Hello, I have a 2007 base model Prius with 120k miles (currently getting about 45 mpg) and I live in Hawaii. I'm moving to Chicago this summer and wondering if you think it's worth shipping it back for $1,200, or selling for KBB value (about $5,000) then buying an older Civic or something in Chicago. Do you think it's a safe bet that the Prius will go on without need of major repairs for a few more years? What would YOU do and why? Thank you!! G
Do not ship it back, it's easier to give a $1200 and sell the car than to bring it back. You can always buy another one here.
My general thought is to do a KBB comparision between where you're at and where you're moving. If the value in Chicago for the equivalent Prius is not greater by at least $1200 or the cost of shipping (including your time and expenses to pick it up from a port and drive it to Chicago), I would sell the car and buy a new one. My guess is that a Prius is probably worth about the same in Chicago or Hawaii, so in your shoes I probably would sell and buy a new car. Not to mention that for many of us, we bought the car for environmental reasons, and it's more environmentally friendly to just move you and not move your car such a long distance.
Your HV battery warranty is expired and we are starting to hear quite a few 2007's needing new HV batts. Nobody tells us % failure so we do not really know how many win the lottery with a surviving battery. Anyways, if you were under warranty I'd be inclined to say bring it, but it's less clear as an over 8-yrs old and over 100k miles. Gen2 are nice cars though, I must say.
Well if you buy another car in Chicago you have to end up paying taxes/fees which may be around 1/2 your shipping costs. Then buying a used car there is the natural variance of picking up someone else's problem. (This car has been running great for the past 2 hours after i reset all the error codes. Oh did i just say that out loud?) My personal vote, suck it up and pay the shipping.
+1 I just looked up Chicago sales tax: 10.25%! Ouch!!! You're really rolling the dice when you purchase a $5000/120K mile vehicle. If the one you have is a good one, I'd keep it.
This is the tax rate for buying from a dealer. If you buy from a private party, the use tax rates can be much lower. For example, if you buy a 2010 vehicle for under $15k, the state use tax is $90. A 2007 is $50. You may pay an additional fee to the city/county depending on where you live. The state use tax is described in here. It has a reference to local taxes. http://www.revenue.state.il.us/taxforms/Sales/VehicleUseTax/RUT-5.pdf
This is Illinois law. Other states will vary. You pay sales tax (use tax) but at a much lower rate in Illinois. There are some requirements about age and price of vehicle that you have to meet- mainly less than $15k. The details are in the link. I've bought several older cars and this is a great deal.
I've paid to ship 3 Prius from Honolulu to Long Beach, CA in the past. These were cars whose service history was well-known to me and which had logged only 15K miles at the time I assumed ownership. If you have taken good care of your car then it is not unreasonable to pay $1200 to ship it. You could easily pay that much to repair a newly purchased used car if you have a moderate amount of bad luck with your choice. I have logged 217K miles on the 2004 and it has not required any major repairs during my 10 year ownership period.
I don't understand your terminology. In my experience, sales tax is paid when ownership is transferred from one party to another. Use tax (sometime referred to as excise tax) is paid annually on the use of an item. Is that not the way tax is levied in Illinois?
I have seen it described that way in other states and have lived in some of them. Illinois has an annual registration fee on vehicles but it is a flat rate of about $100/yr and is not based on value. In everyday conversation in Illinois, we call what we pay at the purchase of goods a "sales tax" but I just checked the State of Illinois website and what we normally call a "sales tax" (whether autos, furniture, clothing, food, etc.) is called a "use tax" by the State of Illinois whether collected by the store or the DMV. No idea why..... but there are a lot of things about Illinois politics that don't make sense. There are two ways this use tax is collected: 1) If purchasing from a dealer, you will pay to the dealer the state rate of 6.25% on the purchase price plus whatever local use (sales) taxes are being charged and they will remit this tax money to the state. As someone pointed out, the local rates can be substantial. Chicago adds 4% for a total of 10.25%. And buying out of town doesn't necessarily help, our city government will send a bill for their part. 2) If buying from an individual, you will pay the use tax when transferring the title at the DMV. The document I linked to above details how this is calculated. It can be MUCH less than the tax you would pay at the dealer. For example, a $14,999 dollar 2010 vehicle would result in a state use tax of $937.44 if purchased from a dealer. Private party would be $90. Local taxes would be on top of this and I'm not very familiar with them. As you can see, if you are buying an older car, this is a tremendous incentive to buy from a private party. So depending on who the OP would buy a replacement car from, the sales tax could vary a lot.
Have you considered Winters in Chicago vs in Hawaii ? . . . Cold temps, ice and snow. Probably won't get 45 mpg on Winter gas and using the heater, . . . imo. . . . Read the threads on using the Prius heater during the winter. . Coming from Hawaii, I wouldn't want a 2007 Gen2 in Chicago's winter weather, 20 degree lows and lower 30s highs. .
ggraves, Unless you have a deep emotional tie to your Prius, I would Save the shipping fee, and registration hassle, sell it here, and use the money Plus a little more $$$, and get a newer model. You would be better off in the long run. Good luck! Stt
