PRIUS very low End Lease Value ???

Could it be missing a down payment of some value?

 

Maybe because they want to sell to business customers who traditionally lease and the low end value is not actually the value but what you pay to keep the car. Toyota want you to keep it.

 

I may have to do with "wholesale" price verses trade-in etc.

I just took my 2006 with 91K in and in excellent condition for trade and they only wanted to give my 8 K for it.. I Kelly blue booked it and its only 11 - 12K.

 

I believe the economy and banking ills have shifted their thinking. It used to be they matched up the residual pretty closely to what the car would be worth so you truly were simply paying for the part you use. It may be that this residual is close to the expected market value. However if they show a low residual then you're paying for a lot more of the depreciation than what you're using. If you then decide not to purchase the car, they pretty well have a fully depreciated car that they can make a gob on when they sell it OR they make a ton of money from you since you have to buy it at $12K+ after already pretty much having paid for it in lease payments.

I have the same issue right now with an Expedition. I only leased for 2 years with the intent I wouldn't want to keep it. My payments were thus pretty high as most of the depreciation is in the first two years. My residual was $22,300. I really thought that is all it would be worth. Now though for some reason the large SUV's have actually kept their values better than expected. My Expedition has a trade in value of around $28. The Private party value is over $30K. I can buy this for $22.3K. I don't really want it, but if I simply let it go back then Ford will make a lot of money off of this. If I buy it I could turn around and trade it for something and have about $4K to $5K equity in my new car with no money down. Basically I've already paid for the depreciation down to the $22K level. I don't want to give that away.

I bought my Prius V with no money down for $500/month. If I was going to lease for 4 years I would rather buy. If I was going to keep it 2 years then I'd have to look at the leasing and determine if the residual is fairly priced.

 

What is the end value for a 3 year lease? A 4 year old car coming off of lease would likely be tougher for dealers to resell, especially for a hybrid with batteries that theoretically are halfway through their usable life.

 

That residual does seem low. I leased a Prius V w/ nav & mats ($30,020 MSRP) for $499/month on a 36 month 15K miles per year lease. FWIW, the residual had I done a 48 month lease would have been $16,564, or 55% of MSRP vs. 44% in your example.

Looks like a big difference U.S. vs. Canada.

 

I don't see why Batteries for the Gen II should be an issue, they have been out long enough now that they get in wrecks just like other cars and there should be plenty of used low mileage batteries in supply.

When the lease runs out for the 2010, it will be the same story.

 

How many miles per year?

I have heard that leasing companies don't like to lease Hybrids because of the uncertainty of the resale value.

 

Try looking at this site. Really helps in understanding leasing

RIDE with G Blog Archive 2010 Toyota Prius Lease Rates – July 2009

 

Doesn't low residual value mean you pay through the nose in term of monthly lease payments?

 

Received $12,250 trade in for my 2005 Prius (no leather, no NAV) with 46,000 miles and basically bald tires.

What you are probably looking at in "prices" is the CarMax website. Don't be fooled by those prices. Those are what CarMax is charging for you to purchase a used Prius. That is no where what you will get if you sell or trade the car in.

As to why there is such a low residual for the Prius...basically it's two reasons.

1 The new 2010 Prius is a newer vehicle. They have no idea what the real value will be at the end of a four or five year lease.

2 The battery issue. As you get closer and closer to that "magic" 100,000 mile battery warranty, there is always the possibility of "battery failure", which the customer will be stuck with after 100K miles.

 

Well from experience I can tell you that should be a non-issue. What abut all the transmissions that go out after 36,000 miles in conventional cars and cost as much as replacing a Prius battery. People seem to lose all reason when something new comes along.