Forbes top ten residual - Prius not on the list

No. But I bought CA HOV stickers for $8.00 as an investment. Currently they're adding $2,000-4,000 to the resale value of my car.

I did expect my Prius to hold it's value better than the average car. I had no idea it would hold it's value this well. Even my Dad is impressed. And that's no mean feat.

 

Well, that Hawaii 50th Anniversary Limited Edition Prius ought to be an investment.

 

I agree 100% with those that say, in general, that a new car is the worst investment you could ever make. My dad has been telling me that since I was a kid. However, prior to the past few years, none of us ever predicted that oil would surge to $147/barrel, that "going green" would be the new trend in corporate slogans, and that some "hybrid" car would sell over a million units and still have such demand that dealers would be selling used ones at a $10K markup. This is a very unique situation. If, when gmalis1 buys his 2010 Prius, he sells his current Prius to an individual buyer for more than he paid for it, then it will have been a positive investment. Let's assume that someone actually bought a Prius two years ago, specifically with the prediction that oil would skyrocket and that the car would be in high demand and would be worth more than what he/she paid for it, and that person literally planned it to be an investment. In that case, it was an investment and it worked. Now, yes, I agree 100% that a wise person would invest their money in a much more traditional investment, but still we must acknowledge that although this was a very risky and unwise investment, it was in the end an investment.

But what I look at even more than the purchase and sale price of the Prius, is the opportunity cost gas and maintenance savings versus an ICE vehicle. What is the reason that people are scrambling to buy Priuses? BECAUSE THEY ARE SICK AND TIRED OF PAYING $500 PER MONTH TO FILL UP THEIR SUVs!!!! As I mentioned previously, if you buy and sell a Prius for the exact same price (zero net gain, zero net loss), compared to someone that is leasing a car, you are effectively getting ownership/usage of the car for free for 36 months (as opposed to someone that pays $300 per month to lease a car). This is a HUGE opportunity cost savings! And even if the other vehicle is not an SUV and you are only saving $50 per month in gasoline, that's $1800 difference in fuel costs. Add brakes, and you're saving even more. Whether you call it an investment or not, it's one hell of a smart financial decision!

For those that are saying that when Toyota hikes up production (supply) of Prius cars in 2010, the price of current Prius cars will plummet, I have to remind you that this is only a prediction. We don't know what the price of gasoline will be in 2010. We don't know if the demand for Prius cars will skyrocket. Maybe Toyota will increase Prius supply by 3X, but what if demand also increases 3X ? If the current waiting lists have 200 people on them, and in 2010 the waiting list is down to 20 people, there is still a waiting list, and therefore still more demand than supply.

 

Actually, the trade-in value is skyrocketting as well. I have given the same amount as trade-in to one of my customers that purchased their Prius 3 years a go and wanting to trade-it in for the 08. When I checked the trade-in value, these 3 years old Prii were booked ( trade-in value )
at the same price I sold them 3 years ago!