Why Now is a good time to buy an SUV-really!

You'd think no one would want an SUV now because of high gas prices, but actually, it's a really good time to buy for just that reason. They're being offered for discounted prices and lots of owners are trying to get rid of theirs.
"Some consumers had already started to shift away from sport-utility vehicles. Then higher gas prices and higher interest rates arrived, which made consumers fall out of love even faster. Last year, a flood of leased, three- and four-year-old SUVs also returned to dealers. The result was a surge of sport-utes on the market.

The best deal? The experts agree: mid-sized SUVs (usually American) like the Chevy TrailBlazer, the Ford Explorer or the Toyota 4-Runner. "Those are the ones that have particularly taken a hit," says Kelley Blue Book's Nerad.

Where the bargains aren't: Smaller SUVs like the Toyota Highlander and Chevy Equinox, and crossover-type cars. "The smaller SUVs are actually pretty hot, and the crossover SUVs, too," says Nerad. Americans still need to move stuff, so they've moved toward these smaller SUVs.

What about the behemoths? In terms of bargains, the large SUVs are more of a mixed bag. "If you'd like to buy a large SUV, this is a good time to do it," says Rosten. Prices fell last summer and have remained there. Rosten's advice holds particularly true if you want to buy a year-old Expedition or a similar gigantic ride: In fact, the average market value of a year-old, large SUV fell a whopping 11% between May 2005 and May 2006."