Sell 2021 CX-5 CE Turbo AWD?

FirstMazdaCX5

Member
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2016 Toyota Highlander
Vehicle - 2021 CX-5 Carbon Edition Turbo AWD, Red Interior
Mileage - 3K miles

I bought my wife a CX-5 in 2021 as remote work was ending for her. She is on a hybrid set-up currently. The car currently has 3K miles on it and of those 3K miles, 2K of it was me driving the car due to my Highlander going offline. So basically she put about 1K miles on it in a year. Mostly, it sits in the driveway.

Does it make sense to unload the vehicle? Perhaps get something mostly depreciated already so its not a sunk cost?

Looking around online and in my area, it seems that a CE Turbo AWD goes for around $37K with many more miles. This is probably as close to new as one may find. Even the door trim adhesives are still on it. Maybe it can pull in $39K, which is what I paid for it including TTL. I figure it is one of the more coveted CX-5s due to it being the only year a Carbon has a turbo, also having the bose audio and a red interior.

All of this is contingent on my wife saying okay, but she doesn't care for the red interior anyway and the placement of the cupholders. I am in the SF Bay area.

What would you do?
 
If you only have the Highlander and the cx-5, you didn't explain the offline situation of the Highlander, I would keep it. Yes, you can make some money if you sell it, but you'll also get bent over if you are in need of a second vehicle.
 
Keep it for several years then sell if you must. Maybe consider selling the Highlander and use that money to purchase a less expensive vehicle?
 
If you are selling and not rebuying another car, now is the time to sell. Your best option would be if you could try to sell it in a private owner transaction but most people won't buy newer vehicles in these types of transactions ( when spending a lot of money, people feel more comfortable buying from a brick and mortar business with guarantees plus I'm not sure a bank would even approve a check for that type of transaction.)

otherwise your going to be selling back to a dealership or used auto business. They want to get used autos for as low as they can in order to make huge profit when they resell. So you are most likely gonna take a big depreciation cut on the car.. Then if and when you buy another vehicle, your going to be paying a premium.

if you are selling and only keeping one car, or gonna downgrade to an old used beater (which now go for like $ 10,000 and not $500.) then maybe sell now. Otherwise you are better just keeping the CX5.

Members would need to know more about your specific situation to respond with better suggestions.
 
Does it make sense to unload the vehicle? Perhaps get something mostly depreciated already so its not a sunk cost?
It seems like you know the answer already or at least the factors to consider.

If 1,000 miles per year is what you expect under normal circumstances of course the depreciation per mile driven will eventually become nasty. Sooner or later new car production will ramp up, there will be inventory on the lots, and dealers will deal again, at which point used car prices will take a beating. There's still time though.

Selling the CX-5 and buying a good, older used car would probably be one good answer. Here are some ballpark ideas about what you'd be looking at in terms of price but you'd need to dig in with some research and check asking prices in your local area. There are used car web sites for that, autotrader.com, cars.com, whatnot.


If you wife won't care about stylin' or going down to a subcompact car for her mere 1,000 miles per year, there are a lot of possibilities. You'd obviously prefer one with service records and then get a mechanic to inspect your pick if you don't think you're capable of doing that yourself.

Or start driving the CX-5 yourself to get some value out of it and let the wife do her little bit of driving in the Highlander and stretch out it's lifespan. Or take the money left over after the CX-5 sale and used car purchase and replace the Highlander if its getting old and/or problematic.

What doesn't make much sense is driving that CX-5 for 5 years and 5,000 miles or 10 years and 10,000 miles unless you plan to keep it for a very, very long time.
 
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If you only have the Highlander and the cx-5, you didn't explain the offline situation of the Highlander, I would keep it. Yes, you can make some money if you sell it, but you'll also get bent over if you are in need of a second vehicle.

Someone ran a stop sign and T-Boned my old 2016 Highlander and totaled it so I had to get a replacement vehicle (2022 Highlander). I will need a second vehicle, though very few miles will be put on in a given year. Was thinking an EV, but don't think the premium justifies since so few miles are even put on anyways.

Keep it for several years then sell if you must. Maybe consider selling the Highlander and use that money to purchase a less expensive vehicle?

I would likely keep the Highlander as the space utility suits my current situation.

If you are selling and not rebuying another car, now is the time to sell. Your best option would be if you could try to sell it in a private owner transaction but most people won't buy newer vehicles in these types of transactions ( when spending a lot of money, people feel more comfortable buying from a brick and mortar business with guarantees plus I'm not sure a bank would even approve a check for that type of transaction.)

otherwise your going to be selling back to a dealership or used auto business. They want to get used autos for as low as they can in order to make huge profit when they resell. So you are most likely gonna take a big depreciation cut on the car.. Then if and when you buy another vehicle, your going to be paying a premium.

if you are selling and only keeping one car, or gonna downgrade to an old used beater (which now go for like $ 10,000 and not $500.) then maybe sell now. Otherwise you are better just keeping the CX5.

Members would need to know more about your specific situation to respond with better suggestions.

Good points. I used to sell private on Craigslist but these days, I just don't think I have the confidence nor the time to deal with private parties. And on the flip side, I too would feel more comfortable with the working with a business than an individual.

I would need a secondary vehicle. It is just that it will rack up very few miles every year so I was thinking maybe a brand new car wasn't the most ideal purchase for this kind of utilization. Haven't really looked at used car prices but I do hear that prices have skyrocketed.

It seems like you know the answer already or at least the factors to consider.

If 1,000 miles per year is what you expect under normal circumstances of course the depreciation per mile driven will eventually become nasty. Sooner or later new car production will ramp up, there will be inventory on the lots, and dealers will deal again, at which point used car prices will take a beating. There's still time though.

Selling the CX-5 and buying a good, older used car would probably be one good answer. Here are some ballpark ideas about what you'd be looking at in terms of price but you'd need to dig in with some research and check asking prices in your local area. There are used car web sites for that, autotrader.com, cars.com, whatnot.


If you wife won't care about stylin' or going down to a subcompact car for her mere 1,000 miles per year, there are a lot of possibilities. You'd obviously prefer one with service records and then get a mechanic to inspect your pick if you don't think you're capable of doing that yourself.

Or start driving the CX-5 yourself to get some value out of it and let the wife do her little bit of driving in the Highlander and stretch out it's lifespan. Or take the money left over after the CX-5 sale and used car purchase and replace the Highlander if its getting old and/or problematic.

What doesn't make much sense is driving that CX-5 for 5 years and 5,000 miles or 10 years and 10,000 miles unless you plan to keep it for a very, very long time.

You are looking at it with the same lens that I do. Having a brand new vehicle and only putting 5,000 miles in 5 years seems like a waste. The depreciation per mile would be atrocious. I didn't grow up with much, still don't have much :ROFLMAO:, so the frugal side of me comes out.

I do all the kid pick-ups and drop-offs so I don't think she needs a crossover like originally intended. I don't think anyone has ever sat in the back seats either. But thanks for the idea on looking around on differing vehicles. We have options since we have the Highlander for family duties, road trip duties, etc.
 
If you sell it for 39k and that could be a big if you still would be losing money albeit not much. You wouldn't recover the money you've spent on driving it if only for 1500 miles.
 
Remember, any used car you get to replace it will cost about 30% more than it would have in 'the before times'
 
...I had to get a replacement vehicle (2022 Highlander....

I just don't think I have the confidence nor the time to deal with private parties. And on the flip side, I too would feel more comfortable with the working with a business than an individual.
I would need a secondary vehicle. It is just that it will rack up very few miles every year so I was thinking maybe a brand new car wasn't the most ideal purchase for this kind of utilization. Haven't really looked at used car prices but I do hear that prices have skyrocketed.

You are looking at it with the same lens that I do. Having a brand new vehicle and only putting 5,000 miles in 5 years seems like a waste. The depreciation per mile would be atrocious. I didn't grow up with much, still don't have much :ROFLMAO:, so the frugal side of me comes out.
Well, it sounds to me like you could afford to keep the CX-5 but your inner frugal voice is trying to enforce fiscal discipline. I get that. To satisfy that voice, however, you'd have to get an older used car.

Perhaps that inner voice (now audible) has come to gather arguments to present to the wife? ;) Would she have a problem driving a 2014 Corolla 20 miles per week or be embarrassed having it sit in the driveway? Maybe an older red Mazda3 would do the trick? Something tells me that if an interior color or the position of the cup holders tips the balance in dumping a $39,000 car, that Corolla would be tough sell.

I also don't like getting into private sales. Just put it out to bid with dealers. It's a seller's market in used as well as new. Some sellers around here got their best bids from Carvana, some were happy with what CarMax gave them. Take a Saturday and hit a couple of Mazda dealers and maybe a couple of others and see what they bid. Just about any dealer would want it on their lot these days. With 3k miles on it they don't have much to inspect or suspect so you should get offers pretty quick. Research what's fair in your market in advance; kbb.com would give you some idea.

Why not Just hit up Carvana and Vroom on-line to start? It looks quick and dirty, costs nothing. One poster claimed Carvana was as easy as they say--Carvana came back with the bid, he agreed, they showed up with a tow trailer, inspected it for 5 minutes, handed him a check, and hauled it away.

When doing the math, keep in mind the dealer you sell it to will pay have to pay sales tax which which takes a bite out of the offer. For example, lets say a comparable listing is asking $42,000 + tax and you think he'll sell it for that amount or maybe $41,000 + tax, and he'll make $2000-$3000 if he buys yours for $39,000. Well, no. If the tax rate is 8% ($3,120 on $39,000), that's money the dealer pays to the state and that projected profit margin goes poof. Dealers don't go poof on margins nor should they. Private parties are the same in this respect--the buyer would have to pay the tax to get it registered.

A few states don't have a sales tax on cars. Happy days for those residents. CA is not one of them as you are well aware.
 
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