First of all: Would the "enthusiasts" STOP replying to posts and telling prospective buyers not to pay over "X" amount for a used S2k.

Do we owners want these people telling prospective buyers what price THEY THINK the car should sell for?
What can we do to pull these types of threads from the site?

As owners, we all have an interest in the resale value of ALL S2k's.

The price of a new car ALWAYS affects what the market value of the used ones will be. If we continue to give ammunition to prospective buyers, this will drive the price of the new ones down, and drag the resale value of OUR used ones right along with it.

So, do we as owners really want to talk about what we paid for our cars new?

I say leave it up to the prospective buyer to negotiate this with the dealer. Why should we plant a number in their head, and give them any ammunition to go to the dealer with.

Lets help ourselves and stop providing pricing tips, suggestions, analogies, etc.

 

1. Many "enthusiasts" are owners who simply haven't entered their VIN.
2. I think you overestimate the "power" of this forum to dictate pricing in the marketplace.
3. More information is better in any negotiating situation. Fair prices result from informed buyers and sellers.

 

I don't like how S2K's are not selling for what NADA is saying there're worth. I'm finding S2k's for sale at 3 and 4 thousand less than what NDAD's website gives you (That's a generous assumption). If I would've known how bad these cars are really holding their value I wouldn't have gotten one. I thought Honda's hold their value so well so I got this S2K. My wife's Accord holds her value better in terms of what NADA is stating and what people are asking. Does anybody know really why this is???

 

Just because the NADA assumed a 2 year old S2000 would be worth $30k and they are selling for $27k doesn't mean the car has a poor resale value. NADA could only base its assumption on a car that was selling $5-$10k over sticker price the first year of it's existance.

If you calculate based off MSRP, then a 2000 S2000 has excellent resale value.

$27,000(market value) / $32000(MSRP of a 2000) = 84%. This is excellent resale value for a 2.5 year old car. Even if one sells for $25,000 that's still 78%.

Audi TT and BMW Z3 can't even come CLOSE to this.

 

Dealers are still getting NADA value it's the individuals that are asking wholesale. Just think if you bought you S2k for let's say 35k and a year later you wanted to sell. Expect to get maybe $28,000 and so you lose $7,000 in a years time. But if you were able to sell yours at what NADA say s it's worth you'll end up keeping 2-3000 of what you'd expect to according to the market survey, NADA. No real matter now, I really like my car and don't plan on getting rid of it. This is only an observation from my point of view, so please guys don't kill me on the board for it.

Oh and the TT and Z3 don't have inflated MSRP intial prices like the S2k. Other than that I'd see your point SilverS2KAZ.

 

I think the TT and Z3 do have inflated MSRP's and the S2k does not. Thus the better resale value on the S2k.
2001 TT Roadster - 225 hp MSRP was $40k, resale is at $32 right now Same for a 2000 Z3 2.8.
The NADA may state higher on these cars too, but again, no one is paying NADA prices.

 

That's the problem. NADA needs to conform better to what the cars are actually selling for. Then new buyers would have a better idea of the value to pay for the car. Like I said I use to use NADA on my previous cars. This time around has taught me to look for another source. I think I'll see what Edmunds site says.

 

In the end, people will pay what they are willing to pay. I mean, they can have an idea that they can get a new S2K for $20k and good luck on that. I think there is a wide variety of prices for this car, and a greater variance than normally found. I've seen some S2Ks advertised for over $32k and they are 2000s with 10k+ miles. Then I see people advertising 2001s for $28k with 8k miles on them. I just see a huge variety in the prices with this car. And I guess we all hope to get a good deal. I guess many others just don't care, because it is enough to say that they have the car in their possession. In the end, they all get a wonderfully fun car. Nuff said.

 

mlrspwr,
That's exactly what I'm talking about. It's not consistent. Oh well I guess we'll just have to deal with it.

 

First off NADA is CRAP for value of cars!!! The black book is the only book dealers use to appraise trade ins. If you want true value of a car through a dealers eyes that is the book to use. Secondly, I think the enthusiasts out there are (hopefully) the ones that do "know" current values of cars before they are the ones looking right now. They have no attatchment to a certain car and (hopefully) have a pretty good idea as to what the cars are selling for. I dont own one yet but after a lot of homework and some legwork I can tell you that dealers are asking to much and the indiviuals out there are pretty damn close to where the car values should be.