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SUV trade-in

4K views 80 replies 27 participants last post by  janasmama 
#1 ·
Have you heard?

Most dealers are refusing to take SUVs as trade-in because NOBODY will buy them!! Ya HOOOOOO!!!

Just one more reason to be grateful that gas prices are going up
 
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#27 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by Toolip View Post
I NEVER said that SUV drivers were evil


... and I never would.

Actually, my best friend drives an SUV and I love her to death


I also never said that you couldn't care about the environment and drive an SUV

I didn't say you were. I was just sharing my POV.
 
#29 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by Toolip View Post
Sounds like you are a mother above all else

haha! so true

Quote:

Originally Posted by angelika13 View Post
I drive an SUV and I
it and won't give it up either.

However, my SUV is a diesel and I run it on at least 50% bio-diesel and sometimes closer to 80%.
do share. i have a diesel also and would love to know what you are doing, etc. etc.
 
#31 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by angelika13 View Post
I drive an SUV and I
it and won't give it up either.

However, my SUV is a diesel and I run it on at least 50% bio-diesel and sometimes closer to 80%.

That's b/c you're just too trendy to drive anything else. Kidding!
:

Hey, whatever happend when your car broke down on that trip? Did Mercedes take care of it?
 
#32 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by PassionateWriter View Post

do share. i have a diesel also and would love to know what you are doing, etc. etc.
I think a large part depends on where you live. I live in the bay area, and I can get biodiesel at my local Chevron- they have a tank that is put there by the bio company. I can also get it through a coop in Berkeley, there is a place in Marin County that does 100% post consumer biodiesel which is awesome. Some biodiesel is virgin soy oil, which is still better environmentally but some say partially responsible for escalating food prices.

Check out this map to see if it is available near you. You don't need to do anything special to your car to run biodiesel, you just fill up like any other fuel. The two considerations are temperature, biodiesel freezes so if it is cold you need to run a blend. It may also void your warranty if you have one on the car. I just make sure to fill up with regular diesel before I bring the car in.

Quote:

Originally Posted by alysmommy2004 View Post
That's b/c you're just too trendy to drive anything else. Kidding!
:

Hey, whatever happend when your car broke down on that trip? Did Mercedes take care of it?
Yes, they fixed it under warranty- but it still left us stranded in the middle of the night.
 
#33 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by angelika13 View Post
I think a large part depends on where you live. I live in the bay area, and I can get biodiesel at my local Chevron- they have a tank that is put there by the bio company. I can also get it through a coop in Berkeley, there is a place in Marin County that does 100% post consumer biodiesel which is awesome. Some biodiesel is virgin soy oil, which is still better environmentally but some say partially responsible for escalating food prices.

Check out this map to see if it is available near you. You don't need to do anything special to your car to run biodiesel, you just fill up like any other fuel. The two considerations are temperature, biodiesel freezes so if it is cold you need to run a blend. It may also void your warranty if you have one on the car. I just make sure to fill up with regular diesel before I bring the car in.

Yes, they fixed it under warranty- but it still left us stranded in the middle of the night.

thanks. from reading prior posts, it sounds like you have a 320? we just got an R320 a few months ago. does the biodiesel void our warranty?


off to check the map.
 
#35 ·
Eeeks! This thread is very timely for me because I am considering trading in our minivan (Honda Odyssey) for a more fuel-efficient car (a honda civic maybe--I'd love to trade it for the hybrid version but I doubt we'd be able to find one we could afford since it would have to be an equal trade). We have three kids so far (all in five-point-harness car seats), and there's talk of a #4. So, in some ways it makes sense to have a 7-passenger vehicle. BUT, what's the point in having it if you can't afford to drive it? And I'm thinking that NOW is the time to trade it in before no one wants to buy a minivan anymore.

Do you think minivans will see the same rejection as SUVs?

Dw thinks I'm crazy, but I think my theory makes sense. We hardly drive the minivan at all anymore (maybe once or twice a month). We walk/bike/or drive dw's honda civic (which does fit three radian car seats in the back!) if we go somewhere further than a few miles away. My thought is that if/when we do have four kids, we'll just take two cars on those rare instances when we drive somewhere all together as a family (probably once every 6-8 weeks). We'd get the same gas mileage with two honda civics as we get with our one minivan. I really want to become a ONE-car family, but I'm not sure that it totally makes sense for us right now since we're renting and we don't know where we're going to be living in a couple years (right now we live in walking/biking distance of everything), and winters here can be rough (especially with global warming). I'd still risk it, but dw is adamantly against that idea. I still think ditching the minivan makes sense.

Is anyone on board with my plan?

Lex
 
#36 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by Toolip View Post
Have you heard?
Most dealers are refusing to take SUVs as trade-in because NOBODY will buy them!! Ya HOOOOOO!!!

Just one more reason to be grateful that gas prices are going up

I don't know if I would be celebrating this being an earth-friendly type. If prices continue this could mean that the U.S. starts drilling in places like Alaska.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PassionateWriter View Post
i do smile!
im getting good gas mileage (28 in town and for an SUV thats good mileage for me)..my kids are young and i would not put them in the front seat, even w/ the air bag turned off..its just not safe.
What do you drive that you get such good mileage?

We just bought a Saturn Outlook (it's just like a GMC Acadia). It has a V6 but a small liter engine so it gets like 23 hwy and it seats 7. We have our third on the way and although we would be able to fit our family in a sedan we wouldn't be able to do the other things we like to do as far as recreation goes. I also like having the space. It's our only car but I was/am feeling a little concerned that maybe we should have just bought something smaller with the way prices are.
 
#38 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by janasmama View Post

What do you drive that you get such good mileage?

i have an R320 cdi (diesel). driving in town i get about 28 mpg. hwy a bit more (like 31). im looking into biodiesel but havent found it yet in my area.

we NEED seating for 6 at least and there was nothing i found that would get better gas mileage (and have AWD which we also NEED).
 
#40 ·
I drive an SUV. My parents gave it to me after our fuel efficient ford escort died. We needed a second car. I really hated it at first. Then I loved it. It's comfy, we can haul stuff like compost for our vegetable garden, and it's nice for long distance trips.

When prices started going up I looked into selling it to get a Subaru station wagon. Unfortunately because of the gas prices going up so rapidly my once excellent trade in value has plummeted and I cannot afford to get a decent car with better fuel efficiency without taking on a car note. We can't afford a car note. Both our vehicles are paid for (dh drives a compact car).

On the upside I'm currently in a position where I can afford to make lifestyle changes where I don't drive more than 2 or 3 times a week, no more than 60 miles for the week. I work full time at night, and two nights a week, I work less than 2 miles away 2 days a week, and 15 miles away once a week. We live close to downtown, close to the food co-op and locally owned supermarket, I am in good health, and we have several bikes (I actually won a bike in April
) and bike accessories like a child trailer to carry dd2 and groceries, side bags to carry other things like my scrubs for work, food, etc. It's late spring in New England, so the weather is nice. I can bike almost everywhere, and I do. The only places I drive are to work once a week, and other random places where biking isn't feasible. I have a weekly appointment 10 miles up a steep hill on a dangerous road that I can't bike on. I live in a small city in New England, surrounded by mountains and farms. There are many places where biking isn't feasible.

I can't afford to fill up my tank. I filled the tank half way last week, and I thank my lucky stars that I am able keep my SUV parked. Still, I would rather that gas prices rise more slowly. I am afraid what will happen to my friends and neighbors who are not in the favorable position that we are and cannot change their lifestyle so drastically. I worry what will happen to my friends and neighbors when it's time again to fill the oil tanks to heat all these New England homes, because the increase in crude oil prices affects the price of home heating oil, too. We heat with natural gas, but it will affect us, as well.
:

So all that to say, I see the good in the oil prices jumping. It makes people think about how they use their car. Ultimately it has caused to positive changes in our lifestyle (although I didn't drive the car much before anyway. Now I'm really forced not to drive.). Yay for us.

I don't think it's a good thing, though, because the prices are rising to quickly, and the economy and wages aren't keeping in line. It will cause people (in my community) already vulnerable to financial ruin to fall over the edge. It's not just a what type of car will you drive now issue. People use oil in other ways (like heating homes and water). I'd be all for prices going up if it didn't cause the price of other necessities to go up, too.
 
#42 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by janasmama View Post
My FIL told me that there was a news article that crime was on the rise and people are siphoning commercial vehicle's gas tanks. Not only are they siphoning them but they are punching holes in the gas tank to empty them even quicker.
Thats a good way to get yourself blown up. Spark + gas.
 
#43 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by janasmama View Post
My FIL told me that there was a news article that crime was on the rise and people are siphoning commercial vehicle's gas tanks. Not only are they siphoning them but they are punching holes in the gas tank to empty them even quicker.
I heard that too.

And that SUV's and pick-ups are also getting gas siphoned. If there is a fuel door lock, they are just drilling right into the tank
 
#44 ·
Wow. They really are getting desperate!

Another sign of desperation; I heard an advertisement on the radio for a local used car lot that shall remain nameless (*cough*sheppmotors.com*cough*) which is offering free gas for the summer and 30-50% off all their used SUV's and trucks. Apparently it's the only way they can move them off the lot.
 
#45 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by Belleweather View Post
Wow. They really are getting desperate!

Another sign of desperation; I heard an advertisement on the radio for a local used car lot that shall remain nameless (*cough*sheppmotors.com*cough*) which is offering free gas for the summer and 30-50% off all their used SUV's and trucks. Apparently it's the only way they can move them off the lot.
wow.
 
#46 ·
So I got a call that the prius is in. We're supposed to go down later today. Dh really doesn't think its a good idea to trade our denali for a prius. It would be less space obviously but I think it would end up saving us money in the end. Dh likes the scion xb so he might try to talk me into that while I'm there. I'm kind of iffy on the whole thing. I love our denali. Its so cool with the rims we put on it and it has lots of space. But it takes $70-80 to fill it up and that usually lasts a week or less. If you were me, what would you do?
 
#47 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by LilMamiBella View Post
So I got a call that the prius is in. We're supposed to go down later today. Dh really doesn't think its a good idea to trade our denali for a prius. It would be less space obviously but I think it would end up saving us money in the end. Dh likes the scion xb so he might try to talk me into that while I'm there. I'm kind of iffy on the whole thing. I love our denali. Its so cool with the rims we put on it and it has lots of space. But it takes $70-80 to fill it up and that usually lasts a week or less. If you were me, what would you do?
Well, I wouldn't be thinking about how cool my rims look or how stylin' we are in the car because it doesn't matter to be poor or in debt but look good.

I personally don't like scion's but if you need the room for camping, outdoor rec then you would probably be better off with a scion than a prius. How many children do you have? If only 2 I would get a prius, install a roof mount rack system and buy a cargo box for your trips.
 
#48 ·
I personally don't like scion's but if you need the room for camping, outdoor rec then you would probably be better off with a scion than a prius. How many children do you have? If only 2 I would get a prius, install a roof mount rack system and buy a cargo box for your trips.[/QUOTE]

We have three kids (only one is in a car seat). We also have an expedition, so I thought if we ever needed the extra space we could just use that.
 
#49 ·
[/QUOTE]We have three kids (only one is in a car seat). We also have an expedition, so I thought if we ever needed the extra space we could just use that.[/QUOTE]

If you have one suv then I would definitely pick the prius. We have only have on e car, it is an suv and if we get another it would be a small civic-like car.
 
#51 ·
i sold my gas gas-guzzling jeep liberty in for a mercedes diesel (running on biodiesel). this combined with me biking and walking to work most days (only a mile and a half commute) means that i fill up every 4 months!!! we also walk to the local market for fresh local produce each week.
 
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