Just a vent about trying to sell my car!! ARGH!!

[HRx]

I wouldn't even begin to think about selling my V8 Infiniti right now because I would stand to lose thousands of dollars on it.

[bcvw]

I have no doubt you will sell it at your asking price. It'll will only take the right buyer at the right time. With any luck, you'll have that buyer before your deadline. If not, you still have a car to drive and that's what counts.

One of my Jeeps is also AWD. For the extra money even for an AWD equipped vehicle (even that's not really needed 99% of the time), buyers have to ask if it is worth it. Before our present AWD Jeep, we had a Subaru Impreza (also AWD). The Jeep gets almost the same MPG as that Subaru, neither of which I have been impressed with for economy. For the dollars spent on the Jeep, we could have bought a really nice car that had a much lower cost of ownership (fuel usage, depreciation).

The SUV craze wasn't fueled by necessity, but rather fashion. That's why so many people have (had) them. Practicality and economy are now catching up.

"If" fuel prices drop to sub-$3 again, the market "may" see an uptick in SUV sales once again. There seems to be a pain threshold that dramatically affects the market.

[Stilltheone]

Ok, because I'm such a dork, I researched Tahoes and Yukons in my area. I looked at 2003's and tried to find comparable mileage.

I only found one of each that had comparable mileage. The rest that had fewer miles were, of course, more expensive.

The Tahoe had every available feature that we have, including DVD.....'03, 91K miles...price is $12,995

The Yukon I found was an '03, SLE (basic...no leather, no DVD player) 95,553 miles for $13,500...

When I first read your post, bc, I was a little apprehensive. My husband and I put a lot of thought into our price b/c we wanted to make sure we didn't overprice it.

Now that I've looked at a few more comparables, I feel much better. We're right in the range that I feel we should be in.

HRx, we don't *HAVE* to sell it. Like I've stated before, it's purely for selfish reasons. I don't like the "Escalade image" anymore and just want to be "average". If it doesn't sell, oh well....we gave it our best shot.

Thanks everyone for your respsonses!

[bcvw]

Just remember those are asking prices, not actual sales prices. Those are also people looking to get as much out of their cars as you.

If you want a real representation of sale prices, look at completed sales nationwide on eBay. I did and it isn't pretty. A lot of bids at around 12K and still did not meet the buyer's reserve.

For our area, it gets uglier. Seems that 9K is the figure most bidders set. There is one at 12K. None of these Escalades sold.

If anyone ever wanted an SUV, now would be the time to buy.

[Cali]

This is why I let my Navi go and kept the truck.

Almost all of my friends have gotten rid of their SUVs.

ETA: I know people from other countries are coming here buying loads of SUVs to take back to their countries.

[HRx]

If you got deep enough pockets to comfortable afford the cost of fueling an SUV....hell keep it! I actually get pretty decent gas mileage on my V8 despite it being a 4.5L 340hp engine. I'm averaging 22 mpg with mix driving.

[Stilltheone]

Just remember those are asking prices, not actual sales prices. Those are also people looking to get as much out of their cars as you.

If you want a real representation of sale prices, look at completed sales nationwide on eBay. I did and it isn't pretty. A lot of bids at around 12K and still did not meet the buyer's reserve.

For our area, it gets uglier. Seems that 9K is the figure most bidders set. There is one at 12K. None of these Escalades sold.

If anyone ever wanted an SUV, now would be the time to buy.

I guess that's where you and I differ. I don't think Ebay is a "real" representation of what SUV's are going for in this market. Not everyone is going to be comfortable bidding on an SUV they haven't seen. Personally, I would never feel comfortable purchasing a vehicle from Ebay...especially one over $10K. Just my personal opinion.

Yes, those were people's asking prices and $13,500 is also our "asking" price. There is room to wiggle, so to speak.

HRx, our gas really isn't that bad, to be honest with you. To fill the sucker? Sure...it takes over $100. But, I use it to haul the kids back and forth to school. I *maybe* drive a few miles a day in it. I could put $50 in it and be good for 2 weeks.

Gas isn't and has never been my issue with the Escalade. I miss the convenience of a minivan and do not like the "image" of the Escalade....if that makes any sense.

Cali, what's really funny is we took the Escalade to the dealership we purchased it from. They made a big stink how the SUV market was down the toilet...yada yada yada...As we're leaving out the back part of their lot, we see their line of SUV's (about 20) that they just purchased from wholesale. If they SUV market is "that terrible" (as they just told us) why did they have a line of SUV's that they just got at wholesale? LOL...too funny.

[Flamingo]

Ok, because I'm such a dork, I researched Tahoes and Yukons in my area. I looked at 2003's and tried to find comparable mileage.

I only found one of each that had comparable mileage. The rest that had fewer miles were, of course, more expensive.

The Tahoe had every available feature that we have, including DVD.....'03, 91K miles...price is $12,995

The Yukon I found was an '03, SLE (basic...no leather, no DVD player) 95,553 miles for $13,500...

When I first read your post, bc, I was a little apprehensive. My husband and I put a lot of thought into our price b/c we wanted to make sure we didn't overprice it.

Now that I've looked at a few more comparables, I feel much better. We're right in the range that I feel we should be in.

HRx, we don't *HAVE* to sell it. Like I've stated before, it's purely for selfish reasons. I don't like the "Escalade image" anymore and just want to be "average". If it doesn't sell, oh well....we gave it our best shot.

Thanks everyone for your respsonses!

Just know and be prepared that when/if folks show up that they are going to offer you way less than your asking price if they are interested....

[Stilltheone]

Just know and be prepared that when/if folks show up that they are going to offer you way less than your asking price if they are interested....

Yup, that's why we priced it with some "wiggle room".

My husband is at CarMax as we speak...should be interesting to see what they have to say.

[bcvw]

I guess that's where you and I differ. I don't think Ebay is a "real" representation of what SUV's are going for in this market. Not everyone is going to be comfortable bidding on an SUV they haven't seen. Personally, I would never feel comfortable purchasing a vehicle from Ebay...especially one over $10K. Just my personal opinion.

Yes, those were people's asking prices and $13,500 is also our "asking" price. There is room to wiggle, so to speak.

Oh, I would never buy a car off of eBay without looking at it either. If I were seriously looking for a car and found one on eBay (it would have to be a local car), I would contact the seller to view it. If there are serious SUV buyers in your area willing to look at a car before bidding, then the bid amounts on eBay would certainly be representive of the local market. There are going to be people that will bid just for fun. It's hard to tell if those final bids are serious buyers or not, but it does give you another data point to price your vehicle.

What did Carmax say?

[Cali]

I wouldn't buy anything off eBay, I don't trust that site at all.

[HRx]

Yup, that's why we priced it with some "wiggle room".

My husband is at CarMax as we speak...should be interesting to see what they have to say.

Keep in mind that CarMax offers to buy cars at "trade-in" (sometimes a bit higher though) prices, because they will need enough room in the price to make a profit from reselling the cars.

[bcvw]

Very true. Trade-in value is usually around wholesale value (aka auction value).

[Stilltheone]

Well, my husband went to Carmax and they started talking wholesale values, without even looking at the Escalade.

My husband didn't stick around to see the final value. I kind of figured that's what would happen, but it was worth a shot. Had they offered trade in value from a source like Nada, we would've been in good shape.

We had someone stop to look at it last night. He loved it, said he was going to contact his bank today for a loan and, if approved, we should hear from him later on this afternoon. We'll see.

Otherwise, we had about 10 people wanting to come out this weekend to take a peek at it.

Anyhoo, we've got a few days and if it sells, awesome. If it doesn't, it's not that big of a deal to me now. The minivan would be nice, but I guess I'll just have to settle for the Escalade...LOL

[AMISLANDER]

Hope things are looking up for you & the ESCALADE!

Had a friend do my front brakes this weekend. Mine's a V6 and mpg is about 20 city as I put it on cruise when I go to work & drive about 42 mph.....

It's not worth it to trade or sell & incur a car payment so I'm holding on tight...