Advice on my 2003 Murano

jkbarry · Jun 2, 2005

I'm trying to decide if it makes sense to take a loss on my 2003 Murano to move into a 2005.

2 Years ago I purchased my 2003 Murano SL (2WD, Leather) and I now have 45,000 miles on the vehicle. My payoff is about $24,000. A dealer told me the best I could possibly expect for a 2003 trade in was $17,000.

Now that I am at 45,000 I need to replace my tires (might need to do this anyway if I trade it in), and I have some concern over the # of miles I am putting on the car. The Murano is in excellent condition except for a scratch on the left hand side (someone keyed me) but I'm going to get that fixed soon anyway (whichever way I go).

Should I look to do a dealer trade on the 2003, sell the 2003 privately through the newspaper or just wait another year and see where I am?

Any comments are appreciated and thanks

TheGymKid · Jun 2, 2005

jkbarry said:
I'm trying to decide if it makes sense to take a loss on my 2003 Murano to move into a 2005.

2 Years ago I purchased my 2003 Murano SL (2WD, Leather) and I now have 45,000 miles on the vehicle. My payoff is about $24,000. A dealer told me the best I could possibly expect for a 2003 trade in was $17,000.

Now that I am at 45,000 I need to replace my tires (might need to do this anyway if I trade it in), and I have some concern over the # of miles I am putting on the car. The Murano is in excellent condition except for a scratch on the left hand side (someone keyed me) but I'm going to get that fixed soon anyway (whichever way I go).

Should I look to do a dealer trade on the 2003, sell the 2003 privately through the newspaper or just wait another year and see where I am?

Any comments are appreciated and thanks

You need to list and weight out the pros and cons for you. For example...

cost - cost of replacing tires selling and what it will cost you to buy new.
New - nothing as nice as new.
New - I understand there are few differences that might make you happy / or you will say I don't care... such as the back wiper working better / the steering working better at slow speeds / the sunroof is a little larger.
New - might get options you didn't get before that you want.

I don't know... you figure out what is important to you.

I sold my 2 year old Maxima with only 10,000 miles on it for 10,000 cheaper then I paid for it. The person who bought it got a great deal. I was happy to see it go and get a brand new Murano. It cost me more to sell and buy new then to keep... but I'm so much happier now... can't put a price on that.

Just my opinion.... :2:

hfelknor · Jun 2, 2005

"Should I look to do a dealer trade on the 2003, sell the 2003 privately through the newspaper or just wait another year and see where I am? "

IF you can take the crap associated with selling it yourself, you should do so.
When I went to trade in my Chrysler the Nissan Dealer said he would give me $5000 for it.
I sold it to the first caller for $7200 ($700 less than my listing). Then I had to tell the next 10 people that it was sold.
I DID put a big ad in the paper. Cost me about $100 for 5 days. I canceled the ad of course which kept the number of responses to a minimum but got no refund........

Can't help you with the decision to make the move.

Gym Kid - Tell me about the larger Sunroof.
Do you mena it opens up all the way or is it actually a different unit that is bigger.
and whether or not it is bigger, does the 05 sunroof open all the way?
(I consider the sunroof on the 03 to be a joke. A glaring example of why Nissan is an amateur car company.)

Homer

9495 · Jun 2, 2005

hfelknor said:
Gym Kid - Tell me about the larger Sunroof.
Do you mena it opens up all the way or is it actually a different unit that is bigger.
and whether or not it is bigger, does the 05 sunroof open all the way?
(I consider the sunroof on the 03 to be a joke. A glaring example of why Nissan is an amateur car company.)

Homer

I haven't measured my '05 sunroof, but it does NOT open all the way. I think it sticks out about 4" like people mentioned on the other threads.

I could measure the overall opening tonight if you're interested.

zebelkhan · Jun 2, 2005

jkbarry said:
I'm trying to decide if it makes sense to take a loss on my 2003 Murano to move into a 2005.

In general, the largest depreciation of vehicles happen in the first 2 years of owning it. So if you keep it for another year, you probably will see a better overall return. For that reason I personally do not sell my cars that soon, unless there is an overwelming reason why I should. If the car is in a great shape, and I have to sell it, I would sell it to a private party. Check your major local papers and see what the other MO's similar to yours go for and decide if it is worth your trouble. Last car I traded in, a 2001 4-Runner with 41k miles, brought in $5,000 less than what they were being sold for privately (my wife just had to have her new car, right there and then), and last car I sold to a private party (when not under pressure from wife - 1997 Honda CRV with 170k miles) brought in $4,000 more than what the dealer was willing to give me.

TheGymKid · Jun 2, 2005

hfelknor said:
Gym Kid - Tell me about the larger Sunroof.
Do you mena it opens up all the way or is it actually a different unit that is bigger.
and whether or not it is bigger, does the 05 sunroof open all the way?
(I consider the sunroof on the 03 to be a joke. A glaring example of why Nissan is an amateur car company.)

Homer

Shall we measure up?

I believe the overall size of the sunroof is a little bigger now, not how much it opens. To be 100% accurate we can measure it... the whole sunroof and as well as how much it opens. (Or Corin can do it if he would like, I see he offered already.)

Althought, between the sunroof not opening all the way and the wind deflector on there, the opening is half the size of it's potential.

SugarRushMurano · Jun 2, 2005

In my opinion...

From financial perspective, it does not worth to trade in an 03 murano for an 05. You already took a big hit on the depreciation during the first 2 yrs of owning it. Keep the 03 for a yr or two and trade it in with the all new murano (2007?) or some other all new vehicles that may soon to come out.

From the vehicle improvement perspective, personally I dont think the 05s is that much better than the 03s. It still have same ride quality, same engine, same general shape from outside. There are good fixes made on 05, i admit. But ask youself, do you really need those fixes? The 03 serves you well right?

From happinees perspective, life is short get whatever you want and enjoy it! As long as you can afford the 05 swap, it is only money :4: .

Happiness is relative. Recently, there is a good thread in this forum: "150,000 people will want your ride". I guess having an 03 still warrant my happiness than not having a MO rite?

hfelknor · Jun 2, 2005

OK.
My 03 sunroof is 18 3/4" measured on the outside, from back to front.
And 34" from side to side.

Of course it only opens up to 11 3/4" by 29" on the inside. :3:

And the 05 is..............?

Homer

jaak · Jun 2, 2005

Re: In my opinion...

SugarRushMurano said:
From financial perspective, it does not worth to trade in an 03 murano for an 05. You already took a big hit on the depreciation during the first 2 yrs of owning it. Keep the 03 for a yr or two and trade it in with the all new murano (2007?) or some other all new vehicles that may soon to come out.

Careful, I said this to someone once and instantly became their enemy!!!

I've even considered looking for a year old loaded 2006, if I can get a good deal, in 2007.

9495 · Jun 2, 2005

hfelknor said:
OK.
My 03 sunroof is 18 3/4" measured on the outside, from back to front.
And 34" from side to side.

Of course it only opens up to 11 3/4" by 29" on the inside. :3:

And the 05 is..............?

Homer

Measured it during lunch.

For 2005:
Overall exterior opening: 34" by 19"
"Effective" opening (the actual hole size): 29" by 12"
When open, looking down from the top, the window is visible for 4.5". That's quite a bit of real estate for this opening.

So it looks like there was no change to the size in the 2005. The only people that have a larger opening are the lucky devils that have the motor that will open the window farther.

10413 · Jun 2, 2005

I'm waiting to see what the 2006 MO holds in store for us. If it's really great, I might try and replace my 04 SE with an 06 SL. If the 2006 isn't anything spectacularly great, then I'll probably wait for the 07's.

hfelknor · Jun 2, 2005

Corin - Good.

I am REALLY PO'd about the Sunroof and would have probably been tempted to trade if the damn thing had measured 36" by 24" and opened all the way. It would have probably cost me a lot of money.

Homer

dmako · Jun 2, 2005

Wow... my opening measured from the outside is 13 1/2 inches. A 2003

Corin said:
Measured it during lunch.

For 2005:
Overall exterior opening: 34" by 19"
"Effective" opening (the actual hole size): 29" by 12"
When open, looking down from the top, the window is visible for 4.5". That's quite a bit of real estate for this opening.

So it looks like there was no change to the size in the 2005. The only people that have a larger opening are the lucky devils that have the motor that will open the window farther.

Halo · Jun 2, 2005

Selling a car yourself depends a bunch on what the selling price is. Cars that are relatively easy to sell generally do so for under 10K. Once you are in the mid teens or above, you will get a lot few callers and a lot more lookie-loos because the price gets into the range of at least SOME new cars.

Trading is always going to be a loss. Dealers want to make money on your trade in addition to the car they are selling and will screw you four ways from Tuesday on the trade-in value. I say keep it for a couple of more years. By MY 2007, I'll bet there'll be a bunch more X-over SUVs out there competing for your $ and the MO will be old news. :2:

ivnurse · Jun 8, 2005

12,000 dollar trade in Value

I just got my trade in appraisal. I do have 85, 000 miles but it is in great shape.
They are only willing to give me $12,000.

I would have hoped that this vehicle would have had a better resale value.

But it has a crap resale value.

Randy

Eric L. · Jun 8, 2005

Re: 12,000 dollar trade in Value

ivnurse said:
I just got my trade in appraisal. I do have 85, 000 miles but it is in great shape.
They are only willing to give me $12,000.

I would have hoped that this vehicle would have had a better resale value.

But it has a crap resale value.

Randy

Well its also missing a $6000 transmission. Sorry to hear about your CVT troubles. Good luck with your next vehicle.

ivnurse · Jun 8, 2005

Eric that was with the new transmission

No that appraisal was with the new transmission.
Really I hope that you all have good luck with your Mo's.
I just would not count on it. Nissan North America was no help at all. Said they were not mechanics and did not know that the transmission was not serviceable.
Randy

TexInFla · Jun 9, 2005

It sounds like you've had really bad luck with your Murano. And you've had even worse luck with your dealership. I love my Murano, and my experiences with the dealership haven't necessarily been wonderful but haven't been nearly as bad as yours. Even so, the one thing that has made me consider buying a car other than another Murano has been the problems I've had with the dealership. I wish NNA would get its act together and whip their dealers into shape.

That being said, I think the biggest problem with the resale value of your Murano is the astronomical number of miles you've put on it. 85,000 miles in 20 months is roughly the equivalent of driving completely cross country and back each month, and that's about 5 times the normal amount of miles expected for a vehicle. No matter how immaculate you keep your car, that amount of mileage is going to turn off almost every potential buyer of your used car. They're going to assume that, with that many miles, your car was driven hard and that there must be some problem that the nice condition of your vehicle is hiding.

I ran the figures on the Kelley Blue Book website, and their trade-in value for your car with 85,000 miles is roughly $12,500, depending on what extras you got. By contrast, my 2003 Murano with 28,500 miles has a trade-in value of over $20,800. Most dealerships use the Black Book instead of KBB, and the Black Book tends to be even more conservative, in my experience. So, as awful as your dealership sounds, it seems that they were right on target with their $12,000 assessed value of your 85,000-mile Murano.

dklanecky1 · Jun 9, 2005

Just guessing here, but to drive 85,000 miles in that short of time, Randy almost has to have some kind of mileage re-imbursement program.

Even if you only got the tax deduction that the IRS allowed (roughly .37 cents per mile over the last couple of years), you could potentially break even, depending on your tax bracket.

85,000 x .37=$31,450 x your income tax rate = savings.

Now that doesn't excuse the relatively low trade in offer, but it's probably not as big a financial hit as it first appears.

(I speak from a similar experience, the high mileage kind).

ivnurse · Jun 9, 2005

Mileage and Trade-IN

Hey guys,
No I am not crying in my beer. I have been well paid for the time I have had the Murano. I own my business and drive alot as you can see. I get paid for the hours I am in the car so I am not crying about the money. Just sort of feel that the value would have been higher. When I looked up the trade-in on KBB I got $17000.00 even with the mileage and with the options added. Edmunds was slightly higher.
Believe me I have enjoyed my Murano. Big smiles on my face when driving. I would not put anyone off on owning one. I would just advice the extended warranty and a good service department. I hope that my CVT was just a fluke and that you all have many years of valuable fun with your MO.
I have had 20 months with mine (which means 4 to 5 years for most of you). So please do not think I am bashing the MO. Just bashing Nissan and My dealer.
Randy

Advice on my 2003 Murano

jkbarry

TheGymKid

hfelknor

9495

zebelkhan

TheGymKid

SugarRushMurano

hfelknor

jaak

9495

10413

hfelknor

dmako

Halo

ivnurse

Eric L.

ivnurse

TexInFla

dklanecky1

ivnurse

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