SUV trade-in values, sales are tanking [View All]

[Roland99]

As gas costs rise, buyers shun behemoths, used vehicles head to auction
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/stories/042705dnbustrucks.4e43c448.html

While used-car prices in general are stronger than they have been in five years, the average trade-in values of full-size SUVs are $700 to $1,500 lower than a year ago – and it's the weakest segment in the industry.

High fuel prices and a well-earned reputation as gas guzzlers have cut deeply into big SUVs' stature. The segment has also been hurt by the age of many full-size SUV models and the fact that consumers today have more choices of SUV-like vehicles than ever.

Sales of new full-size SUVs nationally, for example, fell 15.1 percent in the first quarter of this year. Some of the segment's former giants suffered huge drops, with sales of the Chevrolet Suburban falling 29.2 percent, the Chevy Tahoe down 22.5 percent and the Ford Expedition plummeting 26.8 percent.

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Today, when the dealership gets one as a trade-in, it often sends it to a wholesale auction – the destination for cars and trucks a dealer doesn't want.

I'm just :cry: for the SUV owners. No, really. I am.