When To Sell, Resale Value?

[carnutz]

Dear Ann Landers;
I bought a 04 HL Limited with leather and no sunroof a week ago for my wife. She now says she hates it and wants a truck based SUV. She has some phobia about riding up high and the HL sits too low and she feels trapped by taller vehicles riding next to her on the freeway. We traded in a '97 Mountaineer (fancy Explorer) and she claims she used to sit several inches higher in it. We have argued for a week about it. I can't believe the MM can be more than 1 inch higher seat position than the HL with the power seat all the way up.

I got her to agree to keep the HL for a year and then trade it but I was wondering if it would be better to take it back with less than 800 miles and a week old or keep it until the 05's or 06's are out. I bought the extended warranty and glass break policy on the HL. Which way would cost me less to trade for a 4runner? Now or later? Since I did not use either extended warranty policy can I get a refund now from the dealer?
Signed ............ Helpless in Houston

Can't trade in the wife, must trade the car.

[Brklyndriver]

Y don't u just lift it

[carnutz]

I thought of that (lift, larger wheels), but she insists she must have a truck based vehicle. Very irrational, I know.

[Brklyndriver]

then i suggest getting her a tractor trailer or a helicopter, im sorry but selling back a car after u just bought it is a pure waste of money. (trade in the wife )

[carnutz]

Believe me, I know. I just want to loose as little as possible. Tried using logic, nogo. I could ask for my pants back and put my foot down, but am afraid of sleeping in the back yard. I asked 9 times before we signed the purchase agreement if she was sure the HL was OK with her and she says it is fine, even after a test drive. We leave the dealer to come back next day to pick up HL, and she starts in that it is too low, she can't see out, it's not a truck. Next day I ask if she is OK with the HL, she says it is fine so we sign more papers and take delivery. On the way home she declares it is too low I don't like it. I ask why she did not speak up before we signed papers, and she says I had my mind made up we would buy a HL. She drives it to work a few times and says she has chest pains from anxiety of riding too low. Sorry to vent, but we are tired of yelling at each other.

[98xlt]

Is there a 3-day contract recision law in TX?
My condolences. BTW, what do you drive? Any way to trade your ride for hers?
A few years ago I had a volvo that I added nice custom sheepskin seat covers to. They definitely added an inch to my interior ride height.
I'm assuming the suggestion of adding a pillow(or a phone book) to the seat would get you a week in the garage.

[nferra2]

I wouldn't deal that BS, However, its probably cheaper to lose your a$$ on the trade, than to lose your *** with a divorce lawyer. (I would probably end up with the latter)

just my $.02

Nick

[TundrastruckDave]

Whew... There's not too much opportunity here for a "positive win situation"!

I've kinda been down this same road myself. The only difference (with what I've read) is that... you didn't say you leased. THAT'S DEFINATELY GOOD... especially... if you do go ahead with your wife's... er...ummm.... wishes!

In my case though, I unfortunately... got into a lease... with an '01 VW bug for my wife. Within 9 months... she was "tired" of it... and I (personally)... NEVER liked the little thing in the first place either! Yet... she HAD to have it... at the time... of course! To get out of it though... we literally had to "EAT" almost the ENTIRE lease (at some $9,000+) which was added right back to the vehicle we traded the bug for (an '02 GMC Yukon XL) for a total of $44,000! OUCH! Luckily... we had also just sold a '95 GMC Yukon and used the money from that sale to "sorta" help out on this deal! But the worst part of it all was... NO ONE... was willing to give us anything "fair" for the bug at trade-in! A $22,000 car... with 9800 miles on it... and the most we got for it on trade... $14,500! And then... ONLY... because the General Manager of the GMC dealership was a personal friend of ours! Most other GMC dealerships would only allow us $12,500 for the car!! And that even included other VW dealers! Bottom line... we got screw... some kinda royally... by the VW dealer on this lease AND... it took the trade (of the bug)... plus... the money from the sale of another vehicle to make it happen!

So, that said... when we decided to trade our Yukon for a new car (for her) AND my new DC... we had to wait at least two years to get even "close" to having enough equity in the Yukon before a Toyota dealer would even "talk" with us!

In your case however, you "might" have a small chance at maybe coming close to breaking even without a lot of "outa-pocket" money. It's really (more than likely) going to depend on your relationship with the dealer and the kind of "mood" he's in "if and when" you decide whether you want to try and get out of the HL or not!

No matter what... I wish you the best of luck!

BTW: I CERTAINLY would... let the wife know... if you can get things worked out... she'd BETTER be DAMNED SURE this time! Because... the next time she "cries wolf"... it would be just... tough s#*t! That's kinda how I had to explain it to mine.

[Brklyndriver]

Originally Posted by 98xlt

BTW, what do you drive? Any way to trade your ride for hers?
.

Ye same question?

And don't worry about sleeping in the yard, you can sleep in the comfy seats of your new highlander.

[KLS]

What in the world is the glass break policy? Isn't that covered under the comprehensive part of your insurance?

Why did you piss your money away on the so-called extended warranty? You have a 5-yr/60,000 mile real warranty on the drivetrain which is the expensive stuff, and your wife won't let you keep any vehicle that long anyway.

Does your wife do the household finances? Of does she help? If not, let her do it. Get solid cost figures on trading your Highlander for a 4Runner or a Sequoia (Will a Landcruiser finally make her happy?). Let her understand the costs and how it impacts the family finances.

If she refuses to look at the numbers and understand what they mean, boot her a$$ out the door. Tell her she can drive the Highlander or pack and leave. Life is too short for that bs.


Ken

[lunagr]

Originally Posted by KLS

What in the world is the glass break policy? Isn't that covered under the comprehensive part of your insurance?

Why did you piss your money away on the so-called extended warranty? You have a 5-yr/60,000 mile real warranty on the drivetrain which is the expensive stuff, and your wife won't let you keep any vehicle that long anyway.

Does your wife do the household finances? Of does she help? If not, let her do it. Get solid cost figures on trading your Highlander for a 4Runner or a Sequoia (Will a Landcruiser finally make her happy?). Let her understand the costs and how it impacts the family finances.

If she refuses to look at the numbers and understand what they mean, boot her a$$ out the door. Tell her she can drive the Highlander or pack and leave. Life is too short for that bs.


Ken

Ken,

I will give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you had a really bad day...

Let's cut the little lady just a little bit of slack here.. Life is too short, I agree, but more importantly, it's too short to have everything be all about the money. Sometimes we all make mistakes that are costly and other times costly things just happen. The most important thing is to roll with the punches and enjoy what we can while we can!

Let's look at this from another angle: Let's pretend for a moment that this whole "fiasco" cost $20K to make her happy. Will that matter one bit 20 years from now? Hey, even if her income was just $10k/year x 20 years...I would be looking back at this and laughing and enjoying each other rather than looking back counting the number of houses that I lost in divorces because "life is too short for..." and being bitter and pi$$ed off 24/7!

But lets get back to the real world. I have been married for 12 years and am now 42 years old. My wife is 47 and has had MAJOR health issues for the past 6 years, there are no cures for what ails her...she didn't run like this when I "bought her", but I made a commitment, "for better or worse" and I am a man of my word. I wouldn't give up my wife for a million bucks, for a landcruiser (or even a TRD S/C!). Because life is too short. It just isn't that big of a deal.

Sorry to highjack this thread and go on a rant.

Carnutz: It could be worse! Just roll with it and keep peace in the family, that is worth way more than the hit you might take by dumping the Highlander!!

Thanks,

Steve

[THarms]

Originally Posted by carnutz

Dear Ann Landers;
I bought a 04 HL Limited with leather and no sunroof a week ago for my wife. She now says she hates it and wants a truck based SUV. She has some phobia about riding up high and the HL sits too low and she feels trapped by taller vehicles riding next to her on the freeway. We traded in a '97 Mountaineer (fancy Explorer) and she claims she used to sit several inches higher in it. We have argued for a week about it. I can't believe the MM can be more than 1 inch higher seat position than the HL with the power seat all the way up.

I got her to agree to keep the HL for a year and then trade it but I was wondering if it would be better to take it back with less than 800 miles and a week old or keep it until the 05's or 06's are out. I bought the extended warranty and glass break policy on the HL. Which way would cost me less to trade for a 4runner? Now or later? Since I did not use either extended warranty policy can I get a refund now from the dealer?
Signed ............ Helpless in Houston

Can't trade in the wife, must trade the car.

Dear Helpless - Give your dealer a call... most likely they will work with you to get out from under the vehicle at a very modest cost. Some of our friends went thru a similar experience about a year ago when they bought a new Ford Expedition... the wife drove it about week during which she was scared to death she was going to hit something everytime she pulled in a Walmart parking place. They took it back and traded it in on an Escape....the dealer basically just charged them a "per mile mileage fee" (something like $1/mile??) and they could not recover the sales tax and transaction fees but think it ended up being a pretty good deal for both our friends and the dealer (if that's possible). In short, the dealer wanted a satisfied customer and worked with them to see that they were just that at a minimal cost to both parties. Good Luck!

Too bad you don't live a little closer... we are seriuoslyl considering selling my wife's Solara and purchasing a Highlander.

[tomhan]

For what it's worth, I have been trying to trade in my 04 limited w/ leather, 3rd row, tow prep pkg. for a month and I am shocked at what dealers are offering. They basically want to steal it. I have only 1300 miles and the car is in absolutely perfect condition and properly broken in. The MSRP was $35,864 and until today the trade in offers have ranged from $26,000 to $27,600. Even car max would only offer to buy it at $26,400. Finally today I received a trade offer for $28,000 against a Volvo XC70 which I am considering accepting. I have until the end of this week to decide. I paid $32,000 for it on May 14th. The Kelly Bluebook list it at $28,825 but it doesn't consider the 3rd row seat option which adds an additional $900.00 to the price. The dealers won't even touch the KBB price which is low to begin with.

If anyone is in the Northwest Indiana area, I will sell it at $30,000 even which is a very good price.

[98xlt]

tomhan,
why are you getting rid of your HL?
Do you think the drop in value is because the HL is car based rather than truck?