Miles compared to resale value?

[Bumblebee2012]

I have a 2012 2SS TF3 car that I plan to own for 2-3 years and then I want to move to something else. The question is, if I drive the car only occasionally on perfect sunny days with a few thousand miles per year, will I see a significantly higher trade or sell price than if I drive it in rain and put 8-10,000 miles on it per year?

Right now I will not allow the car out if there is even a remote chance of rain, and it sets for days or even a couple weeks with out being out of the garage.

Am I doing myself wrong by thinking that I'll do much better at resale time, out am I kidding myself?

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[bigd1276]

I'm sure many will disagree with me but I say absolutley!! I just traded in my 2010 2LT RS that only had 6,400 miles. It was garage kept and never saw any rain/snow. I got $24,300 TRADE IN for mine. Of course I could've gotten more if I had tried to sell it out right but I didn't want the hassle. I think the low miles/excellent condition certainly helped in my case.

[upflying]

Due to depreciation, the first 3 years of new car ownership are the most expensive.
The only thing low miles will give you is good trade-in value and heart attack after you learn what it cost per mile to own your car for three years.

[Quick]

If you never drive/enjoy it...did you really own it?

[SSBlack]

Selling to another individual, definitely you will get more if it's a garage queen.

Trade-in's are another story. I'm not informed as to the process they use, some say NADA, to come up with the offer they (screw you with) give you.

And, many times they will juggle the numbers to give you more for your trade and take less profit on the one you are buying, if that becomes a deal breaker.

Ultimately though, you'd likely get more for a low mileage, well kept vehicle, in both situations.

[45SS]

The car should be driven, your a Camaro owner... Drive.............. Camaro's are all holding thier value. I would bet big money that you will get another one, no matter what amount you get for a trade! Show your car off!!! Drive!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Medic726]

I had my LS for about 20 months and put nearly 43000 miles on it. I got around 18500 when I traded it in on my SS. I've had the SS for 6 months and almost put 10000 miles on it already. I say drive it!

[Ieatfordsforlunch]

IMO your loosing out if you just let it sit there most of the time. The only real loss for more miles would not be much with the car being that new. I've seen cars with 6000 miles that came out in 2009 sell for maybe 4 to 6 k more than one with 40000 miles.

[Dtrimpi87]

It probably would help out keeping the miles low but personally I don't see how some people keep these tucked away in the garage. I drive mine every chance I get. I don't care what kind of car it is or how much it costs, if I own it I'm driving it.

[Quick]

I paid alot of money to drive my car...I never gave it a thought about them paying me money NOT to drive it.

[jbrewer.m]

Originally Posted by Quick

If you never drive/enjoy it...did you really own it?

[Hobgoblin42]

Originally Posted by bigd1276

I'm sure many will disagree with me but I say absolutley!! I just traded in my 2010 2LT RS that only had 6,400 miles. It was garage kept and never saw any rain/snow. I got $24,300 TRADE IN for mine. Of course I could've gotten more if I had tried to sell it out right but I didn't want the hassle. I think the low miles/excellent condition certainly helped in my case.

I just got 23,000 Trade in for a 2010 2LT with 26,000 miles on her. I drove it rain or shine through two Buffalo winters. She was never garaged. I think 1,300 bucks for 19,000 miles of absolute fun was worth it.

[two_wheel_mayhem]

Originally Posted by bigd1276

I'm sure many will disagree with me but I say absolutley!! I just traded in my 2010 2LT RS that only had 6,400 miles. It was garage kept and never saw any rain/snow. I got $24,300 TRADE IN for mine. Of course I could've gotten more if I had tried to sell it out right but I didn't want the hassle. I think the low miles/excellent condition certainly helped in my case.

That is the exact as NADA clean trade value for your car. Of course they will give you that in trade if you are paying what they want for the new vehicle.

That's also exactly what I'm asking for my car that has 8800 miles. No takers at that price.

[bigd1276]

My hunch is that the cost of living in Buffalo vs. Hanover PA is much higher. Dealers will always want to lowball you on trade ins. Knowing NADA, Edumunds, Black Book, etc. certainly is a great weapon to negotiate with. I was merely giving my opinion on the OPs original question of low mileage effecting resale value. For all of those who want to put in your two cents about if I really owned it if I don't put a lot of miles on it, I'm sure there are many other threads on that topic.