Should I Keep my 2009 or trade in for 2010?

Sounds like you've got your heart set on the upgrade, and you can afford it, but you asked for opinions, so here's mine:

I looked at the specs and descriptions, and I don't like the 2010 compared to my 2004. Now this is just me, but I prefer a smaller car, not a bigger one. Most of the improvements sound to me more gimmicky than substantial, other than the slight improvement in FE (too little to justify the cost of upgrade for me) and the radar speed control, which I like. But to get that it looks as though you have to take the leather seats, and I hate leather because in summer wearing shorts, I stick to it.

Note also that the reason it takes so long to get heat out of the heater is that the car is so efficient it does not burn much gas. I get more heat faster out of my Xebra, because it's electric:I can turn on the heat before I even turn on the car, because the heater is wired directly to the battery.

So my advice is, keep your 2009 until the plug-in comes along. But whatever you do, enjoy!

 

Doug at http://priuschat.com/forums/2010-to...ay-post819368.html?highlight=april#post819368 said "Production begins late April, and cars will arrive May or June depending upon where you live."

 

That sounds like as good of information as we are going to get at this point. Now if we only knew how much they are going to cost.

Tom

 

So many 09's on lots you will take a big hit.

 

I lived in North Dakota, and my bum never got cold. My hands and feet got frozen, but never my bum. What I wanted was a heated steering wheel. Heated seats would be a negative, IMO.

It is true that the engine heats up faster in the 2010. They utilize the exhaust for that. Very clever. But you'll never get as much heat, or as fast, as you would with a car that wastes more gas than a Prius burns.

I used to let the Prius pre-heat when it got colder than 20 below F. in ND. If you use the mechanical key you can lock the car with the engine running and the heat set on high. Yes, that wastes gas, but I was willing to waste 5 minutes of idle-engine gas rather than get in a car at 20 below zero Fahrenheit.

 

"Should I Keep my 2009 or trade in for 2010?"

Yes.

 

"If you come to a fork in the road, take it." Yogi Berra

 

Since you are ready to take a 'loss' in the worst case of trading in, so you've already made up your mind for the upgrade to 2010. Do you still need additional opinions from us to tell you not to?

 

Here's the reasoning of a newbie who loves (and will probably keep) his brand new '09:

Good points that I like about the 2010 model:

• I like the potential added rear headroom of the 2010. This would be a real plus in my mind.
• I like the reported gas mileage improvement. Not huge, but could be substantial with careful driving, due to the new factory operating modes.
• I like the reported performance increase.
• I like some of the new amenities

However:

• I don't like the look of the new 2010 front end or the rest of the styling as much as my '09. Looks like they're trying to copy Cadillac with the front end rework and sharper lines. The rest of the body seems more like existing cars than the unique look of the current model (not counting the Aztec rear end).
• I definitely don't like the floating center console. Way too cramped looking. I've never been a fan of the feel of "cockpit" style seating.
• I don't like the look of the new display. Too busy up top. I'd rather have the MFD on the 2009. More geeky, but I like it. However, I understand that to increase their market share into the non-hybrid market, Toyota will need to have more appeal to the "masses". That's probably some of the reason for the "geek reduction" cosmetics changes.
• I want to wait until Toyota can incorporate Lithium polymer or other battery technology that could store a greater amount of regenerated energy. Just because it may be able to be incorporated into an existing 2010 "in the future" doesn't mean it will be a direct drop in, despite what may be claimed now. My Prius is family car, not a hobby for me. (Although it certainly is addictive).
• I work in a very technical industry. I only like beta testing when I get paid to do it. I may beta test software on my own time occassionally, but that is minor compared to the hassles of beta testing "major" hardware that I would own and have to live with.
• I have no interest in a plug-in at this time. But that could change depending on the features that are brought to the table in future models.

When I bought my Prius a couple of weeks ago, I knew the 2010 was coming out. Granted, I didn't know as much about it as I know now that I've joined PC. But even if I had, I still would have most likely bought the '09. I figure that the discounts that Toyota is giving now, even though small compared to those for some of the American cars, will probably mean that I got a better deal than waiting for a new model with potentially higher pricing.

Once all the courageous early adopters have done the beta testing, I may jump in down the road. There's an old saying, "The enemy you know is better than the one you don't". At least G2 is a known entity.

And I may even wait until the new battery technology has come out and been fully proven.


Anyway, that's my 2 cents and the reasons that I see myself staying with the 2009 right now.

 

I just sold my '04, almost 190,000 km on it but I thought with the age and km's, time to consider something newer. It will soon start a new life as a taxi. Given the recent slump in Prius sales, I'd be perfectly happy with an '09, especially if I can get a good deal

 

Since I posted this a few days ago, I've looked at more photos of the 2010, and compared them to my new 2009.

I've come to the conclusion that another aspect of the 2010 redesign that I don't really like is related to the roof line change, in conjunction with the redesign of the rear running lights/stoplights. The combination of these changes seem to make the car look "shorter" overall. Kind of "stubby" looking in the back. Definitely not as graceful as the 2009.

So after looking at my new 2009, and comparing it to the 2010 photos, I think that the 2009 is better looking. But that's just my personal taste.

 

See to me its the exact opposite, "graceful" is never a word I would use to describe the G2 Prius. Its top heavy looking with little wheels to me, nothing smooth or graceful about it IMHO. The 2010 however I think is much lower looking, more stable looking, and more "graceful".

You've got to see the car in person...

Anyways should you upgrade from a 2009 to a 2010, normally I would say absolutely not because the depreciation hit is just too enormous to be worth it. However, if what you say about the market is true in Alaska where you would take a small hit of only a couple grand then why not.

I think you are wrong though, it just doesn't make sense. Lets say the 2010 Prius is similar in price to the 2009 (which I think it will be), if you were buying a Prius and you could buy a 2010 for $1,000 more than a 2009...which would you buy? Plus you have to trade the car in unless you want to sell it yourself and even if the dealer could sell it for $1,000 less than its new price, they have to have some profit so they aren't going to give you anywhere near that on a trade.

I think you will be dissapointed with what this will cost you, I bet it will cost you $5k-7k at least to make this swap.

 

given the new prices, whats your outlook on this?

 

Here's a thought ....

I looked into trade in when mine was about 3 months old ....

The sales manager said the trade in negotiation would start at about $15k ...

to which I started laughing in one of those 'you've got to be kidding voices'.

$15 ... k .... for a car I am paying over $30k for ....

Ah, no, my 09 is a keeper. can't be throwing money away like that. I chose it, that's it.

 

There's your mistake. Dealers will never give you a great deal on a trade in. They'll give you a low trade in value then turn around and sell your call for a couple thousand more.

If you want more $ for you car, sell it via private party but maybe it's best to do it pronto before 2010s hit dealers and more incentives & discounts get applied to remaining 09s.