Help car value ?

[Mark]

I think its roughly a fair price given the current postings on facebook marketplace in ontario.
Remember people think the mirage is a "bad" or "cheap" car so the resale value is currently not good.

In future I hope it rises like the old toyotas (tercel, camry, corrolla) where over time people realize the reliability (old is gold).

Doing a 500 mile radius search on cars.com search for a replacement of my current Mirage (manual transmission only), I see cars like this -

2015 DE - 59,640 miles/no accidents reported = $7,980
2018 ES - 122,435 miles/no accidents reported = $8,700
2018 ES - 70,395 miles/1 accident reported = $10,000
2017 ES - 29,066 miles/1 accident reported = $10,998

I only listed cars that showed an inside photo of the transmission, because a high percentage of manuals are listed incorrectly. 5-speed manuals are not real common even in the used market.

This is a very typical belief that you read about car depreciation -

"There's no pre-determined rate at which a vehicle will depreciate. Within the first year, many cars will lose up to 20% of their value. After that, they may lose about 15% more per year until the four-or five-year mark."

The first 4-5 years take the biggest hit. I think 20% the first year, and 10% the next 3-4 years was a common belief for years.

I paid $9,299 for my Mirage ES manual back in 2017. Using a car depreciation calculator, my Mirage's value should look like this -

1 minute = $8,462.09
1 year = $7,532.19
2 years = $6,416.31
3 years = $5,393.42
4 years = $4,556.51
5 years = $3,719.60

Depreciation calculator used -

https://www.omnicalculator.com/finance/car-depreciation

Let's say I paid the full window sticker ($14,220) for my 2017 Mirage ES manual. The numbers would look like this with the same depreciation calculator -

1 minute = $12,940.20
1 year = $11,518.20
2 years = $9,811.80
3 years = $8,247.60
4 years = $6,967.80
5 years = $5,688

If I tried to replace my 2017 ES manual with 85,000 miles today, I would be hard pressed to find one for $1,000-$2,000 less than what I paid for mine brand new. A low mileage one with no accidents reported would most likely cost more than what I paid for mine brand new almost 7 years ago.

I highly doubt I could have bought any other car on the market in 2017 that would have depreciated less my Mirage. Most vehicles depreciate approximately 20% the first year. $9,299 x .20 (20% depreciation) = $7,439. I would be hard pressed to find a car like mine for that price 7 years later!

This is why I found the highly discounted Mirage at White Bear so appealing at the time. If I had qualified for the 3 rebates at the time, my brand new Mirage would have been $9,299 - $1,500 rebates = $7,799, and that was a heck of a deal for any new vehicle including an economy car. It's why I have one in my driveway.

When people used to ask me why I drove a 1990 Ford Festiva for 14 years, my first reply back was the most it can depreciate is what I paid for it brand new ($5,300). Whether I drive my Mirage 10, 15, or 20 years, it can't depreciate more than what I paid for it.

The average 2024 new vehicle price is around $49,000. Put $49,000 in the depreciation calculator -
1 minute = $44,590
1 year = $39,690

After one year, $49,000 - $39,690 = $9,310 in depreciation (that's more than I paid for my Mirage). In 5 years, that $49,000 vehicle would have depreciated 3 of my Mirages according to the calculator!

Vehicles are money pits. I prefer shallow ones!!!

[7milesout]

Vehicles are money pits. I prefer shallow ones!!!

I guess the Mirage is a money pothole...

[Mark]

I guess the Mirage is a money pothole...

The highly discounted Mirages seemed like shallow potholes!

[Fummins]

Mine is a money pit. I paid $1000, put around $250 into it(new windshield and front brakes), drove for 6 months and blew the engine(engine and cvt $1200-1500 I can't remember, 1200 plus core that I kept and tore apart for science). Rear brakes cost around $100(drums,bearings and shoes), recently bought new winter tires for around $120. Now wheel bearings, $50 shipped iirc. I guess it cost me around $1000/year over the last 3 years to own including purchase price.

I wish my other junkers were similar. Every time I think about my truck it usually ends up with a $1500-2000 parts list. Ac compressor and drier, steering box, ball joints, leaf spring bushings, I keep forgetting that there are only 2 bolts holding the cab to the frame(thanks previous owner!). I'll fix it next year...

[7milesout]

Every time I think about my truck it usually ends up with a $1500-2000 parts list. Ac compressor and drier, steering box, ball joints, leaf spring bushings, I keep forgetting that there are only 2 bolts holding the cab to the frame(thanks previous owner!). I'll fix it next year...

You'd be miffed Fummins, if you knew how trouble-free my truck was. My 24 year old Dodge Ram costs me near nothing, and I don't know of any problems it has. The 10 year old tars are showing lots of cracks, reckon I'll have to get tars in the near future. But I don't abuse it, and drive it very defensively. I started doing that when I realized that if I T-bone someone in that beast, the likelihood of them waking up dead is pretty high. I wouldn't like someone to wake up dead on my front bumper so I am very careful with it.

[sunbeam]

I believe resale value don’t mean much if one incline to keep it indefinitely, and it goes for any car.

Completely agree.

Intending to not sell it so could care less about the resale value.

I am just saying the normies dont value these machines.

Only the latest and greatest in SUV computational technologies and driver tickling assistance is desired.

And dont forget all this belly aching about car theft and cat theft.

Mirage is theft proof because the locks are manual and the cats are protected, better profits are had at the next kia.

@Fummins is it really a money pit per km?

I did the calculations one day but mirage is cheaper than flying for me per km and cheaper than the bus in Toronto.

Makes me laugh when I hear of people avoiding road trips because of "depreciation" or "increase in car maintenance".

[7milesout]

Makes me laugh when I hear of people avoiding road trips because of "depreciation" or "increase in car maintenance".

I feel the same way when someone buys a car to drive, but then rents a car to go on vacation.

Now maybe if you'd owned a car for 20 years and you might be concerned of it breaking down on a long trip, then yeah, maybe rent a car. But the ones I have known to do this always had a newish vehicle.

[defensivetackle99]

I feel the same way when someone buys a car to drive, but then rents a car to go on vacation.

Now maybe if you'd owned a car for 20 years and you might be concerned of it breaking down on a long trip, then yeah, maybe rent a car. But the ones I have known to do this always had a newish vehicle.

Agreed.

Maybe it because those who leased their car don’t wanna get penalized for going over the mileage limit? I can understand for those with a luxury cars. But those leased on Economy car? Non sense.

[Basic]

The 10 year old tars are showing lots of cracks, reckon I'll have to get tars in the near future. But I don't abuse it, and drive it very defensively.

Poooosh the button on this purchase sooner than later please. Friendly Tire Engineer pal reminder.

P.S. there is a Japanese tire manufacturer who builds and engineers tires much the same way Toyota does cars (Even sounds oddly similar) and just so happens to build a lot of them in your size just a few miles up I-75... seriously the best LT tires in the business.

[Fummins]

You'd be miffed Fummins, if you knew how trouble-free my truck was. My 24 year old Dodge Ram costs me near nothing, and I don't know of any problems it has. The 10 year old tars are showing lots of cracks, reckon I'll have to get tars in the near future. But I don't abuse it, and drive it very defensively. I started doing that when I realized that if I T-bone someone in that beast, the likelihood of them waking up dead is pretty high. I wouldn't like someone to wake up dead on my front bumper so I am very careful with it.

I am, I had an 02 like yours but had the stupid pos automagic. Bought it with 340,000km, drove great at first. In the 100,000km/60k miles I owned it I put 2 steering boxes, front hubs, 2 injection pump(one failed after chipping it(edge juice w/a) and lift pump died, second one failed after new bd diesel lift pump died), 2 transmissions, 3 front drive shafts, 1 heater core, 1-transfer case(blew up on the highway). I sold it to a friend for dirt cheap when the transmission was going out again...I did bag on that truck pretty hard though. The engine was great, just everything around it sucked except the seats. I put leather in it from a sport like yours.

I wouldn't have wanted to be on the losing end of my ferd, that one had some pretty good bambi basher bumpers front and rear. I miss that truck