I have a 2007 Prius with almost 50,000 miles on it and I will easily hit 60,000 miles by Memorial Day. I am a real estate appraiser and I drive a lot! The car will be paid off by the summer. My question is if I should sell my car before it gets to the 60,000 mile mark? The salesperson who sold me my car told me that the 60,000 mile mark is sort of an "apex" of trade-in value. Meaning that once you get past that mark, your trade-in value goes down very quickly thereafter. Does anyone think that is true? I have thought about driving the car until it gives out on me which I am hopeful would be 250,000 miles or so. Then of course, the car would be "worthless" due to the mileage on it? Any thoughts? If I were to purchase a new car, it would be a '09 Prius with me putting about $10,000 down and fianancing for about 18 months. Thanks in advance for the replies.
Are you going to buy a new car anyway? Is there something wrong with the '07? If money is your concern then hanging onto the current vehicle as long as possible, despite drop in resale value, is the most economical thing you can do.
Evan: No, my car runs like a champ! (Knock on wood) I just didn't know if it made more financial sense to get a new car while I still have decent trade-in value with mine. To answer the first part of your question, no I wouldn't buy a new car anyway. Brad
The most financially sensible thing to do is to drive it until it dies of old age. It could easily have another 200,000 miles of life in it. Meanwhile you could be saving up to buy your next car for cash.
I really have no idea if that is true or not, but I do know that the salesperson would really like you to buy a car from them again in the shortest interval possible. They would be happy to sell you a new car every 3 months if you were willing to buy. I plan to keep my 07 until it is no longer viable to repair it.
One simple way of looking at this: the amount of depreciation your car will take in going from 60,000 to 70,000 miles driven is substantially smaller than the depreciation a new car would take the instant you drive it off the lot. Financially, it's a no-brainer to keep driving the 2007 for quite a while. The fact that you'd be financing a new car further reinforces this.
What is your $depreciation/mile so far? Include unplanned repairs that extend car longevity. The target for my 1986 Honda was $0.10/mile. It depreciated out long ago, so that figure is now the repair allowance. It is still staying under budget, without an inflation allowance. It will likely get replaced by a hybrid this year, for non-financial reasons. My household also includes a 1997 car, with a $0.15/mile target. It is not quite down to that target, but has plenty of life left. My suggestion is that you set a similar sort of target, probably in the range of $0.15-0.20 per mile. If your cost so far is much higher than that, and the car is running fine, then the financial benefit of trading in now is realized by the dealer, not you. Maintenance and other periodic costs that don't change significantly when changing rigs are excluded from this figure of merit, but should still be considered. But in a Prius-to-Prius exchange, these should not be much of a factor.
i have sold many cars in the past years, but never sold my 01 prius of 7 yrs and my 05 prius of 3 years, now im racking up the miles and you realize how dependable these vehicles are in the long run. i hope in 20 years i still have both priuses and still running
I'm not sure why you should figure trade in value into this. Dealers will always give you too little for your trade in compared to what you can get if you sell it on your own. If there's nothing wrong w/your 07 Prius, I don't see why you'd bother with an 09. It's the same generation w/almost no changes. If you were considering a 2010 Prius... that's another story. From a financial point of view, I'd say keep your 07 Prius.
Thanks for all the replies folks. I've decided to keep my '07 until it drops! Or better said, until it starts needing numerous reparis. My first car was a 1983 Toyota Celica which I bought used with 81,000 miles on it and drove it into the ground at about 240,000 miles. I feel as long as I keep changing the oil at every 5,000 miles, I should expect the same longevity out of the Prius. The only "repair" I have yet to have with my 50,000 mile '07 is get new tires. I hear the factory tires aren't very good and they gave out on me at about 30,000 miles. Thanks again everyone, your thoughts made sense! Brad
Brad, If you keep your 07 (you should), have the tranny fluid exchanged at 60k miles even though this is not in your maintenance schedule. Your dealer should charge less than $100 for a gallon of type WS ATF installed. JeffD
Unless you've got a lemon, it's out of warranty, and you're spending a small fortune on repairs, it's always best financially keep a car until it falls apart or becomes unsafe. My suggestion is, once your Pri is paid off, continue to put the same "payment" away into a new car fund. When your Pri finally dies of old age, you can buy your next car for cash. I did this "way back when" and haven't had a car loan since.
Putting $10k down, financing for 18 months, you'll still pay quite a bit in interest. Wait, put down as much as you can, pay off quickly. Better to keep the car you've got.
I had a day in November where I really thought I'd bought the wrong car, a Matrix being the right car. So, went back to dealer, test drove a Matrix, said would like such package and color. After a while, a manager came over and plainly said - 'Well, the trade-in value on your car would start off negotiations at about $15,000 ...the market is bad, not what it was (4 long months ago)' To which I immediately broke into laughter ... that cured me of any desire to trade in my car. A $12k to $15k loss after 4 months and 3k miles on ODO ... Nnnnnnever
Brad, sounds like you need to inflate your tires. Try max. pressure as listed on the sidewall. Harder tires last longer. I've kept cars for 17 years so I expect my Prius to run as long as there is gas.
Jim: I think the problem was my own fault of overinflating the original tires. I kept them at about 55psi at all times to really try to crank out the MPGs. I don't do that with the new tires, and keep them at 44/42. Brad
