Cadillac SRX and American cars

[supernova]

Hi guys,

I am thinking about buying a Cadillac SRX 2004 V8 with Warranty and FSH with 50k on the clock, i was wandering if anyone has owned one and can share their experience with me. what do you think?
i will test drive it in 2 days time.


cheers

starburst76@gmail.com

[root]

GM and American - it will depreciate like a stone and hard to sell.
Make sure you get a good deal.

Sat in an STS Sedan a few days ago, and was not really impressed by the drive. A lot of power, but not smooth on the road. The SRX may be different as its a SUV.

[supernova]

I was shocked how much the car has depreciated, i thought how much more can it go? price new was 180k price now 55k, i read few good reviews about it, but hey if it is hard to sell then i better stay away? people are scared of V8, i am not, i think with my style of driving a V6 uses more fuel than a V8 because i keep pushing the V6 to get it moving.

[kapil]

Root, How mch would it go down to in 2 years? any idea? Cause I am also thinking american for the next 2 years!!

[supernova]

Would i be better off with a RAV 4 3.5 V6 2006 imported from USA with the same price 55k and 25k miles ?

[root]

Well, the way it was in this market normally: Japanese fell around 10-15% per year first 2 years. Germans fell around 20%, and American and British around 25%.
Very gross estimates..the smaller cars fall less percent wise, the larger ones fall greater.

Now past 2-3 years have been crazy, specially with dollar (and hence dirham) falling, influx of people, money in pockets, etc that new car prices actually rose, which meant one could sell at a lesser depreciation. For example, many Toyotas have been sold without any depreciation at all. Same goes for Porsches and other long wait-listed cars.

Coming to your case, 180k to 55k in 2 years is pretty steep - 70% in 2 years to be more precise, and it might be a good buy now. That's a lot of car for 55k with all the frills of a cadillac and a V8 engine. I would definitely be tempted. Senators and Governors in US drive that vehicle.

RAV4 is a lot more popular here. Keep in mind US-imports will get a lower resale than GCC-specs when you sell as well. But there are some good deals of US-imported cars given the glut in the market there.

Just make sure you are not sold a lemon as its hard to track history of those coming in. For example, many times dealers pick up flooded/water-drained cars (and there are a lot of them due to constant hurricanes and floods in southern USA) cheap off insurance companies and then window-dress them off to sell here. Very hard to see from the body if the cars has been drained.

[root]

Root, How mch would it go down to in 2 years? any idea? Cause I am also thinking american for the next 2 years!!

I think supernova has kinda shown that they fall a lot But it depends on the vehicle ofcourse.

If you find any steals on a 2 year old Mustang convertible, let me know. I would not mind buying one of those for 1/3 the price.

[kapil]

Likewise!!

[supernova]

Sorry guys i think there is some confusion here, the car is 2004 as i mentioned so the price from 180k to 55k in almost 4 years and not 2, but that is still crazy.

Thanks for all your comments

[supernova]

How about this :

GMC Yukon Denali 2007 full option GCC 120k Dirhams ? can you see the depreciation? ok it had a small damage on on of the doors but it was changed. still under warranty

[kapil]

are u buying it?? if not give me the details

[root]

How much is the new Denali?
That is one monster of a car...drinks 95 Octane like beer on a hot day!

[kapil]

about 215k..

[supernova]

yes about 228k, i was just checking it online in automiddleeast

very very tempting, i will be going to see it tomorrow hopfully.

[supernova]

I went to see the Denali, it was no good the accident was not a small one everything was painted very badly including the driver side roof, the engine sounded amassing but i was not that impressed with the acceleration or the lumpy ride, it was riding on 22" rims. the interior quality was very bad in comparison to European cars, i mean 100% plastic dash for a luxury SUV? come on USA.

I have had enough of looking for a used car, tomorrow i am going to buy a brand new Mazda CX-9, whatever happens it has 3 year warranty and it is a safe car.