Prius resale value seems linked to gas prices

THe West Coast Heavy discounts on 2009 Models are playing a role in lowering all used KBB pricing on 2007/2008

You can buy a 2009 Prius Touring Package 6 for 23K Brand New, why would anyone buy a used one for 20K+

I tried to negotiate with several people for 2007/2008's at KBB Private Party Value and they all were out of line thinking their precious prius is worth more than KBB ???

The unforunate part is that when 2010 Prius goes on sale with a base model around $23K in May, The older Prius will take another hit

In my case I would rather buy a new 2010 Base Model Prius rather than a heavily loaded 2008/07 for the same price

 

Well, I've been biding my time, waiting for the prices to come down to earth, and since the economy went in the crapper and gas prices have been down, it has finally happened. I looked at getting on waiting list for a new Prius last summer when used were going for even higher prices, but I'm glad I waited. I just picked up an '06 pkg 5 for $16,500 from a private seller, when 6 months ago, I would have been paying at least 5k more for the same car.

It's funny though, because even though the dealers stocked up on them when the price was high and now are sitting on them, they are still unwilling to come down on price, or to even admit that sales are slow. They play the same old games no matter what the market is like.

 

The dealers are expecting gas prices to skyrocket in spring.
that is pretty soon...........
If they do, they will have been smart for hanging on to them and getting a premium price. If gas doesn't, then they are shooting themselves in the foot.

 

While the economy is in the toilet, I don't see any recovery of crude oil prices. The US House Agriculture Committee has passed a bill to clobber financial futures traders, which will hopefully prevent the excess speculation from happening again, and get back to supply and demand. (There's still a long way to go before the bill gets a House floor vote and Senate discussion, and the President's signature, but it's moving a lot quicker than the 'Bell The Hybrid' bill even though that has a lower sequence number.)

 

I've actually been making this argument for a while.

Over the summer when gas prices were rising, Prii were actually appreciating in value. You could "flip" them like houses during the real-estate bubble and make a nice profit. I bought mine for $21k in April and in July I posted it on Craigslist for $30k out of curiosity, and I actually had a couple interested folks email me. Other people on this discussion board got offers from their dealerships to buy back their 2 or 3 year-old Prii at the price they paid.

Now, due to gas prices being so low, that "hybrid premium" (if one's only interest is to save money) is looking pretty steep for a lot of people. Of course, most people here like their car for a lot of other reasons, and probably most of us anticipate that gas will not stay at $1.80/gallon forever.

Buying and selling a Prius is absolutely a play on the retail price of gasoline. But that means that organizations like KBB, Edmunds, and Consumer Reports can't really update their resale value information fast enough to track these changes. I tell everyone that these sources are usually inaccurate when it comes to hybrid resale value for this reason.

Tim

 

And it's not just the actual price of gasoline, but what people believe will be the price of gasoline. Rapid gas price increases spread panic, which in turn spikes the price of Prius.

Tom

 

True enough. In theory a lot of this speculation is already priced into what we pay for retail gas.

But yes, when things start moving quickly people panic and don't necessarily make the rational choice. For example, buying a Prius to save money might make sense. But buying a Prius for $9,000 over MSRP, when you can get a comparable non-hybrid mid-size vehicle for $10,000 less (as it happened this summer) does not make sense at any gasoline price we've ever seen.

Tim

 

I remember way back during the first oil embargo, long before the Prius, when people were paying a huge premium for small imports. Time Magazine ran a cover saying something like "Economy at any price!"

Tom

 

If you can be patient, the week before Memorial Day is a great time to list an economy vehicle for sale. I'll probably put my wife's Echo for sale then and be patient. As the gas prices run on and on, it will remain a seller's market until September.

Bob Wilson

 

Trade-in values on a Prius suck and more than make up for the better fuel economy. I was just offerred 11K on my 2007 Prius with 56K miles and Package 5 as a trade-in for a 2009 with the same options. That is a depreciation of 62% in two years. Lousy resale value coupled with a general lack of comfort and higher insurance premiums make the cost per mile much higher than many other vehicles. Bought a Saturn Aura instead and after 9 Toyotas I doubt I'll buy another.

 

We are currently experiencing deflation in all goods and services. Think 62% in two years is bad? A barrel of oil has depreciated 80% in 6 months.

This is not just a Prius thing.

What do you say to folks who flipped their Prius for a tidy profit 6 months ago (when you could have done the same)? Bad resale value?

Tim

 

By the way, if you hate your Prius so much why were you trying to trade it in for another 2009 Prius?

Tim

 

No doubt Saturn Aura is a great car, but Saturn itself is a dying Brand soon....talk about its depreciation! Thanks for GM's restructural (bailout) plan.

 

I've been looking to pick up a Prius on my shoe string budget and I am finding 2005 with 52k for $7000. I've found several in this ballpark. All very clean and appear in good shape.Even found 2007 with 88k for $9995. Too Many choices I can be picky about colors. I suspect older 2gen to flood market when 3gen is released.

 

2009 NEW toyota prius PACKAGE 6 *****TOURING******(( BLACK ))***23,888

Listed Brand New 2009 Touring (Package #6) $23888. Mind you, the price includes the $1000 rebate, but does not (likley) include Tax/title/license.

 

Re: Prius resale value will go lower like outside West Coast soon

WHy would anyone pay more than $16K for a Used 2008 Touring Pac6 when you can get a brand new 2009 for $23K ?

I love the Prius but California Owners need to get real when pricing 2007/2008 Prius for Sale. It is not relevent what they paid for the car new, it is relevent what I can pay now for the same car. with 30k mile on a 2008 Touring Package 6, I can buy outside West Coast for $16K