I may be moving abroad around April 2016 to a far away place. The thing is that it's not for certain that this move will be long-term or temporary. I will know more definitely towards the end of 2016 or the first half of 2017. So the dilemma is this:

A) Take the gamble to sell my Fit around March/April 2016. It would have approx. 14-15K miles, and no damage except for a few normal chips on the paint (hardly noticeable unless one gets close).
If the move ends up being long-term, then I win the gamble since I get the most value for the car - I'm guessing I could sell it for around $13K.
If I do come back, then I lose the gamble and would be kicking myself since now I would need to get another car, possibly spending more money or having to get a used car (a gamble in itself).

B) If I wait to see if the move is long-term, and if it turns out that it is, then I would be selling my Fit around mid-2017. It would have approx. 16-17K miles (maybe less), and be in the same condition as described in A.
It would have done a lot of just sitting in the garage except for maybe a weekly drive by a trusted family member. How much would my Fit be worth then - do you think at least $10K? Also, this means that I would have to find some time to come back to the US and sell it, probably fast.

I own the car outright so there is no loan to worry about.
2015 Fit LX, manual, yellow, tinted windows, purchased on January 09, 2015. As of today (Jan 09, 2016 it has 10,048 miles). Car lives in Houston, TX, so it hasn't been worn and torn by a real winter. Would any of you be interested in buying it?

What would you do in this situation?
Thanks in advance for your opinions!

 

Hold onto it- the cars resale value took the biggest hit when you drove it off the dealership lot.

I got 10k as trade for my 2010 FIT with 19k miles on it a year ago. (I bought the 2010 for 15k and got 10k back five years later) You could probably sell your 2015 privately and do much better than that.

My two cents

 

I would keep it. You don't know for certain if you're moving long-term and it'd be a bummer to sell a car, and then have to buy another one shortly after. You don't owe any money on it, so you're not making payments on a car that is just sitting there. And you seem to like the car, so you may as keep what you like.


If you were to sell, then come back within a year and have to purchase again, even if the next car is used, then you'd be paying tax on the purchase and that would be close to what your current Fit would depreciate in that time. You may as well keep the car you like and you've owned since it was new.


Like Carrier said, you've already suffered the worst of the depreciation.


And I think if you keep it until next year and do need to sell it, it would still be worth more than $10k. Here's an experiment, price on KBB what a 2013 Honda Fit is worth now with the miles you guesstimate it having, and that'll give you some idea what to expect. It's not exact or scientific, but it'll give you some insight.


Since you don't know your exact plans for the next year, it's probably best not to make any drastic changes.


Just my two cents as well

 

Agreed, keep it. You've already suffered the worst part of the depreciation.

 

Keep it-previous Fits have held their value very well and at least in these parts, used Fits of any generation are very hard to come by so prices remain high on all Fits, new and used.

 

Depending on where your going you might be able to take it along, its not horrible to ship a car just time consuming.

 

Thanks for sharing your opinions and your two cents - it seems pretty unanimous that keeping it is the preferred choice. I think I will go ahead and do that - I should still get a decent selling price 1-1.5 years from now if I do have to sell it (unless the world order changes, but in that case we all have bigger problems).

 

Sell it, its junk. Mine will be gone by the end of the 3 year\36000 warranty.

 

My guess is that resale will really tank in perhaps late 2017/early 2018 when the mid cycle 2018 revamp takes place with new, more powerful and more efficient, turbo engine. Until then, you're fine.

 

You obviously like the car. So, let the trusted family member take care of the car until it is clear that you are not coming back. By then the trusted family member will have fallen in love with the car and buy it from you at market value or slightly better because they know how well it has been taken care of.

 

I wonder what the new 2017/18 will look like.