Number of years for car loans going up & India Co wants to sell trucks in US by 2010

[Chassol]

This makes me even more sure of wanting to get my smart - http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/...ng-loans_N.htm.

It's scary when you think of how bad it's getting. Also, an India truck manufacturer - Mahindra & Mahindra - http://www.mahindra.com/index.asp wants to sell small trucks in the USA starting in 2010 starting at $25,000 - http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/...p-trucks_N.htm.

Hoping to see my smart either late March through mid-April.

Best Regards,

Chassol

[CruzinSusan]

Yup, I ~love~ equity, so my mission is to get the smart slip as soon as humanly possible. I'm thinking plan for 5 years, aim for 3. Build in a cushion. God, I haven't had a car payment in many years.

Kudos to smartDad for his decision to orphan his smartie, and so great to see he'll stick around here.

My work is in the mortgage industry, and I travel alot. In my area, I'm betting my work won't disappear, and my smart will hold value/appreciate. It's an election year, and I've got hope.

GM is tanking, and India's got a US pickup in the pipeline...If Penske (PAG?) does this right, and smart's one of the new ones that makes it, domestic auto makers will have to stop producing a zillion stupid cars, and start the design/engineering, sensible pricing/honest competition our Yankee ingenuity is known for, or perish.

As long as run-away capitalism pushes the 'lower monthly payments' by longer loan terms, like the article pointed out, creating a bubble, well, we all know what happens to bubbles. We used to be able to pay off a car in 3 years, 4 for a spendy one.

On the other hand, if France can't offer labor based on solid sales data because, what, it's too hard to fire someone? Perhaps other, just as green production plants in other countries, say Oregon, for instance ;) will emerge?

Is it still true what they say about a car loses a big chunk of value the minute you drive it off the lot? I sure hope the smart is different.

Anyway, thanks so much for the post.

[4two4me]

You're dreaming if you think the smart will appreciate. All new cars depreciate. As the article said, the average depreciation is 50% in three years. Maybe the smart will do better (depreciate less), but it will still depreciate. Also, nobody knows how it's going to fare in the U.S. If it doesn't meet people's needs, it could depreciate more than 50% in three years if there is no market for used ones.

I once had a car I paid $12,000 for new and the dealer offered me $1200 after 4 years at trade in. That's 90%. I talked them up to $2000, but that's still over 83%.

[DaveInTexas]

I bought my '04 Honda Civic Hybrid in Dec '03 and traded it in on August 31, 05. I paid $19,600 +ttl an traded it in for $16,900 with 37,000 on the odo.

Not bad for a two year old car.

I don't think I would be able to do that again. Part of the reason for the high trade-in value was that gas hit $3.25/gal. the week before. I still liked the car, but I saw a perfect opportunity to get rid of it for a newer car without a big whopping loss. I didn't trust it to last for 100,000 miles being that it was on it's second transmission.

[4two4me]

You lucked out. The reason a new car won't appreciate is nobody is going to pay more for a 3 year old out of warranty car with 36K miles than they will for a brand new car with close to zero miles and a new car warranty. Now, maybe 20 years from now a car like the smart could be worth more than we pay now for collectors, but you have to figure 20 years of registrations, insurance, maintenance, possibly storage, and so on. In Virginia, we pay personal property tax each year on each vehicle. If you add up all those expenses over 20 years, you really aren't seeing appreciation at all, even if you get more than you paid originally.

[jwight]

to the Car Lounge.

[CruzinSusan]

4two4me,

In my humble opinion, and variable depreciation notwithstanding, the smart fortwo is also art, which has intrinsic value. A perfect example of form loves function. Legendary Mercedes engineering created a stunning little chameleon, a fine “first� in the world’s glorious automotive history. Swatch contributed the “fun� factor, a point not lost on driving enthusiasts. And it’s finally here in our country.

The marketing is exclusive and inclusive at once. Anybody with a $99 can reserve a smart, and Orphans spend very little time un-owned. The price is right.

I predict that in four years, the smart’s trade-in value, all things being equal, far exceeds the ratio illustrated in your post about an un-named car.

[4two4me]

Time will tell. As long as the fortwo is produced in its current form, people aren't going to pay more for a used example than a new one. Even the ones on ebay aren't going for much above retail right now and they're very exclusive at the moment. From other posts in the forum, it seems if you really want one NOW, you can get on every orphan list you are willing to travel to (that will let you on their list) and have one in a week or two. I have 6 or 7 dealers within about 200 miles and I'll bet if I really wanted an orphan and put my name on every list, I would get one shortly.

Smart trade-in value may well exceed the average, but it's a big unknown. Will there be enough people who want a 2 passenger car after the unique factor wears off (look at PT Cruisers now compared to when they first came out)? Will there be quality issues? Will Mercedes Benz ramp up production and flood the U.S. market? Nobody really knows at this point.

The car in my example was a '99 Ford ZX2. It had about 72K miles and a manual transmission. It had no options except air conditioning. It had never been in an accident and had no damage at trade-in (just normal wear and tear). As I said, it only cost about $12K new, but since most people won't buy a car with a manual transmission and it had high miles for its age, the trade-in offer was very low. Also, we traded it in 2003, which was the last year Ford made the ZX2, so that probably didn't help.

[CruzinSusan]

It’s green: 95% recyclable, carbon footprint of 12. It is space-respectful, designed for urban transportation. smart is state-of-the-art safe, comfortable, two- user friendly, and quite beautiful.

The world’s image and perception of Mercedes, etal is on the line.

Odds are looking good.

[4two4me]

You sound like an advertisement for smart!