Do you think the Prius will be worth anything...

Who are these people? Are they just random people or people who have experience w/selling and buying used cars? If you didn't notice, the Prius made it in this list http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2005/10/05/144898.html Resale values further down the road for any car can be a crapshoot but in general Toyotas hold their value reasonably well.

The battery for California buyers (I don't have a Prius yet so I don't have manual to confirm) is supposedly warranted for 10 years/150K miles.

What's your timeframe for selling the Prius after you buy it? If you keep a car for maybe 10+ years, most aren't worth all that much after that anyhow.

 

Well, just for giggles, you could go to KBB and look at the resale value of something like a 2001 Prius. Now, that model, in good condition and with 95k miles (using my zip code), has a trade-in value of over $8k. Don't know what the MSRP was in 01 BUT I can tell you that the 2001 Lincoln Navigator I traded for my 04 Prius NOW has a trade-in value of less than $12k with the same 95k miles on it. I DO KNOW the price of my Nav was not a whole heck of a lot less than $50k. How's that for "not holding value"?

 

If I remember correctly this changes for the 06 models..... right? <_<

 

I think that older hybrids will have a decreased value compared to tratidional cars. I am still buying 2 of them regardless.

I think that target market for used cars will unwilling to take the risk of potentially expensive repair/replacement of hybrid components.

I am assuming that I will replace the Prii at about 100K miles... and anything that I get above zero is goodness. I figure that if I plan for this... I will not be dissapointed.

/Jim

 

I disagree. I think the hybrid market will continue to be a better value years down the road as it becomes a dominate factor in new car sales. Hybrid components will be so commonplace that any repair to it will be equivalent (possibly easier and cheaper) to that of a mono-fueled vehicle.

And don't forget, it's still a Toyota - people go for that reliability factor too!

And with that said, Toyota has already announced that they are changing their whole line up to hybrid vehicles - most of these components will be interchangable within a few years.

Flynz4 - well done in your plans to purchase 2. We also took the leap of faith...for our children's future. And it's been well worth it!

 

I certainly hope that you are right

/Jim

 

Right at the moment, down here in Oz, they seem to retain just a bit of a higher value than comparable size(non hybrid) cars ... eg. You can easily get a 2004 mazda 3 for under $30k AUD, but theres absolutely no way you can grab a 2004 prius for under $30k at the moment. One with low kms will fetch mid 30s quite easily. Ones with <10,000 kms will edge towards or over the $40k AUD (factory new price is $47k AUD)

 

That will depend on the repair history. Toyota quality is excellent, so the prospects are good for relatively higher trade-in values. People used to complain about the potential cost of replacement batteries. But to date, there has not been even one single reported case of a battery failure not resulting from an accident, in the entire fleet, in the entire 8-year history of Prius.

On the other hand, the Prius has no transmission or clutch to go bad. Those are major repair items for conventional cars. And its brake pads may never need replacing, judging by photos Wayne Brown posted of his.

My guess is that used Priuses will continue to hold their value well. My guess is also that the people saying it won't are just the anti-Japanese crowd looking desperately for something to say against the car.

 

As others said, more and more hybrids are coming onto the market, so if anything they will become even more widely accepted, not feared. I don't know why everyone keeps fretting about the battery, as I can purchase as many as I want for as little as $450 from car-part.com. As more and more end up in accidents in the future, there should be a steady supply, even if there are no breakthroughs in battery technology by then to reduce prices.
Of course, I'm the kind of person who never worries about trade-in value, as I plan to keep my cars until they are no longer worth repairing. In the case of a Prius, I expect that to be at least 12-15 years. B)

 

It is very common to hear the Prius trashed for one reason or another. It is because it is new and innovative, which makes it a tempting target. One very popular weapon is to spread FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt), a technique often used by a certain mega software company to convince customers to use its products instead of the clearly superior alternatives.

One important thing to consider is that worth is in the eyes of the beholder. If you plan to keep your Prius for many years then I think its worth to you will remain high because it should continue to be an enjoyable, reliable, and economical car to own. If you plan to sell it then its worth to someone else is harder to predict because of market forces and public perception. One key factor is the price of fuel. If it increases a lot then the relative worth of a Prius compared to other cars will also go up.

Personally, I believe that the risk of losing value on a typical gas guzzler is much higher than that of a Prius.

 

Agreed deh2k.

I bought our 2001 Insight with 94,000 for 5K before the fuel prices climbed and my father said - "you'd better plan on driving that POS for a long time because it's not worth anything". Since then, I've been offered 10K and 12K respectively for it. No deal.

this "not worth anything" issue joins the list put out by bashers.

 

I think they did change some of the warranty info for the '06. Here's what I found via Toyota's website:

http://www.toyotaownersonline.com/warranty/index.php#prius

And here on PC you can purchase the extended warranty for a really good price compared to what else is available out there.

http://priuschat.com/Discounted-Toyota-Pri...acts-t3130.html

I'm wondering if anyone else out there can verify the Toyota warranty changes to the 06? And the warranty changes for the state of CA?



**edited to add 2 more links I found with regards to the 2006 warranty:
http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=12861&hl=warranty

http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=12683&hl=warranty

 

while the wife is prego...it certainly is on the side because she is always driving it

 

Wasn't there one (and only one) a while back that made the news because it was indeed the first? Or was that report later debunked? Was supposedly a '98 model that was purchased in Japan, shipped to Egypt and run arround the desert for 7 years or something equally harsh.

Hmm.. can't find a reference to it now.. maybe it never happened.

And even if true, would have no impact on the reliability of the fleet as a whole.

-Ken