Kizashis are a Super Investment

[Eric998765]

So I got my GTS back in April for around $21,000 I think. Here in December, my car taxes are due and whew! My car was appraised at $27,000, what an awesome return!

Really this is just a joke thread, I got it appraised at a dealership to send an appeal and it was put at $16,500 (which was a slight cheat but I won't go into that ). Anyway, has anyone else run into this when car taxes are due? Every other year they have completely under estimated by a lot so I was kind of confused where they came up with that number this year on this car.

[chazyouwin]

Although I bought the SLS FWD in December 2010, I've been watching the prices, etc., on EBay and at other places. Prices indeed seem to have firmed. I think there are a variety of factors at work, including the following. First, the strong yen, which reduces profitability of Japanese-made cars at a lower price point. There is not a great deal of incentive for Suzuki to discount and saturate the market, which would cause depreciation. Second, the relative lack of fleet sales. Back in the early to mid-2000s Suzuki sold a larger proportion to rental fleets. I believe this contributed to quicker perceived depreciation. Third, there may be a management sense that the Kizashi is a quality "halo" vehicle and discounting it to keep it moving at pace is not wise. Fourth, the supply disruptions caused by the tsunami.

Good luck with the tax appeal!

[Firefly]

Of course a Dealer quote will be low - since they see it as trade-in value.
How do State govs get the values, anyway?
The GTS tops out at around 27k new, so I guess year one value is the MSRP?

[Ronzuki]

It's like anything else...when it's in 'their' favor it's appraised low/high. When it's in your favor, exact opposite. Same goes for when an insurance company totals a car they need to pay you for. Always a battle. I went 6 rounds w/ the insurance company to get the price I'd have to pay for the identical car in today's market.

Right now, retail used car prices are off the charts. If they're determining the value on that data then it's not surprising that it may be up a tick from a previous year.

[Blackbelt]

Car tax? What is this 'car tax'?

[JDReichert]

I'm in Washington (The State of) and the first year for my 2010 SLS, they valued it at $31,500 but I paid $25,500. When I questioned them they just pointed at a list they had and said "move on".
"That's our Government"

Jerry 2010 SLS, 1977 Mercedes 280SL, 1983 BMW 633CSi

[KIZAWDinKC]

I would expect to get a decent trade-in value if I were to trade my GTS Kizashi. I think AWD 4-cyl. sedans are rare, and there would definitely be a buyer somewhere in Colorado or up north that's looking for a small sedan that does ok in snow. Throw some Winter-Force type of snow tires on this baby and it would be a tank in the snow. As long as people know Kizashi's exist, there might be some demand for used Kizashis in the near future which would snatch some decent used selling prices.

[Ehibb034]

I echoed a similar sentiment as the OP in another thread right before I bought this car. I cauight your sarcasm!

I was concerned about the trad in value. I think I can input some decent information to everyone because I just bought a used Kizashi.

2011 GTS AWD with navigation package. 20,000 miles..mint condition

A typical car that is under 365 days old with this mileage such as civic, camry, corolla, cruze, would lose between 5-10% of its value if you were to just go buy it used. You would get it for about 10% less than new.

I bought this Kiz for 19,500 dollars. Less than 365 days ago this car cost between 26-28k. Between the price that I bought it for and the original sale price this car has depreciated over 31%!

Imagine what the trade in was on this car. Im sure the previous owner according to my math and the websites I have used to confirm it got about 15,000 for their car as a trade in. That menas this car has depreciated over 45% in one year at least in my area!
This is all contingent on supply and demand and of course where you live.
My advice on almost every car is to buy with low mileage and never buy new. To prospective buyers...buying a car is ALWAYS a bad investment. Buying a new Kizashi is the WORST investment.

[Ronzuki]

Some more fodder for the discussion....I paid around 21700 out the door for my brand new 2010 GTS while the lot was full of 2011s around Oct/Nov 2010 (see cars build date in sig line below). That included 1000 worth of incentives. I traded a 2004 Rubicon and got 13500 after negotiating the price of the Kiz via email, so there wasn't a lot of taxable dollars added in the deal. I currently have just over 20k miles on my Kiz as well. So my car is 2 years old and I've lost what?....roughly 2000? I don't consider that too bad of an 'investment'. I never view a car as an investment (typical DD cars, unfortunately, are not). What I don't recall is what retail was for it as I never even consider that number when car shopping. No vehicle is worth paying retail or even close to it IMHO.

[chazyouwin]

Here's a link to an average depreciation schedule that is in accord with my understanding of depreciation, including the depreciation which I saw on my 1985 Toyota purchased new (my first brand new car). http://www.free-online-calculator-use.c ... lator.html It suggests 28% 20% 16% 8% 6% from the first to fifth years. Other sites suggest that a new car depreciates 20% just in driving it off the lot.

I'm very skeptical that, once the actual numbers are run, the average depreciation schedule variations over typical brands would be very much different. For an individual vehicle, you really need to look at factors such as mileage, the actual price the new car sold, trade-in compensation, whether the car was originally a loaner, rental, lease, etc., condition, whether it was involved in an accident, etc., whether it was purchased in a different market. People make the mistake of comparing depreciation from retail prices.