Jud Landis, a neighbor, sent me the link to this 2016 Kia Soul For Sale. I’m impressed by the mileage, and also impressed at the asking price. Is the used car market this tight? Will someone really spend something close to this for a car with that kind of miles on it? And still sporting the GO-Taxi signage?
I’m also a bit surprised that a Toyota dealer is keeping something like this in stock, as well as that quite vintage Blazer S-10. I thought new car dealers typically auctioned off anything below a certain price level. Oh, never mind…
Here’s the pertinent details. Maybe I’ll go to their website and see what they want for the S-10 Blazer, just for the hell of it.
There it is, a genuine CC 1991 S-10 Blazer with 218k miles priced at $6,995. And it’s a one-owner Blazer at that.
Which would you take?
Since the next vehicle I buy is the student car for the kids, I guess I’d take the Kia but both those prices look to be at least double what they should be.
The market being what it is, maybe they’re keeping them around for a few weeks to see if they can get a ridiculous price for them before sending them to auction. My father in law always said there was way more money in used than new for the dealership.
Wow. That’s a tough decision. I guess the Kia, knowing that things will fail due to mileage, whereas in the GM they’ll fail due to mileage AND time. Finding a replacement low mileage drivetrain and parts, especially interior, for the Kia is easy, whereas the same would be tougher for the Blazer. I’m glad I’m not in a position to be forced to make this choice though…I’d rather be choosing which one to feature as a Curbside Recycling post!
Edit: I certainly don’t want to get into a bidding war with DougD for the Kia though…
At least they’re being honest about the Soul’s history, hopefully the dealer-prep people will take the taxi markings off for whoever buys it. That being said, remember the plumber in Texas whose traded-in, still-marked truck wound up as an ISIS technical?
Both of those are crazy to me. I guess it helps to remind one’s self that these are asking prices not selling prices.
My father inlaw says if you not going to sell it, you may as well not sell it for as much as you can.
Used car prices are getting nuttier by the day. My wife works for an used car wholesale auction. She saw a Telluride go for over MSRP with 5k miles on it. After wards I found this online and several more like it.
https://www.carfax.com/vehicle/5XYP5DHC9MG134978
My local Toyota dealers lot has been almost empty for months now. They get a truck load in and their gone in days. I noticed the Nissan lot is usually pretty full but then I noticed it’s filled with Sentras and Altimas and very few CUV’s.
If you want a deal on a used car, drive thru the lot and see what they have the most of – supply and demand – and focus on those cars, ’cause I can guarantee you that they want those spots filled with more popular and more profitable vehicles. It’s a good time to be shopping for a sedan.
Yeah if you need a car you will get a better deal on a sedan but even they have pricing way higher then 18 months ago.
Wow. At the height of the pandemic last year I bought a 2018 Soul+ with 34,000 miles on it for $12,399. Granted, I’ve noticed that pricing has gone a bit crazy in the ensuing months, and I bought from the now-defunct Hertz Car Sales very shortly before they closed up shop, but that pricing is absurd. What are these people smoking?
(I should add that the vehicle was totaled just a few months later in a frontal collision. I was not the driver. I wish I’d sprung for the pricier model with frontal collision avoidance. The Soul held up very admirably in my opinion. The driver and only occupant walked away unharmed. The collision occurred at about 50MPH, and the structural integrity of the little Soul really held up. We haven’t replaced the car yet, but I’d strongly consider another one. Great little car. )
Word is that it’s a sellers market due to factory shut downs due to COVID hence not enough new cars to satisfy demand. Take it or leave it as some one else will come and buy. I would expect used cars prices to soften once production figures are up to pre epidemic levels. Yep that Kia price is crazy for the mileage, near end of life. The Blazer more of an investment even with the high miles as an older vehicle.
All the same scenario in Europe.
It’s Eugene. They are smoking the very finest.
I think you owe it to us, Paul, to head over there and test drive both of them and report back to us. The S10 is more of a CC, but it’s not every day you have the opportunity to drive a car like that Kia with a half million miles on it. Besides, if you show up in the lifted xB and explain that you’re looking for a a daily driver now that your xB is your offroad vehicle, they’ll realize you’re the perfect demographic fit for an ex-taxi Kia Soul.
Given that this car is going to need a heart transplant fairly soon many might ask what the dealer is smoking as it must be pretty good stuff.
As for the Telluride above selling over MSRP, at an auction, would say that not only are used car prices nuts but also that buyers are nuts too.
The person selling a car like that with that kind of mileage might be sentimental toward it and does NOT wat to part with it, but is being nagged by someone to get rid of it. The manipulative tactic used here would be asking an absurd price for it full-well knowing that nobody in their right mind would shell out money for a junkbox that ready for the boneyard. My experience has showed me that when something makes no sense whatsoever, there is usually a method behind the madness.
It’s a large Toyota dealership selling these, I don’t think they are sentimental about it and doubt they want to keep the cars. Just waiting for a sucker.
Exactly. Twenty years ago, when I was between careers, I worked as a salesperson at a Ford dealership, new and used. Any car that came in on trade, was immediately put on the used lot; the rule of thumb that was rigidly adhered to was trade-in allowance + five thousand dollars. If the vehicle was still around after a couple weeks, it would go to auction. I had people coming back at ME, yelling about their $500 trade-in 200K 10 year old beater being advertised for $5500 lol. I would have to gently remind them that 1) they could have advertised and sold the vehicle themselves; 2) that the dealership is in business to make a profit; and 3) it is merely an asking, it will likely not sell for that price. Although a lot of them did. To lower-income folks who got very upside down in their newer car lines and and wanted a way out. A lower payment for the next seven years. Maintenance costs would eat them alive though.
I’d pick the Blazer over the KIA ’cause it can pull a trailer, but I’d offer $3,999 cash.
I guess this dealership has no fear of any backlash with their pricing policies.
Personally, I wouldn’t do business with a company like this.
But maybe someone will buy these vehicles for $1,000 below the asking price and brag about what a great negotiator they are!
One might say that this is a sign that the apocalypse is at hand, but it only does so if they actually sell those things at the prices they are asking.
Lithia is a national multibrand dealer juggernaut. I’d wonder what their other stores, or corporate management, are doing. I checked the website of our local Lithia, a Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram-Fiat dealer.
There was nothing this extreme, but still plenty of negotiation room. I even noted a Chrysler 300 AWD that looked plausible.
Wow! Agree completely. Most reputable used car dealers, especially ones that have a new-car Dealership line, such as a Toyota dealer, would ship this s**t off to a Wholesaler before you could say “beater”. Having worked for several dealerships as Manager of the Body Shop, (including a Toyota-Lexus dealer…) they don’t want to risk their reputation and good name, by selling something that is likely to fail, and fail soon.
Unless it was something really rare, or very nice and hard to find, (vintage 50’s, 60’s, 70’s convertible, for example) I can’t fathom why they would risk their reputation on something like this… unless it was done on a dare by a comedian in the Used Car Dept. Both the Kia and the Blazer seem to be at least 4 times their usual value. I can only guess, that they believe the ‘91 S-Blazer to be a desirable, restorable piece, and maybe it IS in Western Oregon, but still my opinion is that it is waaay over-priced.
Greed perhaps having a trade, in of to auction ,beater up front on the forecourt. Not worth risking a good reputation for a few bucks more.
If this is car is crazy money. How much are the good ones here?.
Since I moved to Minnesota from the UK, I’ve not only been stunned by used car prices (and apparently it’s getting worse), but by the junk main dealers will sell.
When I was car shopping 3 years ago, a Lincoln (!) dealer in a Minneapolis suburb was advertising a rusty and significantly bashed 2003ish Grand Marquis for about double what a nice one would cost in a private sale. I’m surprised they’re not worried what people shopping for shiny Navigators might think of them.
This is getting more common as cars have gotten more expensive.
I see way more 10-15 year old cars on new dealers lots now than 10 years ago. Alot of it is aimed at bad credit buyers who will pay ridiculous markups. You also have more banks now willing to take loans on older cars. Back in the day many capped at 7 years old, not anymore. My bank caps at 7 years old for conventional auto loans but also offers high risk loans on cars up to 12 years old with a much higher APR. Also amazingly some one mentioned to me that banks have also started floor planning these older cars for dealers.
I see people freaking out about 6 and 7 year loan terms on new cars, but it’s pretty easy to get a 4-5 year loan on a 10 year old car with 150k miles on it so 6-7 on a new car seems like nothing.
Grand Marquis are hot right now with the big wheel crowd.
I have been watching used car prices go crazy lately. These prices don’t surprise me a bit. This looks like the perfect time to lease a new car because the residuals have to be really, really strong.
Used car prices are beyond NUTTY right now. I’d hate to be car shopping at the moment.
Yep, I’m hearing about totaled cars (late models mind you) going for 10-20 and even 30k at auction, and going to states with more lenient rebuilding laws. Not sure who want a M5 BMW with a branded title at 40K miles but a dealer paid 29k for one near me recently.
Makes keeping my old 300 running an easy choice. Hopefully pricing comes back to normal at some point.
It’s all a bit nuts.
Either the prices have an mistaken extra digit at the end or the odometers do.
No thank you.
With taxi livery too? On a Kia (no)Soul?
The Blazer’s paint is so worn it looks pinkish.
People are silly, aren’t they?
Having done some time in the auto business, outside services often photograph and upload every vehicle, even if there is no intention of retailing it. Most large dealerships have fairly tight standards regarding the condition of vehicles they will direct sell to customers. If someone came in and wanted to purchase one of these, it would be easy to say that “it will have to pass the shop first.” Small odds of that. The potential bad word of mouth and general headache aren’t worth a couple of grand to a large dealer.
Dealers have been telling us here used prices are rising due to supply/demand issues which as usual is a pack of lies used lots are bursting at the seams and storage lots of new are quite full the rental industry is dumping cars due to lack of tourist demand, which part of that drives prices up.
That Kia must have gold plated chassis rails or something really special about it or is there a prize for the highest mileage one of those can achieve.
Hey my uncle is a corrupt Nigerian general, I’ll give you a million if you just send me $9995 so I can etc etc.
Someone needs to go in and offer them $995 for that, pretend they thought it was a typo.
Even if that were the asking price I wouldn’t want it, unless I had one in my drive with 30,000 on the clock and a tree lying on top of it.
This is actually raising my blood pressure.
I had a quick look for Souls on “Edinburgh Gumtree” to see what they are going for in ze old country. Found a 2017 with 9000 miles for 8795 which is probably around 75 cents at the post Brexit exchange rate. Even Carvana has stateside 2016 Souls for 15990 with 70,000 or less on them.
Nice find. If you had told me thirty-five years ago as I was careening through the streets of Seoul in a Hyundai Pony, that a Korean car would go over 400K miles in 2021, I’d have never believed it. Well done Korean manufacturers…
The S10 is a documented GM Deadly Sin. You’d only buy one if you enjoy getting stranded and replacing things that have fallen off.