Why has my 2010 Prius IV suddenly plummeted in re-sale value?

BTW: Why don't you try the PriusChat classifieds? I bet you can make a fair deal with a comrade on here. To be honest, if your car had the Solar Roof option I'd have already PMed you about making a deal!

 

Last winter was our snowiest in years here in Vermont, and my first with the 2010 Prius. I bought it in December and had it delivered with 4 proper snow tires on it (Hankook iPike). While I agree that the front lip is low and you do have to take care with it (I cracked mine in 2 places pushing through a snow berm) I didn't find the Prius to be any worse in the deep snow or the ice then any of my previous front wheel drive cars with snow tires.

I know the Prius has a rep as "bad in snow" but imo that is down to the LLR tires which are UNSUITABLE for anywhere that gets consistent freezing temps and snow. My area is very hilly, and very snowy, and the Prius are extremely popular around here (College town) and snow tires are the norm on every car because they make a night and day difference.

 

The biggest part of the problem is people believing the two words 'All Season' when it comes to tires .... ESPECIALLY LRR 'All Season' tires ... which by definition are made from a harder compound (to roll easier) and are even WORSE than standard 'All Season' tires.

The people complaining about the Prius's lack of snow prowess obviously don't have REAL snow tires .... because if they did ... they wouldn't be complaining.

As the above poster mentioned ... the difference is TRULY .... Night and Day.

Snows are made from a MUCH softer rubber compound ... imagine the difference between a hockey puck and a pencil eraser. In addition to a MUCH softer compound, they have large lugs to clear snow and ice, and in ADDITION to THAT ... they have about 5 times the siping of a normal AS tire. This allows the tire to be soft and sticky, clear itself of snow easily, and be super flexible to stick and adjust to the road surface. Unfortunately, because of these characteristics .... they wear quite quickly, which means that you should put them on as late as possible in the fall, and take them off as soon as you believe that the risk of snow is past.

Snow tires are NOT A CON JOB ... they REALLY work ! Note the lugs and siping of the tire below, which are the ones I use ... the General Altimax Arctics .... they're about $72 each from online tire dealers. The are 'studdable' as well. Mine aren't.



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I absolutely agree with you on the snow tires. I drove my Prius in our pre-Christmas snow storm in 2009 with the Yokohama Avid S33D tires, and it was "fun" (I have a slightly twisted idea of what fun is). Luckily, there were very few other idiots out with me. I immediately ordered some Bridgestone Blizzak (don't know the exact model, might be WS60) and it was like a night-and-day difference in handling. I will probably only get this coming winter from those tires, and I expect the handling to not be quite as good as when new due to tire wear. But, IMO, they're still going to be worlds better in the snow than I expect the Michelin Energy Saver A/S tires on the car right now. I am trying to wait until the temperatures are into the 40s to put them on the car, or the warmer temps will wear out the tires even faster on me.

 

I'm fortunate enough to have two daily drivers, so I put the X-Ice2s on the Prius last week and will keep all-season tires on the other car until it gets reliably cold in December. Since we're expecting mid-to-upper 50s for Thanksgiving, the Prius and its winter tires will stay parked.

 

I can't imagine changing cars every two to three years. I keep mine 15 and I feel sad when it's time to donate them to charity. I think of all the years and all the miles the car and I have traveled together.

 

Realized I never addressed the actual question, sorry about that.

I think one piece to remember is that KBB doesn't buy cars. What KBB or Galves or anyone else theoretical "value" is is sort of beside the point. I'm not sure how many dealers were actually buying cars for that temporarily inflated value.

I've long since 'gotten over any "outrage" I have about car depreciation. Cars depreciate, some slower then others, but they all lose 20%+ of their value the moment you drive them off the lot. The even lower "trade in values" are even more of a slap in the face but it's been that way forever. Expecting something different is just setting yourself up for misery.

The rare, temporary, boost in used values is an anomaly that imo, isn't something to get worked up over "losing" because unless you actually got someone to buy your car at that exact moment then you never really "gained" or "lost" anything.

 

How can you say the car isn't comfortable? I am a bit taller than you at 191 cm. I have plenty of leg and headroom. From floor to hip my legs are 91 cm long. I have never had any problems on long road trips with comfort. I am a fairly bony person since my HIV medicines have caused what is called lypo-atrophy (loss of fat) or fat redistribution. I find the Prius to be an exemplary car as far as comfort. When I had a 2010 Honda Insight. I couldn't drive for more than an hour with out being in such pain that I had to stop, stretch and walk around. Just saying.

 

I drove to Florida from New York and was comfortable the whole way.

 

I've only have a few really bad cars, but for the past 35 years I've gotten this really bad new-car-itch every 24-36 months - sometimes sooner. I'm trying some new lotion on it to see if I can keep it under control for a while.

 

I learned this a long time ago. I think it's amazing how when you are buying a vehicle, the dealership and the salesman will tell you what a great deal or how much extra value any upgrade represents but when you go to trade in? All the extra's you paid for suddenly become worthless.

Thus my philosophy has become, I try to only buy upgrades or extra's that I really, really want, because I simply want them. But I never look at an upgrade or higher value configuration as an investment I should expect anything but personal value return.

 

However, when you sell private, you price the car with upgrades and stick to it. When buyers want to get it for a low end price, simply tell them, sorry but you're in low end price territory. When you find a buyer who knows the market, they will pay up.

I went through this on the '09. Some young dude wanted it for $16.5k. I said you're down in trade in zone. So, they left. Two hours later I got $2k more.... that was before the earthquake. Could have got $21k probably in April, but who would have known.

 

Good strategy CD !! Especially if you're not desperate to selll and can wait for the right buyer !

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And others excessively exaggerate, making completely ridiculous statements that anybody with ANY amount of mechanical knowledge knows instinctively aren't true.

I could care less what you say about the Prius ... it's just a car, and it doesn't affect what I think about mine at all. Mine works perfectly with no issues in the snow ... your's has an easily resolvable problem. It can't drive over 'very small bits of ice and snow' .... please.

Get some snow tires and the car will be fine. It's that simple.

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