Five Reasons to Keep Your Gas Guzzler

06/24/08 - 12:38 PM EDT

Jeffrey Strain

How much can you get for your SUV?

Not only are you one of many people who currently want to get rid of their SUV, there are also not many people who are in the market for a SUV these days.

Kelley Blue Book data indicate that SUVs have depreciated between $3,000 and $5,000 in the past six months, and that SUV prices have fallen more than 8% since September of last year. This may be the reason that more and more dealers are refusing to even take SUVs as trade-ins as they consider the SUV overstock they already hold.

The fact is, if you want to get rid of your SUV, you're going to have to sell it at a steep discount.

This means many SUVs are worth less than what is owed on them (this is referred to as being "upside down" on the loan). In order to sell and get a more fuel-efficient car, the owner would also have to repay the remaining balance on the loan for the SUV that wasn't covered in the sale. The savings received from better gas mileage rarely makes up for the extra costs that would still have to be paid on the SUV after it has already been sold.

Your Recent Quotes: Quote Up0 | Quote Down0
Dow S&P 500 NASDAQ
Oil*
Gold
10 Yr
0.00%
%
%
%
Data delayed 20 min
Free Newsletters from TheStreet

Cramer's Daily Booyah!
Highlights of Jim Cramer's videos
on TheStreet.com TV & his
"Mad Money" TV show.
Before the Bell
All the information you
need to position yourself
for the day ahead.
Submit
We respect your privacy.

Premium Stock Ideas
Access Action Alerts Plus to find out Cramer’s latest picks now!