2015 Ultimate, sell or not?

[hrdc69]

I have a 2015 3.8 Ultimate I plan to keep around another 2 years. It has 37.5k miles, been a great car no mechanical problems other than normal maintenance and new tires, battery. I bought a Hyundai Platinum warranty for 100k miles which runs out in Dec 2025. I have resigned myself to the fact Hyundai's don't keep their resale value well but that's the price for having a great luxury car.

Having read in the media how used car prices are soaring out of curiosity I took it to be appraised at CarMAX. I was quite surprised to see their appraisal come back at $19.8k as resale values were lower last year. I live in the DC area and granted CarMax prices might be a bit more generous here than elsewhere but I am afraid that in 2 years when I'm ready to sell the resale value will be much lower as this pandemic spike will be long over and prices will have reverted back to their normal downward slide. If I sell now I can get almost $20k plus the pro-rated refund on the warranty.

I have my eye on a 2021 Sonata Hybrid, its as roomy and quiet as the Genesis with newer tech, not as luxurious but I'm ok with that and the gas mileage is great. Lowest price I can get the Sonata Limited now is around $34k. Subtract the $21.5k I can get for the Genesis and warranty thats a difference of $12.5k to get the Sonata if I act now.

If I wait 2 years to act I assume the resale value of the Genesis will be $10k if I'm lucky and around $600 for the warranty. Thats $10.6k I would have to spend and assuming I get a Sonata Hybrid the price of that would probably be around $36k due to inflation. That means in 2 more years I would have to pay almost $20k more to get a Sonata versus paying $8k more to do it now. And that doesn't even take into account ongoing maintenance costs for the next 2 years on the Genesis.

I really do like the Genesis so hate to get rid of it but my finances aren't unlimited so I have to consider them. Any input from the board is welcome.

 

[EdP]

I have a 2015 3.8 Ultimate I plan to keep around another 2 years. It has 37.5k miles, been a great car no mechanical problems other than normal maintenance and new tires, battery. I bought a Hyundai Platinum warranty for 100k miles which runs out in Dec 2025. I have resigned myself to the fact Hyundai's don't keep their resale value well but that's the price for having a great luxury car.

Having read in the media how used car prices are soaring out of curiosity I took it to be appraised at CarMAX. I was quite surprised to see their appraisal come back at $19.8k as resale values were lower last year. I live in the DC area and granted CarMax prices might be a bit more generous here than elsewhere but I am afraid that in 2 years when I'm ready to sell the resale value will be much lower as this pandemic spike will be long over and prices will have reverted back to their normal downward slide. If I sell now I can get almost $20k plus the pro-rated refund on the warranty.

I have my eye on a 2021 Sonata Hybrid, its as roomy and quiet as the Genesis with newer tech, not as luxurious but I'm ok with that and the gas mileage is great. Lowest price I can get the Sonata Limited now is around $34k. Subtract the $21.5k I can get for the Genesis and warranty thats a difference of $12.5k to get the Sonata if I act now.

If I wait 2 years to act I assume the resale value of the Genesis will be $10k if I'm lucky and around $600 for the warranty. Thats $10.6k I would have to spend and assuming I get a Sonata Hybrid the price of that would probably be around $36k due to inflation. That means in 2 more years I would have to pay almost $20k more to get a Sonata versus paying $8k more to do it now. And that doesn't even take into account ongoing maintenance costs for the next 2 years on the Genesis.

I really do like the Genesis so hate to get rid of it but my finances aren't unlimited so I have to consider them. Any input from the board is welcome.

Buying any new car is not a good investment
Buying a car is not subject to normal rationalization no matter how much you say your purchase was.
Yes, your Genesis will be worth less but there is still a cost to buying and operating the Sonata.
You have a warranty so while you have normal wear maintenance you are protected from big hits. That is why you bought it,

Do what makes you feel good and you will be able to justify it in your mind. Most of us have done that at some point. If you want to be sensible, sell the Genesis and buy a 5 year old Corolla. It is still transportation and will get you to the store.

 

[hrdc69]

Buying any new car is not a good investment
Buying a car is not subject to normal rationalization no matter how much you say your purchase was.
Yes, your Genesis will be worth less but there is still a cost to buying and operating the Sonata.
You have a warranty so while you have normal wear maintenance you are protected from big hits. That is why you bought it,

Do what makes you feel good and you will be able to justify it in your mind. Most of us have done that at some point. If you want to be sensible, sell the Genesis and buy a 5 year old Corolla. It is still transportation and will get you to the store.

I suppose I could sell the Genesis and get a bicycle as that would be really sensible LOL. The feedback I was trying to get is that since the resale value of the Genesis is temporarily almost double what it should be, would it make sense to take advantage of that price spike while you can? I probably will keep the Genesis but that blip in value is tempting!

 

[skipgen]

Buying any new car is not a good investment
Buying a car is not subject to normal rationalization no matter how much you say your purchase was.
Yes, your Genesis will be worth less but there is still a cost to buying and operating the Sonata.
You have a warranty so while you have normal wear maintenance you are protected from big hits. That is why you bought it,

Do what makes you feel good and you will be able to justify it in your mind. Most of us have done that at some point. If you want to be sensible, sell the Genesis and buy a 5 year old Corolla. It is still transportation and will get you to the store.

Depreciation is your friend when you buy used... I personally wouldn't have purchased my 2015 5.0 Ultimate for $57K - $26k for lightly used was a no brainer. I always assume that cars will need repairs & keep a savings account for that purpose.

 

[EdP]

I suppose I could sell the Genesis and get a bicycle as that would be really sensible LOL. The feedback I was trying to get is that since the resale value of the Genesis is temporarily almost double what it should be, would it make sense to take advantage of that price spike while you can? I probably will keep the Genesis but that blip in value is tempting!

Electric bike. They are hot sellers right now. My granddaughter uses hers for going to work and other trips around town. About $1400. With what you get for the Genny you can get a bike for everyone in the family.

 

[hrdc69]

Electric bike. They are hot sellers right now. My granddaughter uses hers for going to work and other trips around town. About $1400. With what you get for the Genny you can get a bike for everyone in the family.

I don't have any grandchildren, just the wife and me and two dogs. Getting a bike for me, the wife and two dogs would mean 4 bikes ($1400 x 4 - $5600) meaning I would have about $13k left over after selling Genesis for $20k. Definitely food for thought!

 

[PMCErnie]

Bean counting.

 

[greekgeek]

With your low mile trouble free Genny, why not keep it for another 4 years until warranty runs out and then sell it? You'll probably get close to $10k with the low mileage, most of the depreciation is over and the used car market is probably never going back to how it was.

The new Sonata looks great but still seems like a downgrade, just my 2 cents.

 

[EdP]

With your low mile trouble free Genny, why not keep it for another 4 years until warranty runs out and then sell it? You'll probably get close to $10k with the low mileage, most of the depreciation is over and the used car market is probably never going back to how it was.

The new Sonata looks great but still seems like a downgrade, just my 2 cents.

Of course it is but there are many factors to consider. I just posted in another thread, the same features in my G80 are now available in a Sonata for $30k less. The seats are not as plush, the trim not as fancy, but you have things like the surround view, HUD, SCC and such.

I've not seen the new G80 in person and that may change my mind to spends the extra.

 

[The White Shadow]

The real question is whether or not you own the Genesis outright or not? If you do, then why get rid of what you know for something that seems better? And take on a payment? With that warranty, your maintenance is pretty much taken care of with the exception of the minor stuff like oil changes. If you don't own the car, I'll assume the payments on the other car is what's really tempting. But if the payments save you hundreds of dollars a month, then that might be your best choice financially. Not to mention the amount of money you will save on gas.

The bottom line is what is most important to you right now? My 5.0 is my forever car. That means, barring any major mishaps, I plan on driving it until the wheels fall off. But I knew that going in. If you aren't overly attached to your Genny, then go for what is best for you. Just make sure you won't be kicking yourself down the road for not keeping her.

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[greekgeek]

Of course it is but there are many factors to consider. I just posted in another thread, the same features in my G80 are now available in a Sonata for $30k less. The seats are not as plush, the trim not as fancy, but you have things like the surround view, HUD, SCC and such.

I've not seen the new G80 in person and that may change my mind to spends the extra.

No doubt the tech will be as good or much better, and I like the new design. As you pointed out earlier it is not even a binary choice, all kinds of options on how to spend one's dough. That said the Sonata will never be a RWD platform with a long wheelbase and heavy duty component build. It just won't.

My take is based on OPs seeming to be content with the Genny, but wants value for his current ride. Cost to own will be very low for the next 4 years and depreciation will be slower..

Anyway you slice it +$12k to get into a Sonata in this situation can only be justified if you really wany/love the Sonata and want to drive it instead of the Genny.

 

[jimbrown618]

The real question is whether or not you own the Genesis outright or not? If you do, then why get rid of what you know for something that seems better? And take on a payment? With that warranty, your maintenance is pretty much taken care of with the exception of the minor stuff like oil changes. If you don't own the car, I'll assume the payments on the other car is what's really tempting. But if the payments save you hundreds of dollars a month, then that might be your best choice financially. Not to mention the amount of money you will save on gas.

The bottom line is what is most important to you right now? My 5.0 is my forever car. That means, barring any major mishaps, I plan on driving it until the wheels fall off. But I knew that going in. If you aren't overly attached to your Genny, then go for what is best for you. Just make sure you won't be kicking yourself down the road for not keeping her.

Well said....my 5.0 is paid for and will keep it for a long time....

 

[hrdc69]

My thanks to all the posters who replied and I agree the best thing to do is keep the Genesis. I did test drive the Sonata and it has a few newer tech items such as the surround view, slightly larger entertainment screen, push button start/stop. The 15 Ultimate has most of the other tech the Sonata has including the HUD, SCC, etc.

On the test drive the Sonata was quite sluggish even going up smaller inclines as the power just doesn't compare to the Genny smooth V-6. It was fairly quiet but some road noise and tire noise came through as it wasn't tomb like quiet as the Genesis. The sound system couldn't compare to the 17 speaker Genesis as it was a bit muddled and too much base. The trim wasn't as plush and the drivers seat not as comfortable but it was as roomy as the Genesis.

Typical bean counter that I am I created a spreadsheet comparing the total 5 year cost to own between the 2 cars. Assuming both cars were sold for their remaining value after 5 years the total cost to own was about the same with the Sonata costing about $5,000 more. Unfortunately the board does not allow spreadsheets to be attached to a message so if anyone wants a copy of the spreadsheet PM me.

Without a crystal ball it can be difficult to predict the future so many of the figures in the spreadsheet may in reality turn out to be different but all we can go on now are current assumptions based on the past.

 

[PMCErnie]

Not to spoil your day, but I don’t think you tested the ‘21 Sonata N-line. It has Bose audio and a 290 hp turbo engine that gets to 60 in 5 seconds. These are the kind of things you simply can’t put into a spreadsheet. Naturally you want to be frugal in life and make the long haul without bankruptcy, but some little pleasures along the way are fine too.

 

[hrdc69]

Not to spoil your day, but I don’t think you tested the ‘21 Sonata N-line. It has Bose audio and a 290 hp turbo engine that gets to 60 in 5 seconds. These are the kind of things you simply can’t put into a spreadsheet. Naturally you want to be frugal in life and make the long haul without bankruptcy, but some little pleasures along the way are fine too.

The N line is manual transmission or at least some of the reviews state that although other reviews say it comes with a automatic transmission. The majority of people can't drive a stick shift including me so it may be hard to find a non stick shift N. Other than all the engine tweaks and performance edge there isn't much difference between the N and the regular 2021 Sonata. If performance is your thing and you get goose bumps going from 0 to 60 in a few seconds quicker than other cars then more power to you.

The Genesis itself isn't shabby as it can get from 0 to 60 in 5.9 seconds, (2015 Hyundai Genesis Sedan V-6 RWD) but if you are looking for a high powered performance car then you can't go wrong with the N.

 

[PMCErnie]

The N line is manual transmission only so that automatically leaves out the majority of people who never learned to drive a stick shift including me. Other than all the engine tweaks and performance edge there isn't much difference between the N and the regular 2021 Sonata. If performance is your thing and you get goose bumps going from 0 to 60 in a few seconds quicker than other cars then more power to you.

The Genesis itself isn't shabby as it can get from 0 to 60 in 5.9 seconds, (2015 Hyundai Genesis Sedan V-6 RWD) but if you are looking for a high powered performance car then you can't go wrong with the N.

The N-line comes standard with an automatic.

2021 Hyundai Sonata N-Line First Drive: Wowza!

Ever think you’d see a Korean car with German moves? Us neither—but the 2021 Hyundai Sonata N-Line might be as close as South Korea has ever been to Germany.

www.automobilemag.com

 

[PaFromFL]

I traded my 2015 Ultimate with 60k miles for a 2021 Sonata Limited the last day of the sales year and got a relatively good deal. I was nervous about maintenance costs because it was six years old with no extended warranty. I intended to buy a 2021 G80 or G70 but there was a long waiting list for a G80 (and probably no discounts) and the G70 had older technology than the Sonata. My plan is to upgrade to a Genesis in a couple of years if inventories swell into a buyer's market. I'm hoping the relatively fresh design of the Sonata will help prop up the resale value.

After a few months with the Sonata, I'm leaning toward a G70 because it is smaller and lighter than a G80, but still large enough for comfort. The low-end torque of the turbocharged engine sort of hides the weakness of the engine around town if you stomp on it, and the gas mileage is great. The light weight of the Sonata makes it feel agile, although you can tell the suspension is not very sophisticated. I am impressed with value of the Sonata Limited, but I'm still willing to pay almost twice as much to get RWD, a better suspension, much more horsepower, and Nappa leather.