Short version of the story… I just got back from the dealer. I stopped by tonight to see about trading in my 30 month old Prius for a new one. They told me my Prius was worth $11,000! 30 months ago it was $26,000 - today $11,000 or 42% of what I paid! Long version of the story… I live in Indianapolis Indiana. This weekend the Toyota dealership I have been doing business with for years (Obrien Toyota) had some commercials on TV, offering Prius for up to $5000 off. I thought maybe I could trade in my 30 month old Prius for a brand new one for a couple of thousand dollars. They do offer $5,000 off but only if you buy the most expensive options package (I should have known). They did offer $2300 off; not bad I thought. I should mention that the car needs some work. It needs new tires. Also I dented the hood and it needs to be replaced. All the repairs should only be around $1200. Obrien quoted me $600 to repair the hood. The car has 32k miles. The car is in very good condition. All service has been done on time at the dealer. The shocking part was what they told me my car was worth $11,000. When I bought the car exactly 30 months the price was over $26,000. If you add the $1,200 for the repairs, that gets you to $12,200 or %47 of what I paid. So my Prius is back in the garage. Please someone tell me they were trying to rip me off!
we're in a recession and gas is relatively low. cars depreciate. the dealer's asking for less than you'd be able to sell to a private party cause they're going to turn around and sell it.
Read www.carbuyingtips.com. The dealer has one objective--maximize profit. This is done in two steps. First, get the customer to pay the most for the new car. Second, get the customer to accept the least for the trade-in. If a dealer has a dozen new ones sitting on the lot they really don't need your used one.
wow... that's pretty bad. But yeah I suppose in this economy, it will be hard to sell a car and dealers are already having a hard time selling a new one.
no mileage, other issues, general condition of the car?? not giving us much to go on and realize trade-in value is the lowest you can get. what are other Pri's in with similar specs selling for? around here, you could get $16,000+ pretty easy
The car has 32k miles. The car is in very good condition. All service has been done on time, at the dealer.
With all due respect your car is not in very good condition. You have said that it needs tires and has a dent in the hood. Most trade-ins will go straight to a wholesale auction as-is. He is looking to make money on your trade to make up for the discount on the new Prius. He isn't trying to rip you off he just isn't giving you a great deal. Kelly Blue Book pricing your car at $13,000 for a trade-in that is in Fair condition. Fair Condition: Some mechanical or cosmetic defects and needs servicing but is still in reasonable running condition. Clean title history, the paint, body and/or interior need work performed by a professional. Tires may need to be replaced. There may be some repairable rust damage.
Here is the key point that everyone overlooks when offered 'too-good-to-be-true' deals on new cars such as the $5000 off a new 2009 Prius. This $5000 discount also affects USED CARS. If like last summer Prius' were in short supply and every new Prius was bringing MSRP, not a $5000 discount, then your 30-month old Prius in normal condition and miles would be 'worth' about $16000 or more even, not the $11000 that you were offered. It's all simply supply and demand. Right now in the US auto market there is little or no demand for any vehicle. That's why there's a $5000 discount on a new Prius. But it goes for USED Prius' as well. There simply are no buyers!!! The US public for the most part is sitting on its hands.
If you were considering an `09 G2, why do you want to go to this trouble just to get the same generation of Prius? Unless you really desire a Touring or something like that, why not just get the new tires, the body work, and get it detailed to give its looks a lift? Your car is still young enough that you can get the warranty extended by Troy Dietrich. The Prius is potentially the most durable car there is, what with no friction coupling and an engine that does not have to work very hard. Do that, and keep your new car money for a new product later on!
Also that's one dealer's viewpoint. He may have specific situations where he doesn't want your trade in. That's what he's saying via the buy offer mechanism. With the banking crisis affecting small businesses like auto retailers his bank may have told him 'NO NEW INVENTORY'. Offer it to another dealer to get a second opinion. I work for a Toyota store on the E Coast. We have been told to slash inventory by 50% for the foreseeable future. This includes refusing new shipments from Toyota. Via the buying/pricing mechanism your local store was telling you that you should look elsewhere to sell it or sell it yourself. It's not an insult to you or to your Prius, it's not a ripoff, it not anything except that auto retailing is teetering on the edge of the abyss right now.
I would like to thank everyone who replied. This is a great forum and I really appreciate the responses. FYI - I already got new tires and I am getting quotes on repairing the hood. I got Goodyear Assurance ComforTred, which I love so far. $518 installed, including alignment. I'll post more about them once I have a few more miles on them.
I have to say; I wanted to trade in my 2009 Toyota Matrix XRS w/ all options inc navigation, 10k miles on a 2008 Toyota Prius w/30k miles w/ all options in navigation. They only offered me 12000.00 for my Matrix until I talked them up to 15,800.00 but the Pruis price was 17350.00! Needless to say we couldnt make a deal together and I kept my Matrix for my wife to drive and I sold her 99 Lexus ES300 w/145k and the next day went and bought a 2005 Prius w/ 118k for almost what I sold the Lexus for.. It was a good deal to me and we are happy! But the market is kinda in the crapper and so there is always going to be issues with people not wanting to pay anything!
