Prius No Longer Holding Value?

Holding value relative to what? Still better than conventional cars. Right now, all cars have diminished in value, and hybrids are less in demand with cheaper gas, so they have diminished some, too. A hybrid is money in the bank. Just watch the appreciation when gas gets expensive again.

 

I have been looking at Prius prices in California and I would pay about $17 K to buy a 2007. That price is not the same as if I was in the position of trading one in to a dealer.
Imerese

 

prices for everything BUT gold is down.

that is...it's not about the Prius, "it's about the economy stupid".


my home is worth today what i paid for it in 2000, and that's after it increased three fold, so i leveraged it to buy more property (just like i was taught as a child in the board game MONOPOLY).

i've seen my 401K decline to the tune of 50% in the last 12 months.
i'm now at a point where I'm ready to take all the money out, put it under my mattress, & pay the penalty because i trust no one.

anybody out there feel the same???

about the title of the thread...
yes, i agree...your Prius is no longer holding it's value

 

The price of a used Prius is driven by supply and demand:

• Last summer gas was above $4 a gallon and dealerships had waiting list to buy a new Prius. People that didn't want to wait or were panicked that gas was going be shortly selling for $5, $7, $10 per gallon were willing to pay almost new prices for used cars.
• Now gas is less than $2 per gallon and dealerships are offering factory incentives to buy a new Prius. Many dealerships have a dozen or more new cars on the lost. The 2010 Prius is about to be released and many new buyers will want the new car. So demand for used Prius is down so the prices are down.

I'm currently thinking of selling one of our cars and becoming a 1 car family. I should be able to get about $10K for my 2003 VW TDI Wagon with 184K miles. KBB says my 2005 Prius with 50K miles is worth $18K, but like you said, current auctions are nowhere near that figure and are currently hovering around $10K. If I could get $15K or more I would sell the Prius and pocket the difference between the my loan and the selling price. However, it is looking like I will be lucky to get the $13K I own on the Prius. On the other hand, the TDI hasn't had a loan in years and the wagon body style carries a good premium. The VW hasn't given me any trouble but I can't see selling a car with 50K miles (Prius) for the same price as one with 184K miles (TDI). My goal is to get rid of my car payment. I'm planning on waiting till the summer to see if gas prices go up and dealerships clear out the 2009's that they are discounting.

As to 401K's, no I'm not even considering cashing out my 401k. I can't touch the money for another 30 years without penalty so I'm currently buying shares at a discount. 30 years from now this market dip will be ancient history.

My father made the mistake of being too aggressive for his age during the dot com bubble. He panicked and sold his stocks for bonds right at the bottom and locked in huge losses. He had to save like crazy for the last 5 years to make up for it. He did by chance happened to time this crash great. He converted to an annuity last year when the DOW was above 13,000 in preparation for retirement.

 

how do you sell a car with 184,000miles for 10k?

 

Gas prices.

 

1. TDI (diesel)
2. Wagon
3. Full and complete maintenance records

Both are rather rare in the US and TDI owners are quite fanatical. Mileage means little for an 1.9L 90 HP diesel engine, 300K miles is not uncommon without any engine work. The car will rust away before the engine quits.

This car is almost identical to mine except mine is a GLS (premium sound, moonroof, armrest, better seats, etc) Cars For Sale: Car Details - AutoTrader.com

If I was to sell the TDI I would do it in June-August when diesel is least expensive. I think we will see a return to the normal trend this summer with diesel priced below gasoline. Diesel is already down to $2.09 and still falling and it is still heating season in the Northeast. Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update

 

If you wanted to sell a Prius for the best price then the Summer of 07 was your heyday. If you want to buy a used Prius then now is your heyday. It's all about the price of gas and the economy. Duh!

 

As pointed out above, it's the economy. As an exercise, list all of the major items that *are* holding value in this economy. It will be a short list.

Tom

 

gold and silver

BTW...i'm not cashing in my 401K, just blowin' off steam. however, at age 54, i have little time to recoup.

 

And it's going to take some time to recoup. We are still investing in the market, but it's hard to keep the faith.

Tom

 

how many new priuses does the dealer have? The value for a 2 year old will be heavily related to the amount of new for sale. The nearest toyota dealer to me has almost 200 Priuses on the lot and nowhere to park the new arrivals.

 

JSH you've opened my eyes up to the Jetta tdi. I never knew the mpg was so high. I like smaller cars so I am still leaning towards the Prius but am considering the Jetta as an alternative.

 

I you decide to shop for TDI's; condition and maintenance are more important than miles.

• The TDI requires a special diesel specific and fully synthetic oil in order to use the factories drain intervals of 10,000 miles. If a seller can't tell you what type of oil was used, run away. Even my local dealer didn't use the correct oil but instead used the synthetic oil specified for the gasoline turbo engines and recommended changing it every 5K miles. (This oil is not hard to find, I buy mine at WalMart.)
• The TDI requires a the timing belt to be change every 80,000 or 100,000 miles depending on model year. It will cost ~$800 if you replace the water pump at the same time, which is highly recommended. (The Timing belt is 5 hours of labor and the dealer only charged an extra 1/2 hour to replace the water pump at the same time. It is a full 5 hours of labor to replace the water pump by itself.)

Before purchasing the Prius I was looking for a TDI Golf with a 5 speed manual and proper records. I gave up after 6 month of looking and renting a Civic Hybrid. I decided to give a hybrid a try.

Don't be scared off by the artificially low EPA numbers for TDI's. You should expect to get 10% to 15% better milage than EPA.

 

JSH, thanks for the great info. I like the newer body style of the 2006. I live in Calif.
If I buy on Ebay, out of state, is the car Calif. compliant?

 

You should come to Illinois, and try to sell it to "Lombard Toyota" (Search Lombard Toyota New Vehicles). They currently have 4 used Priuses available, including an '06 with 44k miles for $20,995, another '07, with 21k miles, listed for $20,595, or a USED '09, with 159 miles, $23,995. These folks are criminal, asking for these prices.

Additionally, if I want to get on a list for the 2010, they ant $500 (non-refundable), and will be asking 2-3k above list. Steer clear.

 

No, the 2006 TDI is not CARB (California) compliant. My understanding is that as long has the vehicle has 15,000 miles it can be registered and driven in California. You should check with your DMV before you buy.

The 2006 TDI is a very high demand vehicle. It is the last year of the PD injection system and free of emission equipment. People that are afraid of the new emissions and injection technology in the 2009 are willing to pay a premium to purchase a used 2006. This means that you are likely to pay almost new prices for a used 2006. KBB puts the price of a 2006 Jetta TDI with 45,000 miles at $21,355 retail. That car's original MSRP was $21,605!

You can get a new 2009 TDI Sedan for $22,270 with full warranty and 3 years of free maintenance. It simply doesn't make financial sense to buy a 2006 TDI right now because by the time you add in maintenance you will pay more for the used car. With the 2009 you also get 40% more power and the same fuel economy as the 2006. (You can expect to get ~40 mpg in mixed driving)

Don't let people scare you with horror stories about VW reliability. Yes, the A4 platform had quality issues but these have been address with the A5 platform (2005 -> present). Even Consumer reports now recommends the VW Jetta.

 

KBB is a joke, they're so overpriced! Ebay has some good deals. The 2009 Jetta sounds like an incredible deal , the mpg is fricken amazing for a car of that caliber. I don't want to borrow that much money so I'll be buying a used car. I'll probably get the Prius, it's a little more modest, which I like. I definitly want the pkg. 6 though, leather seats seem more comfortable and bluetooth is a must have for me. You got me thinking about other possiblities, I appreciate all your insight and knowledge on the Jetta. I see you have a BMW too. I've wanted a beemer motorcycle for 20 yrs. now. I had a Triumph Trophy 500 back in college. I live in L.A. so it's a little scary riding a bike here. The BMW would be a nice toy to have for the weekends, and trips up to Frisco and beyond.

 

Anyone who really cares about value does not borrow money to buy a new car every two years.