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Yeah. My friend went to test drive the Atlas and Passport today. Each dealership had only 2 of each model in stock. The VW dealer said that they weren't taking ANY orders for the Atlas and they didn't expect replenishment until late August. That pushes a lot of people into the used market to get exactly the car they want. Couple that with the insane trade-in prices the new-wave online dealers are offering and there is a bubble forming. Carvana gave me $8,500 for a base base base model 2014 Cruze back in August, and they bought the 2013 Encore with 100k miles on it for $9,000. Back then, that was $2,500 more than any other dealer would give me on trade-in, about equal to a private party sale, so I sold it to Carvana and bought the Chrysler 300C elsewhere. Just for giggles I went and looked up what KBB says a 2013 Encore with 100k miles and the same options should be. They're now saying that it's worth $9,200 in trade and $11,200 private party.

More updates: Little more warranty work. I wanted to address the creaking/groaning noise in the front suspension before the warranty was out. They wound up replacing the lower control arms. Poor thing also got rear ended again. Not sure how people can't see a big red van. Thankfully it was a minor accident and just the rear hatch and fascia needed to be replaced. Ironically neither accident has resulted in any damage to the trailer hitch. Minor accident or not, Carfax is still going to show two accidents so I can't wait to see how that affects the value when we sell it in a year or so. ? Still pulls the pop-up camper like a champ! And it gets 20+ mpg while doing it. After putting 32k miles on it in the first 22 months we owned it, due to COVID and subsequently working from home, it has only had around 4k miles put on it in the last 15 months or so. My lease is almost up on my Cadillac so as soon as the COVID shutdown started, that became the primary family vehicle to try and get as many miles on it as we can before turning it back in. Still a possibility I will buy it instead of turning it in but if we can get a decent lease on a Canyon Denali, that may wind up replacing it.

Sedans in general do not hold their value well, however, this market has gotten so wonky that even my 2017 300C has gone up in value since I bought it in October. Trade-in is higher than what I paid. Private party is around $4k higher than what I paid. My 2013 Avalanche LTZ has increased in value enough that even though it is nearly 9 model years old, private party is over the original LS base price by $2k and $5k higher than what I paid in August and 12,000 miles ago. Trade in value is also over what I paid, but not by as much of course. I don't expect that it will ever return to the $48k sticker price it had when new... but hovering at $10k in depreciation over 9 years... well beat that with a stick. Toyota isn't the only one with good resale. BTW, the ES only comes in AWD with the 203 hp I4 engine. If you want the V6 it is FWD only. They "brag" about the ES250 AWD F-Sport 0-60 being 8.6 seconds on the website.

My main creative "hub", if you will, when I'm not working my other job.

Most of us are talking but when certain self righteous asshats act like they know better than everyone else simply because of a certain car they drive (and the transmission involved), and then tells EVERYONE ELSE that they are full of $h! and excuses, I take exception because clearly that particular person doesn't know what the hell they're talking about. My "niceness" ends right there.

It's a piece of CRAP. Pickup drivers are outright laughing at a dirt bike hanging 1/3rd out of the bed like that. Ridiculous.

"Can't we all just get along?" ? Folk in here need to chill; none of us are making industry policy here... we're just talking.

Navigating between forums in particular is quite slooooooowww.....saving this post took about 2 min to reload. Notifications just sit and spin...

In an effort to get this back on track, I am just going to leave this little Tesla Y vs Ford Mustang Mach-E article right here. Go ahead and act like Tesla isn't sweating the competition and remember what's been said here (repeatedly) about their quality that clearly hasn't been fixed after more than a decade in existence for Tesla. People notice stuff like that, you know? https://www.yahoo.com/autos/comparison-test-2021-ford-mustang-110000731.html

THAT is sooooo 4 score and 7 years ago... Clue #2

In case you were wonderin' what that pic above is for and why I posted it. Take a peek inside and see who sits in there and that would be clue #1.

Because some folks have more money than sense, if you ask me. I paid $12,800 for my 2015 Flex w/88K miles on it a year and half ago. It has 105K now and I could sell it for $15K private party. It has gone up 15% this year. This is happening with just about every used car out there. That 4Runner is not unique in that.

I hear ya Drew. I dont necessarily need two vehicles as my wife is a stay at home wife. But having 2 cars in the family does help to make life easie. Therefore, even if I had a hot commodity truck or SUV/CUV, I wouldnt be parting ways with it. Its like the housing market right now. In the Canadian markets of Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal anyway. House prices of old and new construction have soared through the roof before Covid but especially during the Covid era. But like you said, any money you make selling, you have to dish it out and more on replacing...

Any increase in trade value you get is more than off-set by the increase of the cost of the vehicle you buy to replace it. So, no, it's absolutely not worth it right now. The only way you benefit is if you're just selling and not replacing and you really get hosed if you're buying but not trading. I wasn't clairvoyant or anything when I did my transactions (the Avalanche I wanted regardless and would have paid more for it if that's what carvana priced it at) it was just good timing. For the Chrysler I just happened on a fantastic deal on an off-lease car with low mileage.... it was still experiencing Chrysler depreciation when I got it and I sold the Encore on the upswing. Pure luck.

Almost make me wanna privately sell both of my cars... Then I realize. BOTH of my cars are just that...cars. Sedans. The diseased, stay-the-phoque-away from me zombies of the car world. Plus...Ill need to buy new vehicles to replace the ones that I just sold...if I even could sell them to begin with. And there are none to begin with. And Ill have to over pay anyway. So what is the point? I might as well keep them, pray they dont catastrophically fail me or total them and Im fine... Yeah...Im good. Nothing out there still to entice me to trade-up or down. Ill like where I am with my cars. Paid for a while back. NO monthly payments. Both cars are rock solid reliable. Both are in good condition.

Congrats on getting it loose! How much of the literature do you have on this car?

Made 4x4 'pestle' out of wood, beat harder on the pistons, about 10 times in 2 circuits, and they broke free. Worked the crank back & forth, until I had free movement and numerous rotations. I suspect that the 2 cylinders that did NOT drain the Marvel Mystery Oil out were the culprits. Got the trans disconnected and separated. Happiness. Roto HydraMatic has no torque converter!

Private sale value of my GMC is $12K more than I paid for it 2 months ago. Have read dozens upon dozens of truck owners getting offers 6-12 grand higher (from dealers) than they paid over the last 5 years. That's blowing toyoter's numbers out of the water.

I think it has AWD now, might not have back then. The base Continental was front drive with a 305 hp V6, just like the ES350, and Toyota engines are more reliable and Toyota/Lexus have far better resale value. The Continental’s difference was having the turbo V6 and AWD and that was an advantage over the ES, but not over any of the Germans. And as an example of how crazy good Toyota resale is, I wrote and estimate and ran a total loss value on a 2018 4Runner SR5 with 53k miles, and it was $43,800 (average of NADA and market value). A 2021 4Runner with the same trim and same options has a sticker price of $43,379. And I have twice this month had 2019 RAV4 hybrids come in for more than original msrp. There is no Lincoln on earth that after 3 years and 53k miles went up in value, Lincoln resale value is awful.

Yep- also looks like it is upgrading itself as well. Curious to see what is in the works……

Moved a second 24 inch monitor to my work desk, needed more screen space...been busy the last month.

The ES was not a better vehicle than the Continental even by SMK standards. The ES is a Camry De Lux and nothing more, even using the same V6 the Camry gets. It doesn't come with AWD, it doesn't come with a turbo V6 and the interior is nowhere near as plush as the Continental.

Which one is the benchmark? Can't be 3 benchmarks...

Well, I can see the the Fusion and Journey are discontinued, along with the Spark. The Caddies actually could use some cash on the hood, as they are still overpriced for what they are. The Ecosport and Trax just prove folks want the bigger stuff to drive around in. (Though we like our Trax) The others are sedans, and the Compass is simply played out, and overpriced for what it is a well. Will be curious to see what else ends up on that list….

Their current portfolio is extremely competitive with everything it their respective price range. They don't build race cars, they built true luxury cars. Quiet, comfortable, quality materials, pickup/drop off your vehicle for service.

Reminiscing about my childhood and the cars that I liked. I never posted this particular Pontiac anywhere. Never mentioned that I liked it, anywhere. First time. 1970 Catalina There was one in my neighborhood growing up. I think it was a 4 door. I do not think it had a vinyl top. It was the same green colour as this one with the same hub caps Loved the nose Loved the rear

Phenomenal original-condition '63 Catalina. Those clear acrylic steering wheels cost about $1200 to have restored/recast :

I took delivery of the GMC with 110 miles on it. No doubt, it spent some time idling around the body shop, the dealer, etc... plus transport mileage. Anyhoo- then the 400-mile MPG window stated an average of 16.4 MPG. Miles have now doubled to 220, MPG is up to 18.8. Maintaining 65 on level highway, turning about 1250 RPM, instant average MPG hovers around 35. I don't do much highway miles but expect to settle around 22, and that's already 'gravy'. Of course- powertrain is still breaking in. BTW- tho I got it with a 'full' tank, I cannot verify as to the actual fuel level when I started driving it or how many miles was already on it when fueled. Anyway; I myself put 110 miles on it, and it reads I have another 398 miles of range left- that's 508. Calculated max range is 624 miles, so that's probably with no topping off (220 + 398 = 618 miles). Pretty awesome range- I should only be 'charging' my truck once every 20 days.

But I am not talking something bought a year ago at the bottom and selling now in a hot market. I am talking about a car sold in 2018 that had 53k miles put on it, selling for over the 2021 MSRP. Used car market is hot, but 3 year old Lincolns and Fords aren't getting original MSRP like Toyotas can. If people can't find a new car, but want the next best thing, it seems that the market is looking at Toyota.

One and only thing I do agree with you, I should have stopped wasting my time here long time ago. There is only one true enthusiast and a decent poster left here @balthazar . The rest of you are full of sh@t and excuses.

I don't care about year over year, in spring 2020 the new and used car market were both dead. I care about the price of a used car today vs what that car cost new 2-3 years ago. The 2018 Escape has an average price of $21,694, but a 2021 Escape SE is $30k, it still depreciated $9k in 3 years. According to car gurus the 2018 4Runner is selling for $41,830, a brand new 2021 4Runner SR5 Premium with a moonroof has an MSRP of $41,580. Zero depreciation over 3 years, that is what is crazy. And my point is the Lincoln brand does not have this sort of desirability, in that their new vehicles have low sales numbers, and their used ones have poor resale value, because they aren't sought after on the used market either. I'd say only Infiniti has a worse image than Lincoln as far as luxury brands go, and Alfa Romeo is so small in volume, hard to gauge there, overall their image isn't good, but they have some hardcore followers.