CRV--Trade In?

[TexanCzexican]

Just wanted some thoughts on trading in my 04 CRV, for an 08 CRV.

Current CRV has 92000 miles on it, so I figure it's time to decide to keep car for the long haul or trade him in for a newer model.

As I live by myself, don't really have anyone to truly discuss pros/cons with. My parents fully believe in trading a car in after 75000 miles, so I'm not sure if they are the best folks to listen to

Local dealer is offering good deal on new one.

[Kathi]

I bought my 05 CRV because my bikes fit in it. Do bikes fit in the newer model CRV's? I love the design of my 05 and am not sure that the redesigned model meets my needs as well. I read that the redesign was to attract young mothers with babies and soccer moms. I recently had to drive a rental Ford Explorer which obviously is designed for soccer moms, I intensely disliked it, my CRV fit my needs much better.

One consideration though is that the later models have side curtain airbags and other safety features that the 04 does not have. That might be a reason for upgrading to a newer model. I waited for the 05 for better safety features.

Does trading for a newer model mean car payments? I chose to to take a loan for my car. I aggressively paid my monthly payments and expect to have it paid off early next year, 2 years early. I can't wait to rid myself of those payments.

Also, around 75,000 - 100,000 cars do have some repair issues and you will have to decide if they outweigh the cost of a new car.

When my Toyota reached the higher mileage range I started making monthly payments to myself. Each month I invested what a car payment would cost me. If something suddenly happened to the car I had back up cash for repairs or a new car. When it came time for a new car my investments were earning at a better rate than the car payment interest so I took a loan and my investments are still intact.

I hope this helps, it's a tough call, for me there's nothing about the 08 that gets me excited about giving up my 05.

[Tuckervill]

Hondas go forever if you take care of them. We had a civic that went 300,000 miles.

I think if you were having trouble with your CRV, you might want to get rid of it. But if it's still doing its thing and you still like it, keep it.

Karen

[Zen]

Your car is only four years old?
I agree with Tuckervill

[TexanCzexican]

Thanks for the quick responses!

The issue for me is that I drive my vehicles hard and at massive distances. For instance in October I'm driving to Alabama (from Texas) then the week after that I'm going to south Texas (8 hours south) for a charity ride. A lot of my friends agree that me being in a newer car is probably a better fit for me.

As for the bike fitting....I might just take the bike with me and see if they'll let me pop him in for measurements I think it should work, cause the seats fold the same as the 04's and it might be better as the door is lower to the ground.

My other thought is to see the prices of the 07 Elements or CR-V's, same body styling, cheaper pricing, yet no mileage

On the flip side, I haven't had an 'old' car since high school. Once I got into college, my parents cosigned a Corolla, then I got the CRV fresh out of college.....it'd be interesting to see what kind of maitenance issues would really come up. Plus, I've never not had a car payment.....

[Kathi]

One of the things I hated about the Explorer was having to close the back door. I'm short, could barely reach the handle, the door was heavy and if my hands were full I had to put everything down then close the door. Hopefully, the CRV is easier to manage.

I read the redesign gives up some cargo space but not sure if it's height or width.

Also, I was also told that the type of driving you do is better for an engine than start and stop driving. A low mileage car driven in the city will have more problems than one driven long distances.

[Kathi]

Another rule of thumb is not to buy in a new model year. Find out what issues the 07's had and see if they've been resolved.

BtW, a good deal on an 08? I couldn't get a good deal on an 05 in Oct. of 05. They are very popular here.

[TexanCzexican]

BtW, a good deal on an 08? I couldn't get a good deal on an 05 in Oct. of 05. They are very popular here.

To quote the salesman, who called at 7 pm after I walked out of the dealership

"It's the end of the month and we need to make our sales, name your trade-in value and payments, and we will make it happen"

I just haven't decided if that is really going to be the case....

[Kathi]

We agreed on a price, the salesman appeared serious, I thought the deal was for real. He had to approve it with his manager, promised to call as soon as the price was approved. When I requested it in writing, I never heard from him again.

[Zen]

The issue for me is that I drive my vehicles hard and at massive distances.

Do you have regular maintenance? Oil changes, tune ups and stuff like that? As long as you're not having any problems why not keep it?

Plus, I've never not had a car payment.....

It's quite liberating. Plus think of the money you would have to donate to everybody's charity rides

[KnottedYet]

Wow, trading in a 4 year old car with so little mileage!?! (the drives you are making are really no big deal to a western car - long distances burn out the carbon deposits and aren't as hard on the car as you might think!) No wonder the dealership is so eager to make a trade!

I had a Honda that was going strong until a tree fell on it when it was 10 years old.

Would you consider keeping it?

[singletrackmind]

I'm with the keep it crowd.....so long as you've kept up on maintenance. Lots of highway miles is far better than some city miles. If you compare repair/maintenance costs to a new(er) car payment on a well-kept honda keeping the older vehicle seems logical for at least another 100,000 miles. Set up a higher interest account and make a car payment to yourself. You'll get the interest on top of it and cash for the next one. It's surprising how quickly that adds up.

If you really just want something new then you're on the tail-end of the last-year's clearances. For trade-in on your own vehicle check out kbb.com to get a good idea on its value. Also check out what similar vehicles are selling for, it may be worth selling it yourself.

[SouthernBelle]

My every day car is a 96 pickup. I just had it winterized. I fully expect to get many more miles out of it. I love my little truck.

[Hub]

Maybe it's just me, but I love a new car smell!

[Andrea]

Hondas are jst getting broken in at 90k!!!

I drove a '98 CRV with about 128,000 miles on it. There are some slightly more expensive maintenence things you need to do (timing belt, water pump, brake rotor replacement, flush the radiator, etc) around the 120K mark, but the cost of those is less than a couple of car payments on a new one.

If you DO go with a new one, check the Element out- when they re-designed the CRV, they made it nicer inside and somewhat more expensive, thus the creation of the Element to replace the previous CRV that was more "young, active person" friendly.

I drive an '07 Fit now (the CRV is still running like a champ, but it went to Minneapolis in the divorce ). It's an awesome car as well, but I'm about to drop ~$500 on a roof rack because I don't want to get the inside dirty with my bike (although two bikes will stack in the back with the seats down, no problem)