Trade in time.
 

I was more than a little surprised to hear that my 2013 FR-S with a 6spd is valued at around 16 - 18k CAD for trade in.

I still owe 18k on it... :cry:

The Dealers all said that they're having a hard time moving the cars and they don't want it sitting on the lot over the winter.

I don't really know what to do now because I need something that's safer on the mountain highways during the winter. Not to mention I can't bring myself to pulverize the poor girl with sand/gravel.

Mountain roads hey? Where you live? These cars are certainly not optimum for winter perhaps you should have thought about that prior to purchase if you can only own one vehicle. That or buy a used but good condition 4 runner for winter months or off roading days.

Buy better snow tires and invest in driving lessons.

yea...

So this is an average winter day on the coquihalla: http://www.sott.net/image/s4/86828/f...halla_snow.jpg


I've been driving for over 15 years in vehicles of all shapes and sizes. It's not that I can't. It's just that it'll be ridiculously hard on the car.

It wasn't something I could anticipate either. I had a job offer come up that was too good to pass and it warrants the commute.

Well if you enjoy the car and this is as you say concern of the winter abuse I suggest looking for a decent winter beater and park the car. That's what I've done anyhow.

You have three major criteria working against you:

Value - new cars depreciate quickly in the first two years then start to slow down. Selling any new car after a year or two will hurt. They sell gap insurance because many people don't put enough money as a down payment on their car and then if it gets wrecked they don't even get enough money to cover their loan.

Timing - this car was hot when it came out, but now everyone that wanted one new got one and there is dealer surplus. It's a niche car, not mainstream.

Location - you're in a locale that is tougher to sell a low rwd sports car. You see how it won't work for your needs any more, and you bought it new. There just isn't a big demand in your area. Not sure about the coming winter - how soon do the roads start to get snowy there?

Throw in the five tiers of used vehicle valuation:
- Certified Preowned
- Dealer
- Private Party
- Trade In
- Auction Value

The dealers rarely offer trade in unless they plan to resell the car on their lot. Sometimes they'll just look up the auction value (that they will get when they take your trade in to auction) and offer you that, or $500 less than that for auction fees/transport/etc. Basically they might offer you $16k trade, but sell it as Certified Pre-owned for $23k.

That looks like a great road for a brz/frs :)

Buy a cheap Subaru Impreza/Forester/Outback and own the winter!! This aslo gives you an excuse to hit up rally cross events. This is what I do every year and so far so good.

Take that $2,000 loss and buy a winter beater and keep the FR-S

The Highway From Hell as they like to call it.....I know that because I watch that one tv show which features Jamie Davis Towing doing all those massive truck wrecks; def does not look like a nice highway in winter time for anyone, regardless what you drive

Can you sell it private party for more?

If not, I would consider a nice AWD/4WD beater option for the winter as well and keep the FR-S for the summer.

I hear you on the rough winters. Been debating trading in the BRZ for a new WRX, but the BRZ is waaaaaaaaaaaay nicer/more fun/cheaper/more economical/faster feeling/tossable. Just can't justify taking a hit for a downgrade. And everything that isn't a sports car truely is a downgrade. Problem is, all sports cars suck in snow compared to "normal" subarus with snow tires, but that's the price you pay to enjoy the warm, dry days I guess.

Edit: I managed to get my BRZ through last winter with a set of Blizzaks, but I bought it towards the end of winter and I don't live in Canada. ymmv

Bad financial planning is bad.

You owe 18k on the car. You can probably sell it between $16-19k. Squash the loan and get an inexpensive 4WD or AWD. Done

Whatever you bring to a dealer they're going to tell you they'll have a hard time moving it The truth is that cars they don't want to retail themselves just go straight to wholesale auction. Just understand that regardless of how the dealer spins the numbers, the very most to expect for the trade in real dollars is wholesale.

KBB (which tends to run a bit high) puts wholesale in very good condition with average miles at $18k so you should be okay from an equity standpoint. You might need to fight a little for the full $18k but they'll find it if they want to sell you another car badly enough.

A winter beater might make more sense and it'll allow you to both pay down the loan a bit and unload the FRS in the spring.

Pick up a crappy old civic, geo metro, whatever, as long as it's front wheel drive. Get that, put snow tires on steelies on it, and drive it to death. when the car dies put the wheels and tires on the next car :D

Leave the FRS in the garage :)

Honestly you're better off buying a jeep for a beater for around 2-4k for the winter plus insurance than to take that hit and selling your frs for 16k

I traded in my 2012 TC for $16,000 last September. (KBB was $16,000 PRIVATE SALE). A couple weeks later I see my TC on their website listed for $20,000... i looked at the dealer website 2.5 months later they had my TC still listed for sale but only $15,500.00.

I traded in my 2008 Impreza STI few years back for $23,500 at 63k miles. (KBB $24,000 was private sale.)

if there is a will there is a way.
negotiate online as much as possible. know your shit when you walk in. be firm and walk if you have to.

i live in alaska and my friend just buys studs for his winter tire for his frs and does fine all year round. 9 months of winter here in alaska

Im glad I live in this beautiful place, You should move and keep the FRS :thumbup:

How is that bad financial planning?

I put enough down so that I wasn't upside-down on the loan from Day 1.

I'm making more than enough money to keep the car, I just was shocked at the trade in value as it was my first experience doing anything like that.

There's no point in making payments over the winter and not being able to drive it.

I've already looked into winter beaters and the like and they aren't suitable for my job requirements. A job which was too good to pass up and unfortunately is in another city that I need to commute to on the weekends. Buying any car new is bad financial planning... How did you purchase YOURS?

Moral of story=Canada sucks.

Plan better. Or drive better. RWD cars do work in the winter and are safer now than ever.

Coquihalla is weak sauce. You just need a decent set of winter tires.

I would try to sell to private party first before trade in with the dealer, they just dont give you much for it, but if you dont have the time then I would just do a trade in with something 4wd, doesnt has to be a wrx or evo but maybe a slighty used suv? You would take some loss but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.

Says the guy that lives in LA. :laughabove:

I think everyone here would agree that at no point should a car like this be driven in the winter (even if you drive well, why damage the under carriage with all that salt).

As someone who also lives up North, I made absolutely sure that I could afford the payments on two vehicles. Looking to buy a 1993 Jeep Wrangler 4x4 for about $5k. That'll put payment at around $137 a month for 3 years. I spend more then that on coffee each month.

Making payments on something you don't drive every single day isn't a waste. You'll have less miles on it and it'll last longer. I'm looking forward to the day she's paid off and I have a car with less then 40k miles with no car payment. Not to mention it'll be nice to have it in the garage all winter for dis-assembly to add those sweet, sweet parts for the summer auto-crosses.

I agree, however I bought my car to have fun and actually sold my winter beater. I think my FRS is going to be a lot of fun in the snow with my snow tires.

Lol, the assumption that there was any planning is a fallacy.

Timmy let me know how it goes. I wouldn't mind taking it out somewhere where there wasn't salt on the road for a bit of fun. But what they use here in Pennsylvania is the most corrosive stuff I've ever seen. Used to live in Washington State too so used to winters and I've never seen rust like the cars here in PA.

My commute is 5 miles and the highways around me a re 'reduced salt use areas' because of wetlands and marsh area...the car is going to rust, but it shouldn't be too bad.

Let's see if you already know the answer to that question...


Turns out you do!

:clap:


But buying a new car you're not willing to the drive in the winter without already owning a winter-ready car or having the means to buy one and own both seems... well like bad financial planning. Don't feel bad or get too defensive, we've all done plenty of bad financial planning (or none sometimes). For F's sake, down here it's the American Way!

Didn't the OP state that a job opportunity came open unexpectedly that entailed a great deal more winter driving than he could possibly have anticipated when he bought the car?

That ain't bad planning. That's just life.

Nope. It's not a delicate flower--it's a budget sports car that I bought to enjoy. I throw winter tires on mine and keep driving it, and we had a really horrible winter here last year. Why would I spend four months a year driving a crappy car that I don't enjoy? If this car rusts out, I'll replace it.

I drove mine all winter with no problems...and didn't even need snow tires!

Ain't that the truth...
 

All the shit we have to deal with in soCal and then I see threads like this and think, man you just can't beat our year round weather....

JAden

Just keep her! Unless you can afford to take that kind of hit, I wouldn't bother. Just get a beater for winter use.

This is another reason why I will never buy a new car ever again. You take too much of a hit on depreciation. Example, if I were to sell, I'm losing $12000 for only 1 year of ownership. Blahhhh! Might as well keep her now since I've only got 4 years of payments left.

But to be honest, I am happy I got the Scion brand new. The feeling of a brand new sports car and you being the first and true owner truly is worth it. Buying a used sports car second hand with its unknown history of how it was treated can be sketchy. The FRS was priced right to buy new. I can absolutely take the depreciation losses in return for knowing the scion will always and only be mine.

I wouldn't trade it in.

$12k of depreciation in a year? Holy smokes, you must have paid a fortune for your FRS!

Canadian's get bent and vasilined hard. They list for $26,xxx plus tax and all the governmental rape fees. Out the door, $32,000!

Just got back from a used dealership. When I was there I was curious and asked what is the going rate for my FRS... *drum roll* .... a whopping $17-18,000 trade-in. Bend me over some more!!!

I would be losing close to half of what I paid for the car only after 13 months of ownership. Remember, those monies you pay to tax, you don't get shit back! $14,000 in losses and the worst part, no FRS. Talk about getting kicked in the nuts and pie-faced immediately after. Best to keep it. Plus, I never really had plans for the car other than to drive it till the wheels fall off. Besides, this car is nice enough to be a keeper.