I was thinking of trading our 05 pkg 6 for a 06. I want to have a rough Idea what a trade in is worth before I see the dealer. We have 6500 miles on the car and its spotless. Thanks for the words of wisdom Jim
What particular feature are you after? It's probably not worth trading in. You can buy that feature for your '05 cheaper than the loss you take on payments. (Assuming of course that you didn't buy the car outright.)
Go to Google and ask for used car prices, there will be links to Kelly Blue Book, Edmonds, and some others. They take into account your location, milage, condition, options, color, etc. They should give you three prices wholesale which is what the dealer will most likely offer you, retail which is what the dealer might sell it for, and one that's in between which is the private party sale price. If you decide to sell it yourself and it really is just like new set the price a little high, you'll most likely get it.
i want your car! and i'd be willing to fly to get to it =) seriously, i'd take it before i let you sell it to the dealer at their standard wholesale offering. you will likely be able to get more money, though, by selling it privately, via cars.com, or autotrader, or (best for us) here on PC. If you are getting a fully loaded 2006, though, and the dealer knowing he'll be able to pass along the 2005 in no time flat, you might actually be able to use it as a bargaining chip. if i were a dealer, i'd offer the private party price, since i know darn well i'm makiing money on both the resale of the 2005 and the sale of the decked out 2006. good luck!
Thanks for all the help. I found the Edmounds site a great help. It will take a coulpe of weeks to go to a couple of dealers and get some prices together. I will let you know how it turns out. Jim
My dealer offered me last week $20K for my 05 #2 which I paid 22.4K for. This offer was not a trade in. I'm selling my car and asking 22.9K, taking 21.9K. The Prius is in high demand in the N. Virginia area due to the HOV lane usage. I have 10K miles on the car. I already have a deposit on an 06.
I think the trick why folks will pay so much is they are not willing to wait for the new ones. Sell yours to someone who Can't wait and must have instant gratification and then wait for your new 2006 and you may even get the 2006 cheaper!