Wait or Buy?

Buy one when you get the chance.

Remember, the 05 will cost $400 more, so you have at least that much of a buffer against depreciation.

 

at six years of age, condition is more of a factor that model year.

 

Buy now

Think about it like buying a computer. When you buy a computer, you have immediately lost a few hundred dollars because if you had waited a few months, you could have gotten a better computer for a few hundred dollars less.

But when you bought that computer, if you had waited a few months, you could have bought a better computer cheaper if only you had waited a few more months.
But when you bought that computer, if you had waited a few months, you could have bought a better computer cheaper if only you had waited a few more months.

This never ends because there will never be a day when they have stopped making better computers that are cheaper. And all you've done is delay the day when you get yourself a fine computer.

The same is true for the Prius or any other item that is likely to get better and better. If you wait 6 months to get something you want when you could have gotten it sooner, you've simply lost those 6 months!

So let's say your 04 is $1000 less valuable when you sell it in 6 years. But you will have had the 04 for 6 months earlier than the 05. What's that worth?

That $1000 comes out to about $166 per month over 6 months. This is much lower than a typical car payment.

So buying now wins logically, and buying now certainly wins emotionally, because you get those 6 months to drive it now.

 

I'd buy the '04...a Prius in the garage is better than being on a waiting list.. Bob

 

Waiting only 2 months for an 05 over the wait for an 04 changes the calculation a bit.
What I'd do is stay on both waiting lists until you get the call that the 04 is here. Then make your decision.

Plus, I find that any wait time the dealers give is very arbitrary. I'm up to 4 months on a 3 month promise, and my daughter got hers after 6 weeks on a 3 month promise.

One third thing, my dealer told me that he has no way of knowing the color of any car until a week or so before he finds out he is getting one. He also doesn't know what package it is until a few months from the delivery date either. So I'm not so sure you can know that the 04 you will be getting is not the color you want.

And there's a 4th issue. Oil today may break $50 per barrel. Seeing as how the oil industry so so so so wants Bush elected, (as opposed to re-elected) we probably won't see much of a spike in gas prices before Nov 2nd. But on Nov 3rd, if these barrel prices are sustained, rest assured we will see $3 per gal by Thanksgiving.

So keep in mind what $3 per gallon might do to Prius waiting lists. All the more reason to be on multiple lists and think through before you say no to the first one that comes along.

 

I think the silver (shiny) is great; some consider it too bright.
I would've picked the seaside or the red (or even the driftwood or tideland) over the silver IF I could've had the grey interior with any those colors. I prefer the darker look, and the tan shows every bit of dirt (although the fabric cleans easily, the carpet doesn't).

I'd say a Bird in the Hand is Worth Two Bushes in the White House.

rob

 

Buy the '04 for MSRP but stay on the waiting list for the '05. Try to sell the '04 for 3k to 4k over MSRP like all the unscrupulous dealers are doing and congratulate yourself for a nice profit or an improved down payment.

 

Buy the 04 and get the 1500 federal tax deduction. Stall until you get your first choice of colors and package after Jan. 1....then sell/trade your 04 on an 05, and take another 1000 tax deduction.

 

How long will it be until the 05's come out?

 

About a month on the west coast, 2 weeks later elsewhere in the U.S.

 

Does this mean there will be an abundance of Prius's, or will they still be hard to come by? Do you think this will make the dealers' lists shorten dramatically?

 

Toyota has said they will be producing 15K per month rather than 10K. I don't know when that level of production starts. I don't think "dramatic" will be seen, not with people being quoted 1 - 2 years at current production. If a given dealer gets 4-6 cars a month now, they will get 6-9 (all things being equal). If you are #60 on the list, the current wait is 10 or more months, with higher levels of production, 7 months or more. Better, but not exactly time to sell the current vehicle.

 

With the amount of driving I do, I save 200$ a month over my old vehicle(F-150). Waiting a few extra months in my case just didn't make sense. Your math may vary.

 

Pshady --

Have a great trip up to stockton. I picked up my car last week from Asif too, and I am having a great time!!! Only wish my commute was longer so I could drive more, but I take the Metrolink, so only get to drive to the train station!!

 

Good call, pshady. I read a Toyota press release that said increased worldwide production will affect U.S. arrivals beginning sometime during Q2 2005. Oh, the Prius silver is the same Millennium Silver Metallic used throughout the Toyota and Lexus lines. You can probably see it on some other models at a dealership now. It's beautiful and has a clearcoat topcoat, a plus in my book.