Resale Questions

I would say you are reaching. It might help you a bit, but not what you are thinking. The big incentives that are offered in the east coast are hurting everybody. You have to take in the tax credit and any other incentives your state gives you. People that are trying to sell theirs now are surprised of the resale value. Especially since there are still new 2012s sitting on dealer lots.

 

Look on cars.com or autotrader at used cars. If you are not in a rush, I would buy a new one on the east coast. You can get a new 2012 Advanced for around $30,000 then the tax credit and any incentives in your state. A base is around $25,000. A used one is going to go for whatever somebody is willing to pay and what you are willing to loose. I see used Advanced models for $26,000 and $22,000 for base with low miles. But, not in Nebraska.

 

I think you should buy a PIP only if you plan to keep it for several years or more. By then the resale market will have changed. In CA you have to keep it for 3 years to keep the $1500 rebate. And the federal rebate of $2500 will affect resale values.

Mike

 

I checked both sources and there are still 2012 Plug Ins available on the east coast, but not that many compared to the west coast. Not so sure the "optimistic" $30,000 selling price for a 2012 Plug In Advance, with additional tax credits is realistic. Every listing I checked for east coast availability list MSRP only with no mention of 2012 model close out incentives. I'm sure there are deals to be had, but listing MSRP only, won't sell these cars if you say there are $30,000 new 2012 Plug In Advance deals available. I purchased my 2012 Advance from Koons Toyota in Northern Virginia in January 2013. They have multiple dealers in Virginia and Maryland. They only show three new 2012 Priis available, NO Plug Ins. They were aggressive with the 2012s and can't imagine they wouldn't take more if available, or that hard to move for other dealers. I'm not sure what's the true story on new 2012s, specifically, Plug Ins. If new 2012s are selling for "around" $30,000 (all I see is $30,000, not $34,900), I could be a top 2012 Prius Plug sales person. Not saying there haven't been some exceptional deals, but it looks like most dealers are holding out for more versus less. Without contacting dealers, I have no idea other than their online ads.

 

reaching. in my experience, kbb is a dream world. dealers use black book which is about 75% of kbb.

 

Buy a PiP because you WANT it, forget about the resale, the incentives on the East Coast have totally destroyed the used car market for the PiP (I know this first hand).

 

seems like you could make a living buying cars on the right, driving them to the left and selling.

 

Always something to worry about. Stock, gold, home prices, etc. Never purchased a new or used car and made money on it. My 2012 Prius Plug In is no exception. Vehicles are a necessity of life for most people. They are depreciating assets, but you don't lose money until you sell or trade them. Don't worry until you contemplate selling.

Over the past six months, there have been some great incentives on 2012 east cost plug ins. Couldn't find anything other than MRSP pricing this morning while searching online?

 

Very true, but the PiP used value is worse than typical used car pricing, since Toyota is having trouble selling them, so they are dumping so many incentives in my area, to the point it doesn't make sense to buy them used.

 

The incentives for the 2012s were stripped this month. There is no longer 0% financing or rebates. Toyota gave the dealer cash to sell them off and no longer offering a rebate. The lowest I was able to find was some dealer in Boston that was selling an Advanced model for $30,650 if I recall. But, he would not sell out of state for that price. He would sell for $31,650. If you must buy one now, I know a dealer in Upstate NY selling Advanced for $30,990...PM me if you need the info. If you are not in a rush, wait for the 2013s to be discounted more. In Jersey and some other states they are currently at $4,650 rebate and 0% financing for 2013 Base and Advanced.

 

I didn't think I would ever be able to say that a Toyota would drop quicker in resale value than my old Ford Taurus, but my PiP has, almost $10k in 8 months.

My biggest mistake was assuming I wouldn't care about the EV part, I really wanted JUST a Prius, and the EV part was just a bonus. But now that I had my little sample of crack, I want more (damn you Toyota), so it's not like the car sucks, or is less of a car now, it isn't, it's a great car.

Just make sure you look at other EV options if you think there is a tiny chance you like crack

 

No, I'm sure it's about as bad as it gets, now that Toyota knows what kind of demand there is for the PiP, plus the next gen PiP is in the pipeline.

If the PiP range is very close to what you need, then it's almost a no brainer. Just keep in mind the type of terrain, weather temps etc. Like I said, it's a great car, even as a regular hybrid, you'll see great performance (I average 60MPG), and it's a nice looking car. You are posting here BEFORE you are buying the car, so you are obviously a step ahead of most people, including myself.

 

Cars depreciate the first year the most and every year thereafter. This info may help.



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