Greetings fellow Prius owners, I'm debating whether to pay off or trade-in my leased 2007 Prius and was wondering if some of you might have some feedback. Current facts: 2007 Prius, base model with backup camera. 58k miles. It is leased, and the amount owed is about $8,300 after my last payment. I think buying it outright may entail closing costs of sorts, so let's say $9000 even. Blue Book on a trade-in in excellent condition is about $13,300. Private sale is $15k or so. I've upgraded with hitch and Yakima bike rack, Dice iPhone/iPod integration, better speakers/tweeters, and JL Audio low-profile subwoofer. My lease is up July 21. Which of the following options would be preferable? a) Take it in to preferred dealer and see if they will give me 13-14k trade-in for a 2012 Prius. I'd put maybe 5k down for a 25k model, thus financing 16k or so over 5 years to get my payments close to $300 a month. b) Get a loan from my bank to pay it off, sell it privately for 15-16k, and add difference after loan repayment to my own 5k to get 2012 model with 15k financed at $300 or so per month. c) Keep the 2007, finance the 9k over 3 years at $275/month, and call it a day. Or should I consider a fourth option? Thanks in advance for any recommendations.
I wouldn't assume you'll actually get blue book. Call up some dealers and have them give you a quick quote over the phone, then start up some ads (craigslist, cars.com, whatever), and see what people offer you for a private sale. There was someone recently on the forum who probably could have picked up an extra $1000 from a private party sale, and saved the private party about $2000 compared to buying the car from the dealer, but they waited too long and ended up being pressured into accepting less from a dealer than they could have gotten from a PP in a month or so.
Unless there is something else not mentioned I'd vote for C. Sounds like you have taken good care of the car and you are unlikely to get anything close to your money back on the upgrades.
C: At 58K you've practically only just broken it in. If it's still in great condition and you still like driving it, then you should just keep driving it. Unless you pine for any of the newer features / gadgets on the latest models.
From a dollars and sense standpoint option c. OTOH, if you have burning desire to buy another car, I understand that.
I traded my car in to the dealer and I got considerably less than if I had sold it privately. I opted this way because I knew my car would have been a tough sell privately (2003 Maxima 3.5L se) in this crazy gas prices world. It was also way out of warranty so wanted to void any hassles. But your prius should be an easy sell. Expect to get considerably less if you trade it in to the dealer.....they will want to pay a lot less, so they can take it, tune it up and sell for a profit. In this case, option (b) is better than (a).....and frankly if you really love you car, then why change
My two cents worth is this. Option A is a bad choice as you will end up spending more money in the long run. Dealers almost always give you less than what you could get through a private sale. Option B would make sense if you don't want to keep the car you have now. Option C would make sense if you want to keep the car you have. I do note that it seems if you go with option C, you are intending to keep the 5K down payment for future use, or am I missing something here. The real thing to think about is this. The Prius tends to have a higher resale value, but like all cars the price drops as the vehicle ages. If you are simply looking at dollars and cents, then in my book I would go Option B if I wanted a 2012 which I think you are implying. FWIW, I too am looking at the new ones. The current 09 we have is nice, but I would like to get a new one. I am leaning towards the Model 3 full size Prius, and not the V or C. The drawback to new is this, you pay a premium. Once you drive it off the lot, you then have a used car, even though you bought it new. If you look around, you might find a low mileage 2011 for a lot better deal. Good luck with your choice, and I hope what I posted helps you. Ron (dorunron)
I would take it to Carmax and see what you can get for it. These are cars that can be moved fairly quickly so if it requires minimal reconditioning, Carmax may give you top dollar for it. With that said, it depends on what your finances are. Keeping the car will be the most financially sensible option, but some of us have other desires that may or may not agree with that.
If it were me, I'd like to say I'd keep the car. It makes the most sense financially... but I do completely understand the wanting of a brand new 2012. They look real nice. If you've owned (leased) the car for it's entire life, then you know how well it was maintained, and about any other driveability issues. If you suspect any mechanical issues you don't want to deal with then get rid of it now before anything becomes a problem. At that mileage and age there really should be any issues afoot. If there's nothing wrong with it, change the CVT fluid (along with the 60K maintenance) and drive on! Scott
I agree with most of the other posters here. I would pick C) Keep the 2007. I think this makes the most financial sense. Essentially, you are paying $8,100 less for keeping the 2007 as opposed to option A. The other thing to consider is the depreciation value of cars. It is said that cars depreciate 30-40% in the first three years of ownership. Having the 2007 is blocking you from a majority of the depreciation. It still has a good value, but you are not hit with as much depreciation each year. The final thing is I have read on Consumer Reports that Generation 2 is more reliable than Generation 3. This is given, that it is a newer car. However, if CR is right, then the 2007 will likely be more reliable than a 2012 Prius. The Generation 2 they reported as above average reliability, while Generation 3 they reported as only average reliability.
Never sell a car at CarMax unless you know about an expensive repair and the math works. They will ALWAYS give you about 50% of what it's worth, and about 60-70% of what you can get on craigslist.
I am never (never say never) going to sell my '08. Also, I am going to get a Highlander Hybrid after paying the last two payments on my Suburban. One of these vehicle will get the PIS PHEV kit put on it.
