Sure, finding a used Aston Martin V8 for fewer greenbacks than an economy sedan sounds like finding a needle in a haystack. While it might be a rare occurrence, it’s not as rare as you think. Take for example, a recent article written by Jalopnik. One of the writers, Freddy, ended up snagging a used Aston Martin V8 Vantage for the price of your run-of-the-mill family sedan from one of his buddies. Sounds crazy, right? Well, in the world of cars, it’s not as crazy as you might think. You see, there’s this little thing called depreciation. In a nutshell, depreciation is an ongoing process where a car continuously loses its value year-after-year until it’s eventually worth zero dollars on paper. While depreciation impacts new and used cars alike, it hits luxury models harder.
Still, we’re talking about an Aston Martin, which means the price is around what a loaded family sedan would cost. So, how’d he do it? By doing it the right way.
Depreciation Hits Luxury Harder
Before Freddy (or his buddy) got his hands on this Aston Martin, there were other forces at work already laying the groundwork for this sweet deal. Primarily, that groundwork was depreciation.
The minute a new car leaves the lot, it loses a chunk of its value. After about five years of ownership, a car will have lost around 60% of its value total. Meaning when the current owner tries to sell it, they’re not going to get anywhere near what he or she originally paid for it. Good news for the savvy used car buyer, who can work this to his or her advantage.
This is especially true of used luxury cars, which lose more than 60% of their overall value after five years. It varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, but just know it translates to a lot of potential savings for used car shoppers.
The Price
The price that Freddy paid for the Aston Martin V8 Vantage is proof of that. Well, it’s actually his friend, Doug, who paid the initial upfront price of $45,000. Not bad at all for a prestigious luxury model with only 40,000 miles and the factory guarantee of performance still intact.
The car had been on numerous road trips with Doug, and he agreed to price it somewhere between $36,000 to $40,000, depending on the mileage when it came time for Freddy to buy it. Freddy ended up getting it for $36,000, less than what a loaded Toyota Camry would cost brand new.
Damn.
How Did Freddy Pull It Off?
Still, that’s a big chunk of change to drop on a used Aston Martin. How did he pull it off? Well, it’s simple: he did it the right way. He didn’t rush into the purchase, and he used that year’s time to save every extra penny he could. Freddy even says that he didn’t have anywhere near $40 grand kicking around when he first learned the Aston Martin would be for sale in a year or so.
Want to hear something even more impressive? He did it all without a loan. It was his own money that he scraped together over the next year.
He didn’t end up broke at the end of it either because he did it the right way. Whether it’s an expensive luxury car, more affordable family sedan, truck, SUV, a new or used model, the car buying process is the same: Take your time, save up the money for what you can afford IN ADVANCE, and then car shop when you have a healthy sum in your pocket.
Follow this rule, and maybe you’ll even land yourself a sweet car like Freddy did.
