2023 Defender 130, P400, 25K miles, virtually all options including locking rear differential, etc. MSRP $92K. No dings, dents, scratches, smoke, stories, etc. Purchased new - owned 14 months.

Carmax appraisal $62K. That’s a breathtaking loss.

Are people seeing better trade values?

 

You got a wholesale offer for 67.4% of the original retail price after driving the vehicle for 25,000 miles? I know after the pandemic used car prices have been stubbornly high, but pre-pandemic that number would have likely been closer to 50%. Current leasing residual for 2 years and 30k miles is 68% So CarMax isn't too far off

 

One valuation isn't much of a guide. Carmax will always make an offer, if they don't particularly want the vehicle the offer will reflect that. Same with Carvana etc. If they don't want the vehicle the offer is designed to generate the reaction you had.

Different market, but last month the dealer offered mid to late 50s for my low mileage 2021 P400 110 (which had a mid eighties MSRP), and I got an offer from a non-JLR dealer for mid fifties. Not really looking to sell, but I didn't think they were too bad.

 

not the same currency but... new owner of a second hand MY23.5 110 D300 SE with 19,000km's that had been optioned up, came with extended service pack(free servicing for 6 years/warranty extended), build sheet in glovebox had total cost of $150k. 1 year old I bought it for $99k.

coming from a Toyota Landcruiser 200 series that I bought in 2011 for $55k, did 300,000km's in it and sold last week for $55k, seems pretty unreal.

 

That's what I'm thinking. I traded a 2006 Landcruiser 100 series with 240,000 miles for $20K to get the Defender. 33% depreciation in 1 year seems very steep. Even KBB (Kelly Blue Book) was estimating it at $70K which seems more reasonable.

 

Not awesome, is it?

But, I don't think that's too bad considering the overall downturn on the car market lately.

Anecdotally, I've been buying Land Rovers for a long time and you always take a total bath. Pay 90, sell it a few years later for 60. Pay 50, sell it for 33. I remember having the same thought when I bought my first LR3 in 2005 and traded it in 2008 on another LR3. About 2/3 of the price is about normal on a LR when you're still under factory warranty with some miles. Once it's out of warranty -- 50% of sticker is normal. Sorry mate.

Look at BMW 7 series, Mercedes S class. Even worse. Shockingly so. That may improve your mood. At least you weren't "that guy".

And who I really feel sorry for right now is someone who bought a super expensive electric in 2021 or so. Model X/S plaid. Or god forbid, a Mercedes EQS. Laughable.

 

That is in the ballpark for a trade-in appraisal. Private party you could probably get in the low to mid $70k region at the very most. The hype around the Defender has slowed down, and JLR products don't hold their value as well as a Porsche, for example. I took my Defender to Carmax a few months ago to get an estimate for the hell of it, and because it is fun to go there to look at cars and make fun of those blue polo wearing bozos for not knowing the square root of jack **** about cars. Seriously, go there and it is absolutely hilarious how uneducated they are.

They appraised my 2021 110 S that had 34k miles at the time at $52k and the MSRP was $65k. Not bad at all, and I would've sold it to them if I was interested, but I'm not planning on selling my car.

Depreciation isn't something that I am concerned with. Nearly all cars depreciate, and I'd rather enjoy my car than worry about its depreciation.

 

Just think of it this way:

At least you're not a BMW XM owner.
You can get a 2023, < 10k mile XM's for more than 50% off MSRP.

I picked up my 2022 110 P400 SE 25k this past summer for just over $60k with fees and such. My local JLR dealer told me that "for just a little more you could just get a new one" and I told him that I was not going to be the sucker that eats that initial depreciation - to which he replied "well, if you're planning on keeping it a long time, that doesn't matter." And he has a point about long term ownership. That depreciation only hurts when you try to turn the resale/trade-in price into the accounts receivable column when calculating the cost of overall ownership.

Still, the premium of paying an extra $30k to get a 0 mile brand new vehicle isn't a very good value proposition to be honest.

 

One thing I learned about carmax is they are not very good at making Defender appraisals. During the pandemic they were absurdly overpaying initially and then swung in the other direction completely and started underpaying. They're looking at auction numbers but there are so many options that don't align with trim levels like other vehicles that they're very prone to not fully accounting for all of the options you have. If KBB is saying 70 avg trade you'll have no problems finding a dealership to give you that if you want to bail. It's still a terrible price to pay but bailing on 1 year old vehicles is just not meant to be, even two year leases are typically a horrible deal. It's only right now that they're so overburdened by having too much stale new inventory sitting on the lots like F150s and Silverados that you can actually get into a reasonably priced 2 year lease right now.

Bottom line though nothing wrong with giving carmax a look but KBB is what you can be sure most dealerships will give you without too much pushback.

 

KBB values are reasonable, but real world appraisals are coming in around $7-8K lower.
Original MSRP: $92K (Purchased new 14 months ago, 25K miles)
Carmax: $62K
Chevrolet Dealership: $61K
Carvana: $62.8K
CarGurus: $59.5K

I'm just now learning I'm one of the poors. $30,000 evaporating in one year is bonkers. That's an entire 2024 Jeep Wrangler or Toyota Rav4.