Awesome machinery indeed...I believe the Turkish military uses a variation of them. I lean towards HK, but appreciate other flavors. As you know, CA does restrict CCW choices to their very narrow "list," but hopefully that will expand one day. It is completely hit or miss...a P2000 is ok but a P30 is not, apparently.
I lived in Tucson in the 60s, again in the 70s and again in 01-02. Tucson was the hidden desert gem that only military people knew about. I love it there, but home values have been Californiaized and combined with taxes and fees, it is no longer an affordable retirement destination for most of us.
I think that is the issue...anywhere that is "typically" desirable for many (affordable/good weather/low taxes/safe/hospital/proximity to civilization/etc.) is no longer a secret. Everyone who leaves wherever they are to go to such places generally results in prices there going up. I bought a house in Sequim WA for 285 back in 2010, now it is 700 (and many people were/are moving there to avoid whatever it was where they used to live). 700 can buy a house in much more desirable places even in CA (not LA or SF or SD). Even in TN, where much of Buffalo has moved to, or NC, housing has exponentially gone up. If you are into 4 seasons, that absolutely opens things up...but for folks who are anti-winter weather, the options are drastically reduced. Have you checked out Grass Valley? Nevada City? Mild winters, warm (not hot) summers, and far less expensive than much of CA. Excellent for retired folks who seek amenities that are tough to find elsewhere.
Arizona was quite affordable until about 2014, and then stuff started to really rocket up. I lived in a 1571 square foot rental between 2009 and 2016 before doing a new build. The value likely bottomed out around $200k around 2011 in the heart of the housing crisis fall out and then started a steady march up around 2014. Long story short, the same house sold for $657k in 2022.
GA has some really beautiful areas...when I was stationed in Florida I drove through many times. The property taxes seem higher in the East (a 500k house here is assessed for about 7k in property tax and the same amount you are paying for homeowner's insurance). My county here is 7% sales tax as well. The income tax, however, is definitely a huge consideration...especially for retirement. Seems like you are in an ideal place that ticks all you boxes!
Sorry for veering! Back to your original question, my experience (and the experiences of many) is used Bronco values have plummeted (unless an owner was fortunate enough to have sold theirs during the golden period during the pandemic or shortly thereafter) or unless an owner is lucky enough to find a buyer who is willing to pay a premium (versus researching the sea of used Broncos selling for a lot less than owners paid) there are plenty of folks (like me) who lost a crap ton of money selling.
Because blue book is a trailing indicator, not a current. The market for cars is spiraling out of control down just like it went up. I just tried to work a deal with a guy who is asking more than i can get it new for a used one because thats what he owes. The market is crashing so quickly that blue book hasnt caught up yet. My local dealer said he wouldnt give the guy a trade over 43k and hes asking 58k for it. People who bought these above msrp are in real trouble for the next few years.Interesting, but why is Blue Book so far off?
Totally concur. With the exception of COVID pandemic car pricing craziness, in 50+ years of buying and selling new and used cars, I have NEVER had any dealer offer or suggest anything close to KBB "Trade-In" values. Especially if they know the trade is going right to auction. Concur that most common response is, "We don't go off KBB. We have our own pricing guidelines.". In an over saturated market (and high interest rates) you can assume that these trade-in value forces are NOT working in your favor.
As I mentioned, it was always Galves in the NE for auction price, which is what trade always
