[incrediculous]

The Kelly Blue Book trade in value on my 2004 is $20,000, only a couple thousand below what a 2006 would cost.

It seems that because the Prius has held its value so well, I could concievably get a new Prius for a marginal cost.

Has anyone around here traded in an '04 to an '06? Are my numbers off?

 

[Thomme]

If that's the trade-in value, then in theory, the private sale value would be even higher. I NEVER trade in. Privately selling, which granted, takes more effort, has much better returns in my experience.

Selling my Saturn didn't even take that much effort. Took a few pics, posted it on craigslist, and bada-bing - handed over the keys a week later for my full asking price.

 

[JDavies]

The Kelly Blue Book trade in value on my 2004 is $20,000, only a couple thousand below what a 2006 would cost.
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What accessory packages are you talking about? A fully equipped 2006 Prius will cost over $27K plus T&L.

 

[hyperion]

And as thomme has mentioned, I believe you will be surprised at how little the turn in value is, even with a Toyota dealer

 

[An04Prius]

A significant thing that might make this attractive is the 2006 up to $3k tax credit. Of course, the buyer of your used should work that into the equation as well. If you are CA & enjoying the HOV lane sticker, you will lose your stickers (they go with the car), but you may have a shot at getting new ones for the new car in time before the 75K stickers are all used up.

Last I read somewhere, not sure, but close to 37k-40K stickers were issued thru Oct

It is not clear to me that a used car buyer/dealer would purchase/trade a 04/05 used for $2k less than a comparable new 06. But where that line is, is a very individual matter. I would think it would be much closer to $5K+, but that is an opinion.

 

[grovey]

Sorry to burst your bubble but I am holding the January thru June Kelley blue book and it says 2004 Prius trade in value fair is 14025 and trade in good is 15800. :shock:

 

[ehurtley]

A significant thing that might make this attractive is the 2006 up to $3k tax credit. Of course, the buyer of your used should work that into the equation as well. If you are CA & enjoying the HOV lane sticker, you will lose your stickers (they go with the car), but you may have a shot at getting new ones for the new car in time before the 75K stickers are all used up.

Last I read somewhere, not sure, but close to 37k-40K stickers were issued thru Oct

It is not clear to me that a used car buyer/dealer would purchase/trade a 04/05 used for $2k less than a comparable new 06. But where that line is, is a very individual matter. I would think it would be much closer to $5K+, but that is an opinion.

Well, back in 2001, I went to a dealer who was selling used Prii for $5k more than new, because the wait for new was 6-9 months. The dealer said that he paid $1000 over MSRP to the private party for the USED Prius. (Very few were willing to part with their newly-won Priuses, I guess.)

When I bought mine in July '04, the dealer (different than above,) had a used 'package 0' with 8000 miles on it he was selling for $25,000. He said the dealership had bought it at auction for $20,000. (Less than $1000 under MSRP for a package 1 at the time.)

 

[An04Prius]

 

[rpm]

I traded in a 2004 package 0 (TRAC) w/ 13k miles, for a 2005 in 12/04. The dealer gave me exactly 20k for the trade, which is what the car cost new. I had no interest in selling it privately, because of the hassle and the fact that trading it in, in MN as in most states, saved me $1300 in sales tax on the new car. (So, I would have had to sell the car for $21,400 privately to cover the tax and advertising.) I think it makes sense to sell older, lower-priced cars privately (under $10k), but not late-model cars.

I paid MSRP minus $500 for the 2005, which was the deal that was agreed to from the start, so I know the trade-in value was not pumped up. (I was on a waitlist for 11 months.) In fact, I came up with the number I wanted myself, and they agreed to it pretty easily. The dealer then listed the car for $23k; don't know what they ended up selling it for.

I'll be trading in my 2005, which is a package 6, on a 2006 package 7 or 8 this winter. I'm paying MSRP -250 for the new one, and will expect the dealer to give me $25k for the trade, which will have 15-16k miles on it at the time. I'm also going to trade my wife's 2004 Accord in on a similar 2006 Prius for her, and will be lucky to get $20k for a car I spent over $25k to purchase new. It has 16k miles right now, NAV, leather, etc. Waitlists in MN were 4-6 months when I got back on them a few months back.

rpm

 

[JDavies]

the fact that trading it in, in MN as in most states, saved me $1300 in sales tax on the new car. (So, I would have had to sell the car for $21,400 privately to cover the tax and advertising.) I think it makes sense to sell older, lower-priced cars privately (under $10k), but not late-model cars.
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I don't understand how you avoid sales tax on the new car just because you had a trade in. In CA (where buying a selling cars is considered a religion) you'd pay CA sales tax on the new car and whoever bought your old one would pay also. There ain't no free lunch.
Enlighten please,,,,, ~JD~

 

[rpm]

I don't understand how you avoid sales tax on the new car just because you had a trade in. In CA (where buying a selling cars is considered a religion) you'd pay CA sales tax on the new car and whoever bought your old one would pay also. There ain't no free lunch.
Enlighten please,,,,, ~JD~

In MN, like many states, if you trade in a car on a new car, you pay sales tax only on the difference...so, if you get 20k in trade on a 25k new car, you only pay tax on the 5k. When someone buys the trade from the dealer, they pay sales tax on whatever price they agreed to.

If I sell my car privately to someone for 20k, that person will pay sales tax on the 20k when they transfer the title. If I then go buy my new 25k car, I have to pay sales tax on the entire 25k. (6.5% where I live.)

I think this is true in FL and CO, states I lived in previously, but can't swear to it. I used to live in CA too, but it's been many years and I don't recall how it worked there.

Sometimes, if you sell a used car privately, but are buying a new car, the selling dealer will let you "trade" the car in to them (saving you the sales tax on that amount) and then they turn around and transfer it to your private buyer. I did that once recently; the dealer charged me $50, but did all the paperwork. The only hassle is that the private buyer has to come into the dealership with you to do the transaction, but it's well worth it for them as the dealer will send the title stuff in for them, transfer the plate over to them, etc.

rob

 

[ElectronMotion]

Sale tax trade off...

The higher the rate of sales tax, the harder it is to beat trading in. Today I made a deal to trade my '04 in on an '06 in January. I'm getting 22k on the trade-in. Where I lve the sales tax is just over 9%. To beat my trade-in offer, I would have to sell my '04 for around 24K JUST to break even. I think I'll go with the trade-in.

In low or no sale tax states, it's a different ball game.

 

[An04Prius]

Re: Sale tax trade off...

The higher the rate of sales tax, the harder it is to beat trading in. Today I made a deal to trade my '04 in on an '06 in January. I'm getting 22k on the trade-in. Where I lve the sales tax is just over 9%. To beat my trade-in offer, I would have to sell my '04 for around 24K JUST to break even. I think I'll go with the trade-in.

In low or no sale tax states, it's a different ball game.

What are you paying for the 06? The 22k trade plus how much ? Are you significantly upgrading options ?

 

[JDavies]

MN as in most states, saved me $1300 in sales tax on the new car
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RPM: Tks for the very literate explanation. I learn something new every day. (No such deal in CA..) ~JD~

 

[DanMan32]

It's still true in FL. Legislation may have done this to help out trade-ins, since you usually don't get anything near what you could get in a private sale than you do with a trade-in.

 

[An04Prius]

[ 8) ]

 

[paul16451]

My theory is that there will always be a newer and better car out there that you want more than what you currently have. Sorta like getting a computer once every couple of years. While I would certainly love to have a fully loaded 2006, my 2005 AM package has served me quite well with a couple of minor additions on my own (portable NAV, for instance), and I plan on keeping it at least until it is completely paid off in 5 years .

 

[waterwitch]

trade in

Just ordered a 2006, and our 2004 (package 3 I think, the one with all the safety features but not the nav system) w just under 20k miles on it and a bit of cosmetic scratching on the rear bumper was given 20k as trade in value.

Forget trying to sell by owner in today's economy. Had a lovely Saturn that we turned down the trade in by dealer as was lower than we wanted. Could not sell it even in Seattle! Ended up taking a major loss on it, lower than dealer loss.

 

[Thomme]

Re: trade in

Forget trying to sell by owner in today's economy. Had a lovely Saturn that we turned down the trade in by dealer as was lower than we wanted. Could not sell it even in Seattle! Ended up taking a major loss on it, lower than dealer loss.

Sorry you had bad luck trying to sell your car. However, I had the opposite experience. My dealer gave me a laughable trade-in quote for my Saturn, and I then posted the car on craigslist for the average of the KBB & Edmunds fair private sale amount, and sold it in less than a week for my full asking price, which was $2,200 more than the dealer's offer.

I firmly believe private sale is the way to go to unload your old car.

 

[ElectronMotion]

Re: Sale tax trade off...

That sounds like a good deal. What are you paying for the 06? The 22k trade plus how much ? Are you significantly upgrading options ?

Went from an '04 that was $24093 MSRP (package 8 which was one below the top) to an '06 around $29000+ (again MSRP package 8, this time the top package with leather.)

The options on the '06 that I didn't have on the '04 @ '04 prices would have been another $2100 + $1100 leather option. So, if I added this stuff to the '04, the MSRP would have been $27293.

When you consider the tax credit and rezeroing my hybrid warantee, it seems a no-brainer.