How well do they retain their value?

[mikesnav]

I've always been one to recommend used cars. The Smart Car makes me want to, for the first time, buy a car new.

Except I always felt people were idiots for buying new and seeing a 20-30% depreciation the moment they drive it home.

Conflicting

[RLove]

Originally Posted by mikesnav

I've always been one to recommend used cars. The Smart Car makes me want to, for the first time, buy a car new.

Except I always felt people were idiots for buying new and seeing a 20-30% depreciation the moment they drive it home.

Conflicting

It's going to be difficult to buy a used Smart for a while, unless you buy a used gray market car, in which case the used GM car will probably have a higher asking price than a new one.

It also depends on how long you plan to keep a car. My wife drives hers for 10 years, so we not only buy new but everything we want on it. But, I bought a 5 year old Audi TT with 9700 miles on it, Used, but new - there are lots of those deals out there if you're patient.

At 14K for a base Passion, is it worth the wait to get it used? Go wild - buy it new.

[bentoutofshape]

Unless you've been on the list for 3 months, you'll have a long wait. Expect a $1k markup @ dealership. If your nickel and diming, move on! I'll hold its value till supply catches up with demand.
The fortwo is best for "tree huggers" and "look at me types". I don't see the car outlasting a Honda.
fwiw, i'm getting a '07 yaris h/b

[lhoboy]

Resale value has never been an issue for me since I have always kept my cars for 10 to 20 years. I do try to buy 1-2 year old cars for the reason that their initial depreciation far exceeds the initial wear and tear. Most enthusiast cars, however, will maintain their value extremely well during te first couple of years of production. That is mostly due to the fact that the dealers are charging massive premiums over MSRP on heavy demand vehicles. Since the reports indicate that Mercedes will hold dealers to a no-overcharge policy, this might change that resale value equation, but if demand exceeds supply, people will be willing to pay new prices for a used car where they might otherwise have to wait several months on a waitlist for a new one.