An Intern's Used-Car Gold

The recent trend of folks choosing efficiency over size in the new-car market isn’t without benefit to a few people. What am I (a humble intern) talking about? My sweet, slightly used 2006 Hyundai Accent with an automatic transmission and air conditioning, of course. If you haven’t figured out my plan yet, I’m trying to sell the thing and am using KickingTires as a selfish plug to do so. 

Here’s my angle: Automakers are having trouble producing enough hybrids for people looking to save on gas, so those out-of-luck people should come groveling to me for this Korean jewel. The new Accents’ sales were up 70% in June, so I figure it should be a slam dunk making money on my 2006.

Aside from my assumptions, though, has the current crisis really turned small cars into gold and my baby Accent into an investment? Kelley Blue Book executive editorial director Jack R. Nerad says think again.

“What we have seen is that used cars are continuing to depreciate,” he said, though he did say that large SUVs and cars are deprecating at a greater rate. Smaller used cars are still losing their value, just at a lesser rate than gas-guzzlers. 

Though it’s harder to track across-the-board sales of used cars, fewer people are buying them, matching the trend of falling new-car sales.

“The general thinking is that if less people are buying new then they must be buying used, but we found that isn’t the case,” Nerad said. Instead, consumers who could least afford a car but were planning to buy used have instead dropped out of the market completely. 

As for my used Accent, it has one of the worst resale-value ratings in the industry. The only small vehicles on the list of cars with the best resale values are the Honda Civic and Mini Cooper S. Bottom line: It’s still best not to think of your car as an investment.