Would you do it? Trade in 2006 for 2008/2009

I'm seriously considering ordering a 2009 and when it arrives selling my 2005. I have HOV stickers in CA and they are in demand. Between holding it's resale value to do high demand and the stickers I could move up to the highest package with only the $7-9 thousand you're talking about. My credit union offers lower interest for purchase of hybrids.

It is really tempting. The longer I wait, the less valuable the stickers become. And I don't use them that often. Plus the 2009 might be my retirement car.

 

I'd just keep in mind that whatever the dealer offers you as a trade-in value is probably less than what you could sell the car for privately. (The dealer has to make profit after all, so they're going to offer you less than what they think/know they can sell the car for.)

So, I might look at this this way: Would you sell your '05 tomorrow for say $25K (I just made up that number, insert a more appropriate value if you want) to any Joe-on-the-street, and then wait nine months for a new '09 Prius?

If the answer to that question is "yes", then maybe you should consider doing just that, you don't necessarily have to take any offers you get. However, you might find that you get better offers than what the dealer has made.

If the answer is "no", then I'd humbly suggest that you tell the dealer to go take on a long walk on a short pier.

The other thing that you might want to think about are the consequences of waiting for say the '10s or '11s. By that time the demand may have cooled off a little, now that would most likely mean that you couldn't get as much for your then 5-6 year old car, but would be that be so bad? (Lower possibly lower demand in the future may mean lower "new" prices.)

Just a little food for thought.....

 

The difference between what the dealer gives you vs selling private is usually around 3-4K

I would maybe opt for the Gen 3!

 

I plan to sell my car privately and not until the new one is in. It will be paid for. So I'll take the money from the sale and put it toward the new loan, leaving very little left if at all.

There will be diminished returns for the value of the HOV stickers if I wait. They expire Jan 2011.

 

We don't have to do stickers up here. I know when I lived in TX back in the early 80's you had to get you car inspected and get a sticker.

 

I'd take the dealers offer on the trade-in without a second thought, bank the money, and then go get on the list at a dealer not charging over MSRP.

But I strongly suspect that their offer to buy your Prius at the original purchase price is only good if you agree to be gouged by them on a new model.

 

I have a feeling that the CA govt. will expand the expiration date (again - they were to previously expire in 2008 - this year - weren't they?) If they don't issue new stickers still there is no harm in expanding the expiration date.

Therefore I think the stickers will continue to hold value.

Either way, if you don't use them, definitely cash in on them, but private party. I would order the new one FIRST and then sell your old one after it comes in - it will sell quick.

My dh uses his HOV stickers daily - it does get him to work on time when otherwise he'd be late and because he is punctually challenged, this is very important to his career. We personally are keeping our 2005 with the stickers and when/if they expire we will get whatever alternative is available at the time.

 

yeah, anyone throwing around those kinda numbers that fast, I'd just walk away. Once you sit down and start seeing how it figures out on paper, you'd never come out ahead.

Gosh, I guess I really hate car salesmen.

 

nope. wait till 2011 or later. Then you get a plug in!

 

Agree with Sheepdog, a year after a new run they usually have the bugs woked out!

Well maybe not all the bugs. Kind of like an early release of software, a few minor glitches.

 

Ditto that. A second-year plug-in is what I am waiting for. Hope my other non-hybrid makes it that long, I won't get rid of my '08 until it dies.

 

No way! Why would you want to pay the dealer $7,000-$9,000 just to have a less-used version of the car that you already have? That's an awfully steep price to pay for little or no benefit at all, especially when you could sell it privately for more money and nearly cover the cost of the newer one. The dealer just wants your car so they can make the profit instead of you.

Keep the '06 for another year or two so that you can get a Gen III.

 

I'll answer that and hopefully give everyone some more food for thought to help me decide what to do -- Alan is my husband, and it's my Prius in question.

First off, I was the one who broached the subject of the trade in, not the dealer, so it's not like he was out for my blood -- it's not even the dealer I got my car from.

Second, no HOV stickers figure into this equation at all -- the super high demand and price here is because well, it's Washington DC, people spend a lot of time sitting in traffic burning gas (not me -- I made sure to buy a house 10 miles from work), there's the political statement, and frankly, unlike me, my neighbors all have tons of money to throw around. The dealership in question is the region's biggest Prius dealer, but they are far from the only ones selling new and old ones for a routine $5K over sticker price. And as I say, people here have money, so they aren't complaining.

Third point, I own my Prius outright, no loans to pay off.

Fourth, how long can the frenzy last? I'm afraid once the 2010 redesign comes out, our "old" Priii will be old news and normal depreciation will ensue. At which point, I don't have a bargaining chip anymore.

Fifth, I don't really care about waiting for a plug in -- our electrical costs are tremendous here and it might not be a savings over paying for gas to charge up a car 365 days a year. And I'm one of those people who thinks the current styling of the Prius is adorable -- what if the redesign is *ugly*? Perhaps it's stupid and shallow, but I will not drive a car (or a color) I consider ugly, even if it got 70 MPG (100, well, just *how* ugly is it? ;D) I also wouldn't want to buy the first or even second model year of a major innovation like the plug in -- when I bought the Prius, it had been driven almost a decade by the Japanese.

But your first point is the big one -- what *is* a less-used car worth? I only have 14K in mileage, but "technically" it's a two year old car. That means I have 6 years left on my battery coverage warranty and what, a year on the regular one? Is getting an extra 2 years of not having to worry *at all* about replacing a battery down the road (I normally keep my cars for 10-12 years) worth it? What if someone hits me? When I bought the Prius, I was driving a 12 year old, excellent condition Saturn sedan which to me was still worth every penny of the $13K it cost me, but if someone smashed it in the parking lot, my collision would have paid next to nothing because it was "old." Someday, that will be the issue with my Prius, right? So should I make an investment now to push that eventuality off another couple of years?

All of these questions have literally kept me spinning all night and all day! I need more opinions to play devil's advocate against on either side!!!! Madness, I tells ya, madness!

 

Hi LMA
I personally would not do it for a pkg 2, but I would be tempted by the loaded one. However, I agree with others on this board that if that is what you want to do, sell it privately for 5 k more than the dealer is offering and then you will only spend 4k more to get the new "loaded" prius.
Fernsmom

 

In that case, the answer is even easier: Buy a 7yr/100,000mi extended warranty, which should cost less than $1000. (I think you can get it through the PriusChat shop.) That gets you warranty coverage on the whole thing until 2013 since you drive so few miles. Far, far less expensive than buying a whole new car, especially since you like the one you have.

IIRC, you can buy the extended warranty any time before your 3yr/36k runs out.

 

Having looked at some of the prototype pictures of the 2010 it doesn't look all that much different. The shape is pretty close to what is out there now. Also look at the hybrid Honda wants to put out next year. Looks like a Prius to me. IMHO buying a car is almost always a depreciating experience. Suppose you sell and make some money then oil goes thru the roof, what do you think you will pay for a Prius and how long will it take to get one. One more thing remember the rule of thumb is to never get the first year of any auto because of inherent "bugs" that have to be worked out. Just a thought

 

How many miles are on your current Prius???
I know it may seem greedy but I would tell them I want either a free rental until the new one comes in or the next one on the lot and tell them that you wont do it for a penny more then $4000 OTD (if you are getting roughly the same package.)