I paid just $19,700 for my 03 with 24k miles on it. No mechanical or cosmetic issues.

Just be patient and shop around. There are reasonable deals out there.

 

The original idea for the post was to get an idea as to what a fair market analysis may look like, based upon the year, mileage and equipment. Certainly, the region may have an impact on value. I live in New England, where this car can really only be driven 7 or 8 months a year. I would think that the price of vehicles that have actually sold would have an impact on the market. Yes, this would may require some input from sellers, but that info can be had from used buyers, as well. Don't you know that everyone wants to brag when they get a great deal!

The thread was an idea, and was not intended to offend anyone, draw lines in the sand, or start wars. It was an honest idea. What led me to the idea was my personal observation of what appears to be, in my humble opinion, substantial supply with sellers asking high prices, thus a slow market, based upon my limited view of the Members' Cars for Sale over the past couple of weeks from this site. It was the initial response from Mr. Moderator that rubbed me the wrong way-nobody likes to be told it's none of your business. My opinion: He should learn to say it in a more pleasant manner, or not be the moderator. It's not as though I asked a question that was out of bounds. I actually thought it was reasonable.

I may be wrong, but it looks like there are alot of cars available, and alot of sellers asking high prices.

I do agree that a car in nice shape, with low miles, will bring a nice price. However, when the cars get to be 70+K miles, and are 7 or 8 years old, these cars are not going to dictate the highest market price.
I saw a couple 2002 to 2004 cars for $20K. If I were going to spend that, I would spring another $4 -5K and get an '07 with 5K miles!

I agree that there are many factors to consider, and everyone has their own personal value for each factor. The reason why I came to this site in the first place was because I thought that these were a specialty type of vehicle, and therefore this site may have certain insight about these cars that the general public may not possess, and this would include used car pricing.

If I were to start such a thread, I would want to take into consideration the various quirks that each model or its equipment comes with, such as the old clutch buzz, for instance. I had to read and ask about that issue before I became aware of it. Just an example.

Anyways, I still think it is a good idea, and the 'criteria' could be adjusted accordingly as the thread developed. Certainly, everyone is entitled to their personal opinion. Otherwise, all the cars would be black with black leather, and available only in automatic!

P.S. Lighten up-its supposed to be FUN!

 

As time goes on, the car depreicates less.


I personally paid more then market value to get a AP1 2003 model, for the fact that it's the more refined year of the AP1 models (newer banjo bolts, glass top, speakers, leather instead of carpet, less recalls etc..).

Some people will pay more for a GPW with Red interior.

There are several factors to consider that demine the price you want to pay.

 

yup

 

Keep in mind the FS threads here are put up for free. Alot of sellers in free classifieds often dont NEED to sell the car and put it up high. If they get it, they are extremely happy... If they didnt, no big deal.

 

it seems like the depreciation plateaus are about this:

new CR/2008: you tell me.

sitting on the lot way too long or demo car:
07 new: ~$28-$30k+tax, depending mostly on desperation of dealer

TYPICAL USED PRICES:

06-07: ~$24-26k (traction control)

04-05: ~$18-23k (8k 2.2L, big restyle)

02-03 ~$14-19k (still 9k redline, glass window, mileage a big factor)

00-01 ~$12-15k (mileage a big factor)

~$10k = the absolute lowest prices i've heard for cars that don't need work. typically these are 00-01 s2000s with 100k+ miles

that seems to be the trend right now. and if i'm wrong, i'll find out shortly

so if you buy it, you burn $3000+ like i did to be the first owner. otherwise it's slow and steady depreciation as long as you don't drive the wheels off it. and of course condition and location etc etc.

 

What's leather in an '03 that is carpet in the earlier models? I thought the center tunnel cover was vinyl, not leather.

 

+1 for the ones that mentioned condition. It really isn't much about the year, but more about the mileage and condition of the car. So the ones asking 20k for a 03 MIGHT not be crazy.