Do you guys think the Prius Prime will retain its value?

Plug ins will see a steep depreciation as long as...

• there are financial incentives
• battery technology and cost continues the current rate of improvement
• the public sees them as an unknown
  
• gas prices stay low

The latter has a less direct effect on plug ins than hybrids. Low fuel prices mean less efficient vehicles sell better, and the manufacturer is more likely to have internal incentives to move plug ins for CAFE values.

In time, used plug in prices will stabilize, and depreciation return to something more normal for the segment and manufacturer.

 

agreed, but that time is not now, and i may be picking up a used prime in a year or two for pennies on the dollar.

 

I think the second generation plug ins are too new to say whether they'll depreciate as quickly as the first at this point.

 

well sure, i wouldn't place a bet on it, just looking historically, the ams way you'd look at the stock market. but i don't see anything changing. we'll find out in a couple years.

 

Yeah, my son, 99 pennies to the dollar!!, har, har, harrumph!
As to the car's future value, "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn!" I like the car, I enjoy the car, I trust the car. Any car that can keep me from having to see a dealer except every 10,000 miles, is fine in my book!!

.

 

How does the fine print on leases compare between then and now?

 

u tell me.

 

same way i feel about my pip. i'm pretty much stuck with it, due to the resale value, but at least it's worth being stuck with.

 

Can happen instantly to primes as well.

Think, twice the battery range, 100 lbs lighter, 3k lower price, next year.

Ok, it could happen, but probably not.

That's high tech at work.

If your buying a new car, you get a huge devaluation. So there's that.

My game :
As long as I'm employed,
I will examine feature on cars as they appear, and evaluate their value.
I will trade in for "my value" ( as in range, efficiency, safety, auto mobility )
suck up the loss, enjoy the new car
rinse, repeat

Loose employment, retire, entirely new game.

 

retired, keeping the pip until future notice.

 

Buy when the gas prices are cheap and sell when they're expensive. And don't trade in your car because dealers don't care about you. They will always low-ball you. Sell the car on auto trader and craigslist.

 

You can research the selling price for used Prius Gen3 and Prius Gen4 vehicle to understand an estimate on depreciation. Also you can view the residual value of any vehicle after 2 or 3 year lease to estimate. As example:
"Lease a new 2017 Toyota Prius Prime for just $327 a month. 36 Months -month closed end lease on Prius Prime 2017 Models 1237. $2,999 due at signing which includes first month’s payment of $327, acquisition fee of $650, customer capitalized cost reduction of $2022, security deposit of $0, and assumes $0 lease bonus cash direct from Toyota is applied to due at signing. Lease vehicle includes the following optional equipment: 50 State Emissions. $27006 adjusted capitalized cost assumes dealer participation, which may vary. MSRP $29685 includes destination charge. Your payment may vary depending on final price. Base monthly payment of $327 does not include tax. Taxes, license, title, insurance, regionally required equipment, and other dealer’s charges are extra, and are not included in the amounts shown. Excludes $350 disposition fee due at lease end. Lessee pays maintenance, excess wear and tear and $0.15 per mile charge for all mileage over 12000 miles per year. Lease end purchase option $15436.20"

 

Generally true, but may not up in all cases. Depending on state, the trade in value can reduce the price for determining sales tax. There could be incentives tied to having a trade in, loyalty and conquest ones come to mind, that increase the effective trade in value. Then the lost value on the car because of trade in, can be worth the hassle of selling privately.

 

Same for me! If I wring every single penny of value out of my car, it's okay by me. I tend to trade in only when there's a compelling reason, either the car is starting to need major repairs, I just can't trust it, or something like the Prime comes out. I have 120K on my 2010 Prius and it really feels like it has a lot more miles to go, so I expect the next owner will be just as happy with it. (I did kind of get tired of silver though..)

 

I heard that a Japanese Toyota tech hinted the Prius prime has the capability for a battery upgrade if the opportunity presents itself in the future. If this is a founded rumor, I would imagine the cars value would hold reasonably.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

1. Maybe coming for the first Tesla roadster.
   
2. Is the only thing we've seen so far to date with over plug in models.

 

No cars which are not self-driving and can't be easily upgraded to be self-driving will hold their value.

Once self-driving cars are available for a reasonable price (within 5 years) the value of non-self-driving cars will plummet (as insurance prices skyrocket).

 

Take a look at the real depreciation lists one of these days. The high-end luxury segment sees much greater depreciation - you'll find the Mercedes S-class in the top 3-5 every single time. Woe is the Maserati buyer who picked up a Quattroporte for 130k only to find its value dropped by like 70% in 4 years. 2005 QPs were going for Camry money in like 2010.

Slightly dated article: 10 Cars That Depreciate Like a Stock Market Crash

I think that for most people, the depreciation of the prime won't matter - most people aren't going to be switching to self-driving-electric-social-AI-APPS!!!! in the average lifetime of the cars (5-8 years). The Prime does look a lot like a compliance car though.

 

Also... America has fallen out of love with the sedan/compact cars... SUVs is where the game is at now; these cars look to be much more in demand and will hold better value (unless gas prices skyrocket: unlikely). Honda is releasing a Hybrid CR-V next year, could that be a car that may be a better bet as far as "fairly good investment" money is concerned?