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Shocked at how low the Prius Plugin resale value is, watch out!

Discussion in 'Gen 1 Prius Plug-in 2012-2015' started by rondocap, Dec 10, 2012.

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  1. rondocap

    rondocap Member

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    So I entertained the idea of trading my Prius Plugin for another car, mostly for interior and comfort reasons that I find the Prius is a bit lacking in.

    So, I have a base plugin with 7,500 miles, perfect shape and clean. MSRP when I got it in July was over $32,000, of course not counting discounts.

    So, to my shock - the offers I got from 3 different dealers were shockingly low - in fact $21,000 was the average, with the highest being $23,000. And they would not budge at all, even with a pending deal depending on it.

    I really thought it was worth more than that. But apparently Toyota's heavy incentives ($4,000 off) have really killed the resale price for these cars.

    I know cars depreciate, but that's over 30% in a few months with still relatively low mileage.


    And of course this was dealer trade in, which can notoriously be low - but still, I am not sure how much more you could get doing a private party sale as the market for these seem to be very weak.
     
    #1 rondocap, Dec 10, 2012
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    where are you located? probably gonna need higher gas prices. mass is talking about a new gas tax.
     
    #2 bisco, Dec 10, 2012
  3. rondocap

    rondocap Member

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    I'm in NJ/NY
     
    #3 rondocap, Dec 10, 2012
  4. John H

    John H Senior Member

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    maybe if the $2500 fed tax credit gets taken away the resale price will climb back a bit.

    manufacturer and dealer discounting can put a hurt on resale price but usually the secondhand buyers are paying a premium because they don't qualify for the new car finance programs.
     
    #4 John H, Dec 10, 2012
  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    yes, as you said, the discounting has been so deep. you really have to look at the net after discounte and tax credit. now if you wanted to drive it out to cali...
     
    #5 bisco, Dec 10, 2012
  6. John H

    John H Senior Member

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    or anywhere that pips are not sold yet.
     
    #6 John H, Dec 10, 2012
  7. Adam Leibovitch

    Adam Leibovitch Member

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    I was expecting this going in as I was looking at used leafs before getting a PiP. Cars depreciate based in what you pay, not the Msrp, as what you pay is often similar to the rest of the market.

    I was hoping for the resale to be just slightly better than a Prius four.

    SGH-T999 ? 2
     
    #7 Adam Leibovitch, Dec 10, 2012
  8. benalexe

    benalexe Member

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    Did you check cars.com
     
    #8 benalexe, Dec 10, 2012
  9. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    Keep in mind one of the lowest recent new PiP prices was approx. $25.5k in NY ...see LENSOVET's spreadsheet. And that guy got 2 PiP@$25.5 in NY, one for his dad and they live in WVa so they get $7500 off state and $2500 off Fed so they are paying $15.5k each for brand spankin' new PiPs. S0 $23k well not too bad for a trade.

    (OK that's before state tax but ....)
     
    #9 wjtracy, Dec 10, 2012
  10. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    These state and federal credits really kill the resale on all the cars that they apply to. I hear Volts and Leafs are especially hurt. Once you factor in all of the discounts you have received, the residual value is about right on. You can't expect to receive $4000+ in discounts then get that money back again when you sell the car. :)
     
    #10 F8L, Dec 10, 2012
  11. John H

    John H Senior Member

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    the best strategy is to try to sell it privately to someone who does not qualify for the discounts or the credits, like a non-profit or someone that has no credit and/or no federal tax liability, like a fresh college grad.
     
    #11 John H, Dec 10, 2012
  12. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    There's your problem... you should try posting it for private party sale, esp. in some area w/o any state incentives.

    If the dealer doesn't put it up for auction is going to turn around and (try) selling the car for a few thousand more than he's paid you.
    Yep... tax incentives and manufacturer incentives wreak havoc/cause complications in determining the used car value/price.

    Selling Our Nissan Leaf Was, Well, Weird - KickingTires only got $19K for the '11 Leaf SL w/11K miles (it's complicated)... Whereas My Nissan Leaf Forum • View topic - 2011 Nissan LEAF SL Blue for sale $20,000 got 5 offers on a 23K mile '11 Leaf SL in CA (where we have state tax incentives). I think in the latter case, waidy got a $5K CA tax rebate (aka CVRP, when it was still $5K).
     
    #12 cwerdna, Dec 10, 2012
  13. rondocap

    rondocap Member

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    I may drive it out to California and try to trade it in there, maybe I'll have better luck, ha.
     
    #13 rondocap, Dec 10, 2012
    sweetie and JMD like this.
  14. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    Oh yeah... if you re: the Leaf, cars.com said it took them 48 days to sell their '11 Leaf SL for $19K in IL (SL is the higher of the two available trims.)

    In contrast, waidy's Leaf SL w/2x the mileage at $20K was snapped up in a day. I was almost thinking of buying it, but I'd have been #6 in line.

    Now there's also all sorts of deals on Leafs and cheap leases....
     
    #14 cwerdna, Dec 10, 2012
  15. John H

    John H Senior Member

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    I think you would do better in Dallas or Houston where there are a lot of Prius but the PiP is not for sale from Toyota, yet.

    I would suggest Austin, but I don't want a PiP taking away my charging spot :)

    Where should I buy a pip if I live in Texas? | PriusChat
     
    #15 John H, Dec 10, 2012
    F8L likes this.
  16. kenmce

    kenmce High Voltage Member

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    Rondocap, what color do you have?
     
    #16 kenmce, Dec 10, 2012
  17. evfinder

    evfinder Member

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    It doesn't matter, the tax credi
    only applies to new cars not used so unless the car has not been registered it will not qualify.
     
    #17 evfinder, Dec 10, 2012
  18. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    Right, but it CAN matter. Some people can't get a great deal on a new BEV/PHEV because they may not have enough tax liability to qualify for the full Federal tax credit. I'm in that category right now, although I believe I can "create" some income by moving more of my traditional IRA $ to my Roth IRA, generating a tax hit.

    So... a used one, being cheaper, is a way of sort of capturing that discount that the 1st owner received.
     
    #18 cwerdna, Dec 10, 2012
    John Hatchett likes this.
  19. John H

    John H Senior Member

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    That is exactly why a secondhand PiP is attractive to these buyers. It has had the federal tax credit and dealer financing incentives stripped by the first owner and the price lowered.
     
    #19 John H, Dec 10, 2012
  20. evebill8

    evebill8 Member

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    I am not sure you can expect the dealers to give you good price to buy your PIP.
     
    #20 evebill8, Dec 10, 2012
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