Manufacturers are always looking for an angle to market a stale vehicle. Instead of investing in meaningful mechanical upgrades, they’ll celebrate anniversaries. Send the manufacturer a card and let somebody else buy the vehicles.
CNN.Com got Kelley Blue Book to do some research on special edition used vehicles.What was discovered about the 2005 Nissan 350Z 35th Anniversary Edition will shock you. It cost $10,000 more than a standard 350Z. Over the course of three years, it retained 65% of its value vs. the base 350Z that retained 71% of its value. In real dollars that was $13,160 vs. $7860.
The Daily Rental Market
Don’t ignore the offerings from Enterprise, Budget, Hertz and others when it comes to used cars. When I was in college and just after, I worked at a rental car company. A incredibly small percentage of these vehicles are abused because most are rented by businesspeople. If cars are abused, they get fixed. A broken car produces no revenue for a company. Nor does sending out cars that can break down.
Every time the cars are turned in, they are inspected. Fluid levels are topped off and the cars are cleaned. These cars get a lot of tender loving care (and produce a lot of revenue) until they are sold.
One drawback to daily rentals is they aren’t typically well appointed. You’re going to get cloth seats vs. leather in a lot of cases. The stereo systems are bare bones and the engines are usually entry level. But, you know what? They’re going to be fine to drive for years to come.
