I'm not really seriously considering giving up my baby just yet, but I'm curious how much you think a dealer would give me for it. It's a 2012 C2 with 9k miles, bought back in December. I'd possibly be interested in trading it in for a C3, liftback Prius, or Prius v. I find myself wishing I had the smart key system, and there isn't a reliable way to get it installed on the C2. Also, i'm thinking a more roomier car might serve me better in the long run. Again, I'm just wondering. I really do like my C, I promise!
You could get a rough idea at KBB. I put the generic info in for your car and it came back with 15-17k. Might get a little more at a Toyota dealer but if you are financing there's a pretty good chance you are upside down with your loan if you are only in the first or second year of payments.
I am looking at the same too, a dealer would give you about $15500 to $16500, then a C3 would cost about $20800, I am waiting to see what minor changes they will have in model 2014 in Nov before decide to move up...
Do the research first, because as mentioned, being upsidedown on a loan (if you do have one) is not a pretty place to be when considering trading in a car. Best route, in my opinion, is find a private party to take over the loan vs. trading it in at the dealership if you're in no rush; put a sign on it or post it somewhere and test the water. You can google it to get details on how to sell a car you owe on to a private party. Hopefully those that have car payments are making a little extra payment each month to drive down their principle . Even $20 more can shave off a a month or two of the life of the loan.
Well I have the cash now to pay off the loan, so i'd probably do that if I were to trade it in. I only financed it to get a $1k rebate from Toyota Financial at the time of purchase. Well, also, the 2% APR I got on it was pretty good too, considering it beats inflation rate!
So sounds like the $1k would be a wash and the difference in the loss on a trade in would be what it would be for you to own the car for a year (in this example if you trade in now). My last car I had I took a $1K loss on a 2010 car, but it was totally worth it upfront for the long term savings and joy....couldn't be happier about my decision.
You'll get less. The Toyota dealers never give more because they have new unit to sell. They wanted to give me 18,000.00 on my 3 month old Prius C-3 with 4,000 miles. They're selling new C-3's at 22K You loose big on trades to the dealers. Sell it private party and you'll likely get 1 to 2K more for it. If the dealers show more money. Say more than 15K for one with 10K miles, you'll find the new car price will be higher. Don't be duped with the backdoor game. Always keep the new car price low to avoid excess tax.
If you want to know what the car is worth I would take it to CarMax. They will appraise it and give you an offer good for seven days. Then you can shop their number around. Fast and free—your appraisal can take as little as 30 minutes and you're welcome to watch while you wait. No obligation—we'll buy your car even if you don't buy ours. No appointment needed—bring your car in for an appraisal any time we're open. Our appraisers—they're specially trained to evaluate the cars we buy. The written offer—it's good for seven days at any CarMax location. Fast payment—if you sell us your car, you'll receive a bank draft on the spot! We Buy Cars at CarMax - Sell Us Your Car Main Page What is the difference between CarMax and KBB, NADA Blue Book, Edmunds, etc.? They buy cars. The others don't.
