I saw this loony article at cnn.com http://money.cnn.com/2005/04/11/Autos/used...prius/index.htm It's too crazy for me to even think of a comment on it.
Supply and demand at work. Here in Puerto Rico the Prius has never been a hot seller. As a result, you can buy new one for $1,500 below msrp and a used 2004 for $4000 below its original msrp.
Yet, to qualify for financing/refinancing, they go by Kelly bluebook retail, which is less than new. Much less.
There was a news story just last night indicating that the new Prius is the only car that gains value after you drive it off the lot. They were saying that the Kelly Blue Book value is higher that purchase price. Might depend on the option package but that's good news.
according to Kelly Blue Book, my Prius after 11,000 miles is worth $779 more on a TRADE IN!! $2100 higher in sale value
CNN (TV, not the web site) seems to have picked up on this story as well. They ran a story today around noon (EDT) that featured a guy that was trying to sell his used Prius for 10,000 more than he paid for it. Apparently he's listing the car on cars.com and ebay. They interviewed the guy, and he indicated that while he's yet to sell it, he's getting multiple e-mails each day with offers of more than what he paid for it at the dealership. According to the report, the guy is looking to make a quick $10,000, and if he gets his price, he's going to turn around and purchase another Prius, as he really likes the car. They interviewed a Toyota salesperson (I think he was from a NYC dealership, but could be mistaken). The salesperson indicated that he felt the guy would probably be able to sell the car for what he was asking, provided he found somebody that wanted the car immediately. Other info from the report: - Toyota indicates that the average wait for a Prius is currently 2 months - the salesperson that was interviewed told the CNN reporter that his clients have gotten their Priuses within a month - that the Kelly book does indicate that the value of a used Prius is often more than the cost of the car when new FWIW, the car being offered is Millennium Silver. The report didn't mention which package it is, though I presume you could discover that at the aforementioned web sites.
