P-s-s-s-t...Wanna sell your Prius?

[trof]

When I was at our Toyota dealer around the first of the year they had a dozen or so Priuses (Prii?) on the lot.

About a month ago a friend expressed interest in buying one. I lent her ours for a day and (bless her HEART!) the next day she traded her Escalade in on one. She said there were 4 or 5 to choose from.

Last Friday she got a call from the Toyota salesman. Would she like to sell her Prius?
"No, I love it. Why would I sell it?"
"I can offer you $4000 more than you paid for it."
whoa

Evidently new inventory coming in is being sold, sight unseen, before the truck even gets to the dealership.

[calmblueocean]

1. Prius demand is crazy right now.

My formerly SUV-driving brother-in-law put down his deposit on one, and is still on a 6-month waiting list.

[still_one]

6. Here in Northern California, there is no problem getting them, and

Civic hybrids are even more plentiful

If people are paying 4000 dollars more than MSRP, they are not too smart financially

At MSRP you are paying 5 to 7 grand more than a comparable car like the Corolla, which gets you 30 mpg without trying, and adding another 4 grand onto it, would take over 12 years to make up for that difference at 5 bucks a gallon

People should use common sense. If they just decreased their speed 5 to 10 mph they would save a lot

[NashVegas]

14. When Were People Hopping on a Trend Ever Very Bright?

[UTUSN]

21. (Sincere post: ) What a GREAT insight!1 It applies to a LOT of things, including politics!1 n/t

[trof]

37. I'd call this more than a 'trend'.

And if it's a trend towards burning less fossil fuel, then it's a pretty good trend.

[roguevalley]

31. check ebay. my friend bought a beautiful great prius on there. truly.

[supernova]

2. 2 years ago, I was seeing Priuses on craigslist

the earlier models. This is when I was looking for a new-ish car. Even then the resale value was just out of reach for me. They were asking 18-20K for the first and second year models then. I couldn't go over 17k at that point.

So, I'm not surprised the demand for them has gone up.

[still_one]

3. People are stupid. I have a Prius, but there is NO way it is worth that

In fact the 2009 Corolla get 30 MPG without even trying, and with trying close to 35 MPG

It is 5 to 7 thousand dollars cheaper than the Prius, and if you do the math, even if gas went to 5 bucks a Gallon, it would still take about 8 years to recoup that difference in price

There are also Civics, fits, yaris, and other cars if milage is their big concern

Incidently, here in California there is no problem finding a Prius, and if you know what you are doing you can get them at 200 dollars of MSRP

When I bought my 2004 Prius there was a small wait, a federal tax credit, car pool lane privleges, no California smog check requirement, and parking privileges in certain public parking lots. Most of those advantages are gone

The Federal Tax Credit is removed because both Honda and Toyota have sold the minimum number of hybrid vehicles

If people are really paying 4000 OVER MSRP, they obviously cannot do math

[glitch]

19. These are people trading in SUVs so brightness doesn't really come into it

I do think it's good news that green(ish) is the new status symbol, which is what they are purchasing. Every little bit helps.

[NV Whino]

20. I have a 2007 Honda Fit

33 to 38 mpg. (I actually got 41 mpg once.) Under $17,000. Carries a ton of stuff. I love it.

[JNelson6563]

32. My sister in law has one, it's really cool!

Tiny on the outside, huge on the inside and cute too! She loves it and I would too.

Julie

[NV Whino]

38. My client sent me into town to pick up two lounges.

He could fit only two into his Toyota Highlander and there were two left to pick up. I got both the remaining lounges in my Fit in spite of the Neanderthal who owned the place telling me I couldn't. When I delivered them, I said, "R****, what's wrong with this picture? I can get two lounges in my car, and you can only get two lounges in your car?"

[leftofcool]

4. We bought out Yaris sight unseen

Gave em the cash right up front, signed the papers in 3 minutes and had the auto in a week.

[MountainLaurel]

5. When we were looking at the Honda Fit

There were none available at the dealership (Portland, ME) to test drive, so you had to order one and put down a $500 deposit. If you didn't like it, you got your money back and the dealership sold it within a couple days.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

28. We have a Honda Fit. It's a great little car.

Great gas mileage, roomy on the inside, and still pretty zippy.

[MountainLaurel]

30. Cool

We ended up getting a Prius because of a great financing deal that was going on. It was just in the nick of time, because the engine on my car crapped out 2 days later.

[liberal N proud]

7. Paying the dealer vs the oil man

I don't see where the payoff is.

[EV_Ares]

10. I don't either the way I see it, ours are paid for and the insurance is such that

it is not as expensive as a new vehicle so the offset of giving our vehicle away for one doesn't make economic sense to me and the offset wouldn't save me on gas expense, so, I will just trade when I get ready to trade and at that time try to find one that gets really good mileage.

[bean fidhleir]

8. The same stuff happened during the rise in gas prices from '73 on

Toyotas, Hondas, Dodge Colts, etc were selling unseen for thousands more than list. It was insane. I'm sure the dealers thought they'd died and gone to heaven.

[tridim]

9. Something needs to be done to help get these cars to poor families.

Economy shouldn't be out of reach to people who can't afford it.

[high density]

11. $4000 buys a lot of gas

People are idiots if they're paying that far above invoice, since the Prius is not exactly a bargain to begin with.

[MelissaB]

12. A dealership in Nashville, TN wants $3,000 over sticker price.

Pissed me off. I have a Prius but was looking for one for my grandmother who finally agreed she needs a new car as hers isn't reliable anymore and went through Edmonds to get some quotes on dealerships within 2-3 hours of her. Needless to say, I'm not on their waiting list, but one locally.

[jemsan]

16. I just sold my 2005 Prius with 48,000 miles to a dealer for $24,500...

and later read an article in the LA Times about hybrids that said that the same dealer I sold it to was reselling it for $33,000!!!! (of course I had the car pool lane stickers) It's hard to find Prius's in SoCal. Dealers are getting a premium. I love my Prius (my second).

[supernova]

13. Used Prius... looky here

I can't believe it! Just went to check craigslist because I was curious, eventhough I'm no longer in the market for a car.

There must be something wrong with it? 2005 and they only wqant 6K for it??? Doesn't sound right.

http://raleigh.craigslist.org/car/704633105.html

[CoffeeCat]

15. We test drove a Prius...

...about six weeks ago. There were at least 25 on the lot. The dealer told us that their dealership
had more Priuses (what's the plural for Prius!?) than any other lot in our state. He said they were
going fast and that soon there would be 0 on the lot.

He's right. There are NONE. People are buying them before they're on the lot.

I also heard that people are paying top dollar for really small cars that are no longer made--like old
Honda Civics and Ford Festivas.

[jemsan]

17. Six weeks ago was before gas hit $4 per gallon. Now dealers have none!!

My husband and daughter each bought one April 1 and got the $500 over invoice Costco price. I bought one on May 2 and only got $100 off and now even that discount is gone. They are taking $500 deposits now on a waiting list.

[MiniMe]

29. Civics are still being made. They have a hybrid civic now too.

[Phred42]

18. There are several European cars taht get that kind of mileage also

but they won't let them in the Country.

The Sr Management of Ford, GM, Chrysler need to be fired for incompetence and thrown in jail for treason

[DebbieCDC]

22. I got a letter from my dealer

Offering to buy back my 2005 Prius and finance a new one "when our next shipment comes in for Labor Day!"

That's sure proof of which way the wind is blowing.

A guy I work with went to order one last week -- was told 8 to 12 weeks wait, but he went ahead and got his deposit in and name on the waiting list.

Gas in my neighborhood (North Seattle) - $4.23/gal reg unleaded this morning. Went up $.16 in one week. They'll have to pry the steering wheel of my Prius out of my cold dead hand!!

[spinbaby]

23. NO WAY!

It's saving me about $120 a month on gas.

[gulfcoastliberal]

24. I just bought an '05 Honda Civic EX SE sedan on Ebay for $14,800++ last week

Has only 9,000 miles, 1 owner (lease return), and I am sooo happy with it! Found it on Ebay motors, the seller was a Honda dealership in S Florida. It's certified, which means it has a 100,000 mile mechanical warranty included in the price. Out the door was around $15,600. It has all the goodies: power everything, auto trans., sunroof, upgraded stereo, spoiler, alloys, etc. I flew down there and drove it back home (about 750 miles) and got 40+ mpg at an average speed of 70 mph. Very peppy with the VTEC motor - even with the automatic transmission. It looks brand-new, and my friends all love it too. I just read an article about how used compact cars are skyrocketing in value, while big trucks & SUVs are sinking like rocks at the auctions.

I had a really good experience buying on Ebay and would definitely do it again - you can find some great deals. The dealership was Pompano Honda and their Ebay manager was a pleasure to deal with.

Edit - my baby:

[momster]

25. In addition to gas savings....

my 2003 Prius gets anywhere from 45-53 mgp normal use. But I bought it less for the gas savings, because gas wasn't all that expensive in 2002, than for the air quality. If you add in the pollution savings, which improves quality of life for all, I think the $$$ becomes less important. Just a point to consider...though the $4000 premium is kind of stupid. Good ol' supply and demand.

[trof]

36. Yep. I bought mine 1/2 for 'me' and 1/2 for 'y'all'.

Of course I mean for the environment, for all of us.

Several months ago one of my buds who drive a huge 4-door diesel pickup said (with a smirk) "You buy that little car to save money? Or are you a tree hugger?"
I just looked at him for a few seconds, very seriously, and then smiled.
"I did it for you and your kids and your grandkids, Ed."
What the hell. He was having some fun with me, so I thought I'd have a little fun with him.
He actually blushed.

[DS1]

26. Our local bike store is out of used bikes

I got the last one.

[spanone]

27. bought a honda civic hybrid new in 2003 - got a $2000 tax exemption for a green car

i think bu$hco did away with the tax break

[Uncle Joe]

33. This is the first time I've ever heard of a relatively new car appreciating in value.

Thanks for the thread, Posted by trof.

[ozu]

34. Paying 4k over MSRP for a Prius is lunacy.

Whomever these people are, they're apparently not very good with a calculator or have far too much money to light on fire.

[Neshanic]

35. Friends just purchased one last week. 4 grand fee extra.

[NatBurner]

39. *sigh*

i wish i could fit in one