A used Prius is a hot commodity these days
usatoday.com
Buyers are so eager to start saving gas with the nation's best-selling hybrid that they're paying more for a used Prius than they'd pay for a new one if they were willing to wait.
Driven by gas prices and waiting lists for new Priuses at many dealers, buyers paid an average $27,945 in June for a 2008 Prius with an average 8,000 miles on it — about $1,300 above the average transaction price for a new one, Power Information Network found.
Even 2007 models that had logged an average 22,000 miles sold for only $276 less than dealers were getting for a Prius direct from the factory.
"Demand for fuel-efficient vehicles is so strong that the customer is willing to buy used ones at a significant premium," Power's Tom Libby says.
Underscoring dramatic changes gripping the auto industry, July sales results being released Friday are expected to be down in double-digits vs. 2007. Sales of full-size SUVs, pickups and sedans continue to drag under most big automakers, even as small car and hybrid sales are strong.
With the Japanese plant maxed out, Toyota (TM) recently announced it will start making Prius at a new plant in Blue Springs, Miss., in 2010. But until then, used prices could exceed new for buyers unwilling to wait what can be two months or more to get one.
While past hits such as Volkswagen's New Beetle, Chrysler's PT Cruiser and Honda's S2000 sports car saw shortages and ballooning used car prices right after their debuts, Prius is unusual.
The car is virtually unchanged since the current version rolled out five years ago.
Last year, customer demand and gas prices slowed to where Toyota offered first-ever buyer incentives on the Prius, rated at 46 miles a gallon.
But now "there is just a frenzy on the car," says Don Mushin, general manager of Toyota of Hollywood. "At the end of the month, I won't have a Prius on the ground."
Used ones go for "a lot more than list" price on a new one, he adds.
At Lee Toyota Scion in Topsham, Maine, dealer Adam Lee says he has two used Prius cars in stock.
"They will probably sell for the price of a new one," Lee says.
That price goes up Friday. Toyota, which already boosted the Prius price by $400 in May, is raising sticker prices for 2009 Priuses by $500 — or 2.2% — to $22,000 to $28,445.
"We are in a market that is perfect for Prius," says Jack Nerad of Kelley Blue Book and author of a guidebook to hybrids. |
