Trading in for 05: The ugly topic of resale value

Mr. Jack · Jan 9, 2004

I don't really want to talk about this. It's been a nagging feeling that has been welling up inside me for months now.

I am starting to dread the day the 05 is available for sale.

I am seriously thinking about trading my car in for a new 05. I currently have a 2002 GT (which was purchased in early 2003 as a leftover). In October, I will have roughly 3 1/2 years left of financing on this car. In September, a dealership was willing to give me 17K for my trade-in (this is in Canadian dollars). I would've owed 6K. I'm hoping that I could've done much better than this in a private sale, but I am not positive.

As far as the 2005 GT, I am willing to be a little upsidedown. But getting completely undercut is out of the question. Is the crap-ass resale of our current cars going to keep us out of buying the new car? How bad are we going to do at dealerships? Have any of you tested the waters and see what your car is worth? Any speculations?

Ron Jeremy · Jan 9, 2004

Well, the answer to your question is YES. Our GT's have lost value and are going to lose MORE value as time passes by. This same thing happened when Ford introduced the new Mustang body design in 1999. The 94-98 Mustangs lost value and they were worth less during trade. But people that waited for 1 to 2 years after the 1999 Mustang came out did very well on their trade. I suggest that you wait for 1 to 2 years until you buy another Mustang. That way you can get a better deal on the new 2006/2007 Mustang GT without worrying about what you will get for your current 03 Mustang. Today I saw a Ford dealer up here in Boston selling BRAND NEW leftover 2003 Mustang GT Convertibles for $22,788. That's CHEAP! You will do better if you wait until your loan is almost paid off. You will still get a good deal for your car and on the new 2006/2007 Mustang GT if you go this route. That's what I'm going to do. I own a 2001 GT and a 2002 V6 Mustang. I am thinking about keeping the GT and trading in or selling my V6 Mustang privately in the middle of or at the end of 2006 for a Mustang GT. Or I will wait until 2007 to buy the Cobra. Ford will have better deals by then because the Mustang sales will level off. There will be more rebates. SO, if I were you I would wait it out.

66Satellite · Jan 9, 2004

Mr. Jack said:
I don't really want to talk about this. It's been a nagging feeling that has been welling up inside me for months now.

I am starting to dread the day the 05 is available for sale.

I am seriously thinking about trading my car in for a new 05. I currently have a 2002 GT (which was purchased in early 2003 as a leftover). In October, I will have roughly 3 1/2 years left of financing on this car. In September, a dealership was willing to give me 17K for my trade-in (this is in Canadian dollars). I would've owed 6K. I'm hoping that I could've done much better than this in a private sale, but I am not positive.

As far as the 2005 GT, I am willing to be a little upsidedown. But getting completely undercut is out of the question. Is the crap-ass resale of our current cars going to keep us out of buying the new car? How bad are we going to do at dealerships? Have any of you tested the waters and see what your car is worth? Any speculations?

No offense but you've had your car less than a year and are already plotting to get rid of it? Of course you're gonna get killed on the resale. This is why I don't buy new cars but if I did I'd plan to own it at least 5 years. Everyone has known about the 05 for a while now. With that in mind I would have only looked at 94/95 5.0s had I bought a Mustang in the last few years. Why not just drive the wheels off your current car? I bet the 07 or 08 or 09 cars will be incredible. And to be honest, I love the looks of the 05s but am giving serious thought to a 99+ GT vert used, cause they're gonna be so cheap in the next year or two. For all their faults the current generation cars are still very cool. I'd just enjoy your car while all the 05 buyers pay too much and suffer through first year bugs.

Ron Jeremy · Jan 9, 2004

How true about what you say here 66Satellite. I myself beleive that the 2007/2008 and 2009 Mustangs will be incredible. They will be BETTER than the 2005's and 2006's. Waiting until at least the middle or end of 2006 is the best thing that a current 2001-2004 Mustang owner can do here. The rebates will start happening on the Mustang after 2005 just like they did on the Mustang at the end of 2000 and afterwards.

siege · Jan 10, 2004

A) I think resale on all years of stangs (except classics) will get messed up. I'm sure a bunch of fox owners will be wanting 05's, so you flood the market with foxes, your price goes down cause less people are willing to buy, supply and demand, blah blah blah, its not just for the 02-04's

B) dealers don't give you crap for your cars. had a friend with a van he was gonna trade in...dealer offered $500...he got $3k from a private party. a dealer is gonna offer you like $6k for a lightly used 99..that's why dealers suck

Rootus · Jan 10, 2004

siege said:
A) I think resale on all years of stangs (except classics) will get messed up. I'm sure a bunch of fox owners will be wanting 05's, so you flood the market with foxes, your price goes down cause less people are willing to buy, supply and demand, blah blah blah, its not just for the 02-04's

Do you think so? Most people I know of that have a Fox body got it because it was relatively light, and a 5.0 (easy mods). I don't see them running out and picking up a brand new, no aftermarket, difficult to mod '05 GT. Just doesn't seem like something that group of people would do. I would expect the biggest group of repeat customers to be 99+ owners, followed by the older years. Most of us that went back to a 5.0 did so for a reason (I'm keeping my 5.0 *and* getting an '05 or '06 for daily driver).

Dave

351CJ · Jan 10, 2004

Quit whining and use a little creativity.

DO NOT TRADE IN YOUR MUSTANG.

What you do is tear it completely apart and sell it piece by piece. This way you'll get twice what the trade in value is.

usa1 · Jan 10, 2004

I tend to agree with Ron on this one. You can buy a brand new 2004 Mustang GT/Mach 1 for $8000 of MSRP all over where I live. When I bought mine last year, the going rate was $5,000 off MSRP for GTs only. Needless to say, I timed it wrong and if I waited about 6-8 months, I could have gotten a GT for a lot less. My resale value sucks now since the new car market is at $8,000 off MSRP. If Ford kept the discounts at $5,000, I'd be better off for resale.

When the 2005 comes out, it will certainly not have a $8,000 discount. It won't be discounted for at least 6 months I would guess. Anyone interested in getting a new Mustang GT, will be looking at a car that is mid to high $20ks. (I'm not buying the 2005 V8 Mustang for under $20K rumor.) If someone cannot swing that price range, they can get he old model. Now that the used Mustangs don't need to compete against new ones that are discounted $8,000, I think the values will hold up OK compared to today.

Basically, our resale values on newer Mustangs have already taken a big hit because of the new car market being so aggressive.

Anyhow, that's my theory. I hope I'm right. I'm thinking of trading in/selling my Gt for a 2006 SVT in late summer 2006. That should give the market a time to cool on the Mustang and also (hopefully) on the new for 2006 SVT Mustang.

Mark

Mach172 · Jan 10, 2004

Yes, the resale sux on the current Mustang GT, you can't even go by the KBB or NADA books, when I traded my '00 Vert in October, I got $13k, but, a short time later, they had one very similar to mine on their lot for $13k, retail, and the only difference was it didn't have leather, they sold mine off to another dealer, and it sat on their lot for almost 2 months, obviously they asked too much! Who wants to pay $16k for a 4 year old car, when you can buy a new one for $22k! Do yourself a favor, it sounds like you would be upside down, hang on to it and try and pay it down for a couple of years!

Mr. Jack · Jan 10, 2004

No offense but you've had your car less than a year and are already plotting to get rid of it? Of course you're gonna get killed on the resale. This is why I don't buy new cars but if I did I'd plan to own it at least 5 years. Everyone has known about the 05 for a while now. With that in mind I would have only looked at 94/95 5.0s had I bought a Mustang in the last few years. Why not just drive the wheels off your current car? I bet the 07 or 08 or 09 cars will be incredible. And to be honest, I love the looks of the 05s but am giving serious thought to a 99+ GT vert used, cause they're gonna be so cheap in the next year or two. For all their faults the current generation cars are still very cool. I'd just enjoy your car while all the 05 buyers pay too much and suffer through first year bugs.

No offense taken.

You are totally right...I would be losing money hand-over-fist if I trade in for a new 05. It will take a lot of patience to wait for 2007/2008, but it will be worth it in the long run.

That aside, I think if I did go for something else, it would probably be for a used 03 Cobra Vert.

Kyle-02GT · Jan 11, 2004

Mr. Jack said:
That aside, I think if I did go for something else, it would probably be for a used 03 Cobra Vert.

I'm thinking the same thing you are Come Spring of 05 There will be an 03 Cobra Vert in place of my 02 GT. That is if I dont get jumpy and S/C mine first....

awalbert88 · Jan 11, 2004

I've thought about picking up a used 03 Cobra cheap once the 05's come out, but I know that every time I saw an '05 on the road, I'd be kicking myself for not having gotten one of those instead. I love the DSG 03 Cobra look, and of course the engine, but I somehow think the fit/feel and ride quality (despite the live axle) of the 05 will be superior, not to mention the handling. Of course I'm hoping to keep my Audi as the daily driver, since I somehow suspect I'll die long before it does. And this would allow me to keep the miles off the '05 Mustang and let it keep some of its resale value if I want to trade in for an 07 or 08 SVT Mustang at some point down the road.

351SwitchBlade · Jan 11, 2004

Driving an Audi and thinking of a 03 Cobra? C'mon a 400 Lexus is my daily driver and when I crawl into my friend's 98 Cobra I feel like I've been put in a coffee grinder on full blast. If I want to be abused like that after spending 30K, I'll get in my old windsor drag fox and do it for 5K, or get divorced. LOL

Buy the 05+ cars, you'll love the chassis/fit/finish and you can tune it for cool power later. The aftermarket is drooling and machining new parts as we write.

p.s. Seen the car in person. Sat in it. The 94-2004 is total f'in dog crap compared. The 79-86 interior is better than the 200lbs of plastic Ford called an interior in the SN-95's. It actually was a corvette interior that burned in an engine fire. Didn't know that? Yea all that swoopy ill fitting, creaky plastic was molded from a wrecked 'vette ford bought cheap at auction. Oh wait it was a group of near sighted Yugo engineers Bill Ford hired cheap in '93.

C'mon the current car is like a 70 year old whore with plastic surgery. Wack her in the back of the head when she isn't looking and find a new one to ride. You will get tons of women with this interior. Women sit and primp in interiors. If you want to pick up men, talk superchargers and get a blower wine. Women love tight comfy interiors.

Buy the 05 in the Spring of 05 and thank yourself later!

IMHO

351SwitchBlade · Jan 11, 2004

Blower whine, not wine. Don't want to sound dain bramaged.

98GTfromGA · Jan 11, 2004

i'm keeping mine...they'd only give me like $6500 for it anyway

Ron Jeremy · Jan 11, 2004

I agree, Ford can do better with interior quality. The 2005 is proof that Ford improved in this.

Mr. Jack · Jan 11, 2004

It's really going to be a judgement call. We all need to sit in the 2005, and of course drive it. If it is a massive improvement over the current car, it's going to be very tough to resist, upsidedown or not.

Mach172 · Jan 11, 2004

351SwitchBlade said:
The 79-86 interior is better than the 200lbs of plastic Ford called an interior in the SN-95's.

Oh, you think so? I had an '81 Ghia, higher level interior, I had to have the drivers seat upholstery replaced three times in 6 years, the first when it wasn't even 2 years old, that car had a lot of rattles and creaks inside s well, I did like the "wood tone" steering wheel though, that was nice. Had no similar problem since then, my '00 GT was still in good shape. There was a lot of other sheap stuff in it though, the thing that I found cheap was the back seat being vinyl, vinyl, why do they advertise it as "leather" when only the front seating surfaces are leather, geez!

Yung Than · Jan 12, 2004

By the time the 2007 Camaro returns, the base GT should be up on it's game to match wits. I'm waiting til' then.

Ron Jeremy · Jan 12, 2004

If that is a picture of the 2007 Camaro, GM is going to be in BIG trouble. That car doesn't even resemble a Camaro. And it's butt ugly. If this is an example of what GM is going to be designing for cars in the next few years then they better stop being in the automobile business. They will lose more market share to other comapnies like Ford. My God! That car is so ugly and it is a disgrace to GM. How can they design and want to build an ugly P.O.S. like that and call it a Camaro? I hope that the Camaro will never be built if it's going to look like the one in the picture above.

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