I think the Prius is holding its value fine. The auto industry is in the dumps right now. Look at the bargains out there. The Prius has sold awfully well in the past & often above suggested list. Once the economy settles a bit, prices will probably hold their own or increase. Once gas gets above $2 a gallon, I think thinks will start looking up for Prius owners, as far as retaining value. Gas above $3 will certainly make them the car to own. Be patient.
in the Tacoma paper is the column called the $1000 investment game. it charts the worth of a dozen or so investments if they had been purchased on Jan 1. (i think, not sure of the date, but it wasnt that long ago) and they have things like silver (#1) that is worth $1180...then they have houses that are worth $750 and cars which are worth $600.... so basically if you had invested in a car, its average value over the past few months has essentially dropped around 40%.... so maybe your Pri aint as worthless as you think it is **edit** as soon as i posted this, i glanced at today's mail and GM is offering a $10,000 cash back on their $28,000 pickups... so that basically means that a brand new truck value is has been devalued about 40% BEFORE IT LEAVES THE DEALERSHIP
Wow, could you post that here? I have all the GM national and regional incentives in front of me and I can't seem to come even close to $10K. The best I see is $4K on a select 1500 model.
You think Prius prices are down? My son just picked up a used "Demo" 2008 Sebring Convertible for $11,000! 15,000 miles, perfect car. Now the Sebring is one of the top 10 cars that do not hold value, but he got it for less than half of its list price. All things are relative........... The collector car hobby is taking a big hit. I don't mean you are going to find many deals on Ferrari's or Hemi Cuda's, but sale and auction prices are way down, and for anyone looking to get into the hobby, entry level cars are a bargain compared to where they were 2-3 years ago........... Yeah, I bought my Prius when gas was over $4 a gallon, but I know full well it will be up there again, and I needed a car, so I paid more than I should have if I waited a month or 2. Not sorry at all, I like the Prius.
So if I used that $1000 to buy beer at 90 cents a bottle, plus the 10 cent deposit, I could buy 1000 bottles of beer. After I drank the beer, I could return the bottles for $100, which means I would receive a $100 return on my $1000 investment. Wow, that's a lot better than I've done with the stock market. I'm off to buy beer. Tom
And 1000 bottles of beer is going to make you not give a rats toss about the 900 you just dropped, the stock market don't look after you like that.
Perhaps not anymore. I've made about 10% in the last 5 days by shorting gold from ~$940/ounce to ~$900/ounce with double leverage. I expect the trend to continue. One could have made much more if they got in at the peak of $1000/ounce. Anyway, I agree with the other sentiments about the value of the Prius. We are experiencing broad price deflation at the moment. While the nominal value of your Prius may have dropped in the last couple months, its value is likely unchanged after adjusting for inflation (although down from its summer high when gasoline prices peaked). Tim
Prius no longer holding value? Yea, but it hurts much only if you plan to trade car in for 2010 Prius or other new cars. The rule of owning Hybrid is to first reaching the break-even point from its gas-saving purpose first.....
I buy vehicles when I feel like they are undervalued. That is the main reason I purchased my Prius. I got a 2004 with 161K for $6,000. I feel strongly that when gas prices go up and the economy improves, Prius values will recover faster than many other vehicles. Now that I have the car though, I wish I had bought one a long time ago. Regards, Dave
While that number seems low, its not really that bad. That is a trade in price, the dealer should (not that he will) sell that for $15999. Since a 2009 is going for $22500 (real world price, link below) I would not want to pay much more then $16000 for a two year old car. You could probably sell the car on your own for $14000 easily. Russel Toyota: Inventory Search Results
as far as the $10,000... it was a mailer that i barely glanced at. think maybe a dealer in the Tacoma area and it was like $7500 rebate from manufacturer and $2500 from dealer... not sure of the exact offer, but it was pretty hard to miss the $10,000 part since it was in 2" lettering. think it was probably for unsold 2008's maybe... but not first time. Ford had similar offer a few weeks ago, pretty sure it was for $10,000 off as well
Dang, magruder, $6K? Did it need a lot of bondo? That is a super price and next time you see one like that post the details here. And, welcome to first time poster! Who seems to have won at Grand Theft Auto
The car seems to be in very good shape so far. The body is nice and the interior is clean. There are a couple of issues: 1. The oil pan gasket needs to be replaced, which I will do myself. 2. It has the HID flicker issue. I have ordered new bulbs that I will install. I'm hopeful I won't need new ECUs. I did have to replace the fey fob battery, but that was no big deal. I keep an eye out for low priced vehicles, and this seemed to be one. I was nervous at first because I rather easily talked them down from $7,000 to $6,000. So far so good though, I'd much rather have a used Prius than a used Corolla for $6,000. I'll let you know if the transmission falls out next week (is that what you call it? or is it a transaxle or something else? there are so many new terms for me to learn). Regards, Dave
I don't know if HID flicker relates to the bulbs themselves or the level sensor that is on the rear beam axle. There are folks around here who know that stuff though. Oil pan gasket is not a common problem. Was there some physical damage to the pan? Anyway taking the pan off is a good opportunity to look at the engine from below. Not many of us get that view. While you're there make sure that the oil pump pickup screen is not clogged.
Well I have replaced the HID bulbs, so hopefully they will work now. I didn't see any damage to the oil pan itself. It just looks like the gasket has failed. I will check the oil pickup when I'm under there. Thanks, Dave