Why are used 2010's much lower than 2011 and 2012?

^^ Excellent Advice!^^

 

At first glance of the title I thought the post was about the body itself of the car was lower...

 

i have been considering trading my 2010 Prius and I, too, and concerned about the value of the car. Seems to drop every day. it's a III and the dealer I bought it form offered my $16K for it (56K miles, otherwise like new). I found this to be a bit insulting. This is a Toyota; it ought to have better resale than that. What gets me is that I am wanting to get a 12 prius 4 with moonroof, and the dealer is trying to tell me my car isn't worth as much because gas is below $4 a gallon, but he can't really discount a new one because gas is expensive so demand is high enough. Well which is it? You can't play that game when you're going prius to prius.

 

That is too low! You could always look into selling it private party. I sold a vehicle on AutoTrader last year and it sold fairly quickly.

 

Well my problem is that I have some negative equity. I have no problem rolling the same amount or so into a new one, but i won't be able to sell it privately for what I owe, and I don't really have the cash flow to pay off the negative. I'm kinda stuck unless I can make a decent trade deal or until enough time passes to break even.

 

Probably no gentle way to say this, so I will just say it. Why are you wanting to buy a new car when you have a car that is just 2 years older with not a ton of miles and little cash flow? Sorry, but that doesn't seem to make a whole lot of economic sense.

 

Yeah, It doesn't make a lot economical sense, which is why I haven't done it. But you see, I'm a car guy. I love cars and wish I could afford to own 5 or 6 at a time. The reason I'd like to trade is because I want something that is either more fun, or more comfortable. It would be nice to have a prius because of the mileage, but it would also be nice to have the nav, sunroof, non-cloth seats, etc. I bought my prius two years ago as an economic vehicle which is why I didn't get extras on it. I spend a lot of time in the car, so I like to be able to have them well equipped when I can. The sad thing is that I can get a lot of cars at this point with decent mpg, more capability, and more luxury for a lot less money than a Prius 4 w/moonroof pkg. Odds are, I'm not going to do anything right now. I have just been exploring the options this summer.

 

First, I think all of us spend a lot of time in our cars, which is why we are on this site probably.
Second, why spend extra money for a nav that will be out of date in a couple years. Plus, I've heard second hand that the nav units aren't that great. And almost unanimously everyone thinks entune is pretty crappy.

 

well, the thing is, it's not that i want that particular nav, but the whole system is just better. it has the big screen for the back up cam, the big screen for the radio, etc. toyota went really cheap on the stock radio display that is in my car. it doesn't even scroll. but the point is moot, because it's part of the moonroof package anyway. i would never consider buying nav as a separate option because I know the tech is not as good as garmin or tomtom.

I don't think it's a foregone conclusion that just because we are enthusiastic about our cars means we all spend a lot of time in them. I'm probably more enthusiastic about my Jeep and I put 9K miles on it in the past 12 months. I should have clarified that I have a big commute to work. I'm in that seat between 90 min and 2 hours per day. While some I'm sure drive more, I think I drive more than the average driver. I put on about 25K miles a year.

 

I bought my 2011 new in January 2012 after my 2008 got squished in December. I couldn't find any used Prius of any year in the Atlanta Metro area. I found two and both were not what I was looking for. Truthfully, I even had trouble finding new ones.

 

Take it from someone who was a field service tech for years, and was upside down on his car loans, because of all the miles I drove. Your car is still young, it’s a Toyota after all; do what I did and drive it till the wheels fall off and get out from under that debt! It was harder for me because mine wasn’t a Toyota, but I made it and got it paid off. Without that debt your options will really open up, and you will be able to get so much more car for a much lower payment. I would never have been able to buy a Prius if I was still under water like I was before. Good luck.

 

If 2010's used prices seem to be disproportionate to 2011's, one reason might be along the lines of what I ran in to when I bought my 2010. At the time, Toyota was going through terrible publicity with brakes, sudden acceleration claims and so on. I got $1000 off. The salesman said that never happened before on a Prius. Also, gasoline was a lot lower than now, so demand was a little off. The answer may be that 2010 owners bought at a lower price than 2011 owners. Just a thought.

 

That's good advice. I would drive the car as well till the wheels fall off and let your Prius start paying you in the gas savings.