sonic depreciation resale value about 40%

[carplan15]

recent C&D article about resale depreciation values for various car makes & models

chevy sonic about 40%

i'm wondering what time frame this was calculated from ? 1yr ? 2yr ? i'm guessing if i hang on to my sonic for 4-5 years which is what i'm planning anyway the depreciation curve will flatten out

 

[AKghandi]

i got my 2014 RS for 14,800 with 19k miles. 2 years ago it was the top model. with FCW and sunroof

 

[spacedout]

I sold my 2012 1LT RS cruze with 95,000 miles on it for $6,000 exactly 4 years after paying $20,000 for it new. Buying a loaded used car is typically the best deals you can find, got over $8000 off original window sticker buying my LTZ Sonic 1 year used with less than 10,000 miles on it.

 

[JesusTheAgnostic]

I'd say if you're looking for a car that has resale value buy something that has a name with a legend behind it. Like the Tacoma, or the WRX, or the Prius for some reason. I've seen 20 year old Tacoma's with 200k on them with salvage titles go for around $10k around here. Same thing for WRX's minus the 20 year old thing, more like 10 years. I also looked into how much a Prius would be. This I don't remember exactly but they were not cheap at all. Although nowadays around here they seem to be lower prices. Most likely because everyone thinks they can afford a big V8 because of the cheap gas prices.


Also to answer your question I think that cars are supposed to lose quite a bit of their value as soon as you drive them off the lot. So I wouldn't be surprised if it was just 1 or 2 years. If it helps I bought my Sonic used, three years old with less than 32k miles on it. The dealer wanted $12k but I got away with paying only $10k. I think new my car was between $18k and $20k but I don't know for sure. So the car lost about half of its value in three years.

 

[The Champ]

recent C&D article about resale depreciation values for various car makes & models

chevy sonic about 40%

i'm wondering what time frame this was calculated from ? 1yr ? 2yr ? i'm guessing if i hang on to my sonic for 4-5 years which is what i'm planning anyway the depreciation curve will flatten out

The article states that the numbers are for retained value after 3 years.

I think this study is based on MSRP - which is one of the reasons that this info is flawed. Some brands don't discount much when you purchase them new, so their used prices are higher.

My 2014 Sonic LT stickered for $20,355, but I only paid $9466 plus tax, title and license for it when I purchased it new in September of 2014.

When my car is 3 years old, it may be worth more than I paid for it.

 

[Thesd45]

Made me curious so I checked Kelly Blue Book. My 2014 LT Hatch 1.4T Auto. Picked it up June 1st 2015. Sticker price was just under $20K. I paid $15K as the dealer wanted it off the lot before the '16 models came in. KBB says its worth $12K private party, $10K trade in.

But used car prices here plummeted a few months ago when people started trading cars in for trucks again. Don't plan on getting rid of the sonic for 10-15ish years so not really concerned with early depreciation.

 

[mightysonic]

I can attest to the depreciation as I bought my Sonic gently used, with just over 10k miles. It's a blue 2013 LTZ Hatch (6MT). Stole it at a Hyundai dealer with the "internet" price of $9999.

Also made me curious and checked the KBB on it. It's around $10,500. I would lose about $1k if you factor in the title, reg, taxes & dealer fee I paid when I took delivery of the car. Not too shabby though, I suppose.

 

[2014 Blue RS]

Like it, buy it and drive it till it drops! Or at least a few years after it's paid for. That's the only way to get your money's worth. Although re-sale value is tied to reliability, customer sat and brand marketing, etc. It's also a big sales pitch. They are counting on you to buy something new and doing there best to make that happen asap.

 

[shorebreeze]

A car shouldn't depreciate like this, but mine has held up well and I firmly intend to keep it for several years. I think one problem is the MSRP is slightly excessive. I only paid about $14,300 new inclusive of taxes and discounts for my rear-cam/collision avoidance/MyLink/auto LT 2014 turbo sedan, and that's before taking off the trade. And I think it was a fairly good deal. But MSRP would have had me going somewhere else. The other issue is the Sonic's interior paneling is kind of cheap and prone to rattling, despite the very solid feel of the rest of the car. My dealer was very good with me in addressing it but I suspect most aren't; even so I ended up adding hushmatting on the doors. Chevy should make sure with future versions of this car that the dashboard and door panels sit as well as they do on the Cruze.

I think the ongoing relatively low gas prices are harming resale values on small cars generally. Strikes me as kind of insane but then most people don't dislike spending money on fuel and transportation as much as I do.

 

[allnighter]

It's still not nearly as bad as a Fiat.

 

[2012SilverLS]

Mine is going dropping then a Mercedes Benz. It does not help that it is a no option base model.