Sunday, August 03, 2008

Ditch the Gas Guzzler? Well, Maybe Not Yet


Your neighbors may turn up their noses, but keeping your gas-guzzling sport utility vehicle, or buying one coming off a lease, may be a smart move.

The fact is that not many people want your big vehicle right now, if Friday’s new auto sales data are any indication. Total S.U.V. sales were down 43.3 percent this July from a year ago, according to Autodata, an automotive information services company in Woodcliff Lake, N.J.

As for used vehicles, while they almost always fall in value over time, Jack Nerad, executive editorial director and executive market analyst at Kelley Blue Book, says that the rate of depreciation on large S.U.V.’s over the last six to eight months has been about twice what is normal.

See full Article.