Situation has it that I moved 5 minutes on foot from my workplace. Most Prius I see on craigslist have asking prices of 26000, about $5k more than I paid for and about $10k more than it would if it were any other car 20 months and 20,000 miles after its purchase. Also one wonders what the resale price of an 07 Prius would be this time next year, after the new model is announced. So if my car is worth about $25k now and will be worth $19k in a year, financially speaking I see keeping the car as a questionable investment. I would replace it with a smaller car like a yaris or a sentra or something like that.
This is the great question! This may be the time to sell if that is what you are leaning towards. There aren't too many times you can sell a car 2 years down the road and get more than what you paid for it. Who know what will happen in a year. We can predict that gas prices will rise again next year. We can also predict that Toyota will in no way be able to meet the demand for the 2010 model Prius. Will that lower prices of to 2004 to 2009 model years? Who knows.
More to the point, you can't predict that: a. You'll have your job at the same place a year from now; b. The business won't move farther from your house. The Prius still gets better MPG than any other cars. The only motivation to sell is to pocket some cash. This assumes you have no existing car loan, or can prepay yours without penalty. Your auto insurance will probably increase because of the new car. In some states, registration fees will be higher too.
auricchio has several good points. Only you are in the position to answer questions A & B regarding your job situation. However as far as the resale value goes. The resale value of your car will probably never be worth more than it is today. Considering human nature I believe that, with a high degree of probability, resale values of the current generation prius will fall considerably once the new model is in production. One major factor affecting the resale value of the Prius is the price of gasoline. If it stablizes or declines, then the resale value will most likely decline at a normal rate. If gas goes up at a rapid rate and people go nuts again, then the resale value will remain constant. Good Luck! Keith
I'm tempted to scream "Sell, sell, sell!!" But I wonder what other driving you will need to do...if you can walk to work that's fantastic, but how much other driving will you do month to month? If it's much...maybe more than 750 miles/mo then you might want to hang on to it. If it were me, I think I would probably sell it. Buy a cheap used corolla or something like that...and save the rest of the money for a Volt or PHEV 2010 Prius.
Hi Y...., Hmm. You could get a PHEV Prius in 3 years, and then EV one way to work. But, if you do not have a Prius to trade in with low miles, it might be beyond your budget.
Predicting the future is tough. I sold becasue I think there will be a lot more choices and supply in 3 years. If you're that close to work it'd be hard to pass up grabbing the cash and investing it, maybe in Euros? Don't forget to pay taxes on the profit.
I agree wholeheartedly with Evan and Pat. You are in a good situation. What about a bicyle or a scooter?
be careful about " asking prices ". I think demand and supply are about caught up. I took delivery 2 weeks ago of a 2008 with option 2..paid $25.5 plus tax. Only a misinformed, lazy shopper will pay 25K for a used 2007 with miles on it...imo.
If you can get the price you want, then sell ASAP, but I think you've already missed the boat. Waiting lists have pretty much dried up and new Prii can pretty much be had at discounts almost anywhere. Oh, and BTW, that was before oil *CRASH* this week going from $107 to $90 and it's still plummeting like a rock. $90 / barrel is already $3 / gallon gas in 3 weeks when it makes it's way through the refineries. Last time oil was $90, Prii could be had for invoice and that was with oil heading up, not down.
well, if you're going to keep a car regardless, and considering the market is not what it once was, i'd say it's a toss-up. asking prices are one thing, actual offers are another. if you're still paying for it, i'd be very tempted to sell in favor of something cheaper but not as stellar in the mpg department since you won't be using a lot of gas anyway. if it's paid for, congrats, you've got a paid off car that you can keep for extremely low operating expenses- or you could look at it as a depreciating asset that you're barely using, which is also tying up some of your cash. all depends on your perspective.
I'd keep it. If you really want to unload it you may want to wait until about Memorial day of next year because the price of gas surges shortly after Easter each year and it takes about a month or two for the general public to face reality again. If you decide to hang on to it for the long term just think about this, you'll still be able to afford to drive on a long distance vacation unlike most other people. I live in Ohio and a guy at the gas station told me the other day that a few weeks ago he went on vacation to New Orleans and it cost him over $400 just for gas to drive down and back and he said that was in a Chevy Cobalt. (I looked it up, thats about 2100 miles round trip not counting what miles he may have drove while down there)
Thanks for the good advice. I think the window for selling will be open till the end of the year. I doubt I would be doing more than 600 miles a month from this point onward...
