Used Prius Increases in Value

The instructor of a stock valuation course gave a lecture about hype and its affect on Markets. He then gave an assignment: chose an item you value, ask yourself how much you would pay for it and then ask others what they would be willing to pay for it. Selected our 2005 Prius, Foxy, as the item of value.

Husband and I paid $500 under MSRP for Foxy in August 2005. We also got a $2,000 tax deduction for purchasing a hybrid. Katrina hit the Gulf in Sept., gas prices went nuts.

Looked up prices on Prii on the Web. I was surprised to find several 2005s for sale, thought they'd be quite rare. Found a 2005 with comparable mileage to Foxy's but a lesser option package, for what was the original MSRP!

Checked the Blue Book and lo and behold, Foxy would list for $1,500 more than we paid for her, after 7 months and 14,000 miles of driving! If we sold Foxy today and purchased a 2006 off the dealer's lot, we might well make a profit, and come out of it with a brand new car!

Wow, what an example of hype artificially driving up the value of an item. Sorta like Beanie Babies or dotcom mania.

Don't worry. We purchased Foxy for her ultra-low emissions, comfort and luxury touches, not for any "hip" factor. Gas savings are icing on the cake. We hope she'll grace our garage for a long time.

By the way, a 2001 with 145,214 miles was for sale on a website, for $11,950. :blink: