker than what they use to.

 

^^^ Glad jazket is with me. I've made my own share of stupid decisions, but gladly in the last couple of years I've screwed my head on straight. And guess what!?? I don't even own an Evo! Why? Because it doesn't make financial sense to me right now. That's what I opted to by an MX5 for $25K rather than an Evo for $35K. And I have my wife telling me to get rid of the MX5 and buy the Evo! What more motivation do I need?

However, in the last 6 years I've made sure not to make any big car mistakes.

The most important thing is that I try and not be upside down for more than 6 months. If I can't afford to get out of the upside-down mode quick, I don't buy.

Example: Bought a new XB gen 2 - Recovered from "upside-downness" after 6 months.

Bought a new Mustang - Made sure to buy with a $2,500 rebate and under invoice and with a decent down. Absolutely no problem. Was positive in equity within 6 months.

Bought the 2011 MX5. Bought under invoice with at least $3k in rebates, then dropped a trade-in and some cash down on top of that. Guess what? I'm not upside down right now and I've owned the car for only a couple of months. So if I wanted an Evo, I could go and get rid of the MX5 and get the Evo without making a GSR a $40K car! But while I consider it often I don't think I'm going to do it. Why? Because you need to put what's best for you before what you want. After all they are cars, and the constant trades and sales of used Evos around here prove that as great as they are, people get bored of them. Some men date supermodels, and they still get bored, and they still go and cheat on them. And Evo, new one or otherwise. And GT-R, a Lambo... None will make you happy. You have to buy within your means.

 

This!

If I was to give you the math of how much I've spent in trading in and out of cars over the last 4 years... I can say I would have kept my 2003 Kia Rio back then, and by now I could have bought me a 2012 Evo X MR Touring Super Loaded To The Bones Edition, CASH!!!! and still keep a few thousand in my bank account... or I could've taken my chances at starting a business and who knows... maybe by now I'd be affording GT-Rs and 911 Turbos

Oh decisions decisions... it's all part of growing up

 

@Kendogg - The problem is, it's a little more complicated than deciding you can and will keep the car.

Why?

Think about it. When you are in a dealership you always say... "I'm going to keep this car forever." That's your emotions talking.

Then, after a year or two, finding good excuses as to why you need to get rid if it is really easy. But in reality, all cars are compromises. There are extremes of course, but all compromises. A fuel efficient car, is not cool. A fun car is not big enough and practical, a truck is practical but too cumbersome, a convertible cannot carry a bike rack, the interest could be lower, I could be paying the same for a newer model, there's a good sale and a good rebate, etc, etc.

Even for the little things... For example - My MX5 is a retractable hardtop. It has the problem that I can't fit it with a proper roll bar for track use. It's also heavier than the soft top. A good excuse to trade it for a soft top? Ha. Maybe. But then the softop can be slashed in, it's not as cool to operate as the hard top, etc, etc. All compromises.

 

I like the hard tops. I would stick with the one you have.

I wasn't to ticked about my Eclipse purchase. As it stands now the car has 29k miles on it. I had Mitsu replace the top under warranty, so it has a new top. And the best thing ofcourse it that its paid off. I don't regret buying my Eclipse. I do regret agreeing to a 10% interest rate but I did have pretty poor credit at that time so that is really no ones fault but my own. Overall though the Eclipse has been great. Its not fast but its not slow either. Its a pretty comfortable ride. Gets great mpg. I do enjoy having the top down and soaking up some sun from time to time. Just as you said, they all have comprimises. The lack of space is an issue. ALthough we have transported some very large objects by putting the top down.

Like you say its all about compromises and what ultimately will make you happy. But I do plan on keeping my Eclipse for ever because to me it is no worth what people have to offer. To me my Eclipse is worth $20k because I am the only owner and know it has been taken care of plus I ofcourse have $40k into it.

Before I just picked up my Evo I had the Outlander Sport. This car was very practical. Had alot of room. The keyless entry. Decent gas mileage. But the drive....yawn. It was so slow and boring to drive.

For me I have wanted an Evo since the 8 had came out. I was never in a situation financially or credit/job wise to own one. And for me, only a new one is an option. I would never buy a used one unless I personally knew the owner. So with the 2012 or 2013 being the end of the Evo as we know it, it seemed like a perfect time to pick one up. The trade off ofcourse is a higher car payment. A little less mpg. My insurance went up $15 bucks. But I know the Evo will hold value better than the Outlander Sport. And I believe private party will go up some after they discountinue the X. It is a really fun car though and even if I it wouldnt loose value I still wouldnt trade it in. This is also another car I will hold on until it gets crashed or stolen.

Since I lost the space of the Outlander Sport I might buy a cheap SUV/CUV/Van in the future. Something for a few grand or something. Then again I might not. It would be hard for me to drive a beater car to/from work when I have a perfectly good Evo crying for attention.

Congrates on your MX-5. That was just not an option for me. I am way to big for those cars. I would look like a clown "trying" to get in/out of it. And if I ever crashed I would just be screwed. Need the jaws of life I guess.

 

Had my 2010 Camaro 2ss/RS Brand new fully loaded loaded with every single dealer option you can add on it [ground effects,Corsa exhaust system,12S in the trunk with an amp] it was the best camaro off the Lot period paid close to 48k for it, traded in my mazdaspeed 6 which i paid 18k for when i traded the mazda i got 14k in trade. i bought my camaro outright and went to trade it in a year later with 33k miles on it i got 26k for it in trade huge loss... but it needed a new clutch and the tires were gone. i traded the camaro for a Communter car a toyota solara SE and they cut me a check for 20k LOL. Recently got my 2006 Evo IX and paid 22k for it off the lot, but it needed work only had 42k miles on it thou, but still ive done ALOT of work to it, and i talked him down from the $25,000 they wanted!!!

Dealerships will definitly Rip you, but sometimes it better here in IL cause of the taxes you have to pay when u get a car comparing to a trade in, cause out taxes are crazy... But i was trying to sell my camaro for 30k, 28k for months and i got no interest at all on it and this was last year. Sometimes people need to use a dealership to get a car cause the dealerships Financers are the only ones who is gunna give them Credit to get the car, instead of having Really good credit and getting a loan privetly

 

@kendogg - Thanks! I'm definitely enjoying the MX5. When other cars go thru my head it's always when I'm not driving. Funny that as soon as I get into the car to drive around I forget about the others. Unless I see an Evo on the road next to me - then I just belt out and cry. Haha.

I'm looking into ways to solve the roll bar problem. One guy on the Miata forum had a custom bar made to fit, but he probably paid like $8K for the build and in the end it pushes the seats too far forward to be practical for me. I'm looking into the possibility of a complex mod of the top to add another inch or two of space to allow for a regular bar. Won't be easy, but shouldn't cost as much as a custom bar.

I remember I was going to buy an Eclipse for my wife once - like 4 years ago. Never did. Bought the Mustang instead, last year. The Mustang's great, but it's another car that depreciates A LOT.