I went into the dealership recently to see if I could maybe trade in my 08 Prius with 183k miles on it. Initially wanted to see if they could address my check engine light, but they said that it would be $2k to replace a catalytic converter, and another $4k for the batteries, $1k for the leaking oil, and $100 bucks to replace the back handle that leaves black goop on my hand when I open the trunk. When they appraised the car, they said they could only offer me $1500 for the car. $1500. I bought it used for $17000 four years ago with 70k miles on it. So in four years, and a little over 100k miles, my car depreciated $15500 and is now basically worth the same as my 10 year old oldsmobuick cutlas ciera was when i sold it in 02. That is just sad. Do Priuses really lose their value so quickly and completely? Part of why I bought a toyota was because I was hoping it would keep some value and I could trade it in down the line, or maybe upgrade to a Plugin when the batteries were spent. Has anyone else gotten such reverse sticker shock? Should I just donate it to charity for a demolition derby?
any car with 183,000 miles is pretty much worthless. and you bought when there was high demand, and are trying to sell when there is low demand. and in the meantime, it sounds like you have not maintained your car properly.
The general public is scared to death of a hybrid car with more than 100K miles on it -- yours has nearly twice that. Most of the fear is unwarranted, and the result of sheer ignorance, but perception is reality. For those of us armed with knowledge and some mechanical ability, a high mileage Prius can be a heck of a bargain.
Just replaced it. Serviced the whole engine, hoping to address the cat, but still need that $1500 part...
Burned oil, quart/2k miles Original battery, cat but handle was ok. My replacement, also '07 has the gummy handle.
You have to remember that you're getting the trade in value from a dealer, which is always going to be low. They also think that you think it needs a lot of work done to it. I would get the actual codes from them and post them here so the issues can be further diagnosed.
So, for $15,500 in depreciation, you drove it 113,000 miles. That calculates out to $0.137 per mile. Did you put much into repairs? If not, then that cost-per-mile sounds perfectly good to me. While my '86 Honda beat that figure, my '97 Subaru did not, and I'm not demanding my Prius to hit a figure that low either. If you don't like that bid, try again elsewhere. The first place you try has absolutely no obligation to give you the best available bid. In fact, trading in to the dealer will almost never give you the best bid, private party sales can usually do better.
You stated they quoted you $7700 in "needed" repairs and offered you $1500 for your car. Well that means they are in essence going to be investing $9300 into your car....$1500 for your car and then they have to spend the $7700 to fix it and sell it?? Or you can spend the $7700 and get your car running right and sell it for more money... So the car you paid $17000 for 4 years ago and drove the heck out of and needs lots of repairs now did not depreciate 15+k like you state, it only depreciated $7700...
