KBB must depend on location. Here I get $11.5K for 2004 Prius 100K mi base version in exc condition. This was a car w/ base price $20K, so not much depreciation vs other cars.
Toyota's price for a replacement Prius battery is $3,000. Or, Prius batteries can be professionally reconditioned for about $1,500, when the time comes.
Most Prius go to well over 100K miles on the original battery. As of June 08, Toyota's out-of-warranty battery replacement rate was 0.003%. My fathers' Gen 1 Prius has 140K miles on the original battery.
And, as shown above, if you're afraid of the battery going "poof" at 100K, you can sell the car and experience less depreciation than with practically any other car.
Finally, the problem with the "yesterday's laptop" analogy is that the workload of a laptop increases very year, as new things like Vista, DX11 games, YouTube, HD video, etc emerge. Eventually an old laptop can't do the job. The workload of a car stays the same, so long as roads and gas are around. A 2008 Prius will be as driveable etc in 2013 as it is now. Sure, it will be old technology, but same with any other 2008 model car.
The idea that Prius are too "expensive" to maintain or own for a long time is laughable.
I have a 1996 Range Rover County LWB with every bell and whistle, this was $70K car when new, after sucking up $1-2K in repairs per year since going ex-warranty its now worth about $2K. Now that's an expensive piece of crap.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cairns
Rwebb
Please note I'm not right winger- I'm a registered Democrat. But at least I know where you're coming from. If the car makes a political statement for you that's great- post it in the Politics section.
Second you're flat wrong. A quote for the battery is readily available on the web and at your local dealer. Look it up. They're expensive and they're not at all easy to recycle.
As to resale values; Kelly Blue Book reports that a 100,000 mile 2004 Prius in good conditon brings $8,675 at trade in. In excellent condition it brings $9,475. There are plenty out there so if you really do want one for half price I suggest you do your own looking.
Warren Brown, the automotive editor of the Washington Post, (a liberal writer for a liberal paper) states that he thinks yesterdays hybrids will be about as valuable as yesterdays laptops. I don't always agree with Warren but in this case I do. The current hybrids are pretty primitive and I think the technology will advance much more quickly in the near future. My 2004 Imac isn't worth anywhere near what a new one is and has half the capability. I have no doubt that by 2010 it'll be worthless.
Third, if you believe in the Consumer Reports mantra you really should be in a Buick.
Finally, Ben is right. In short, the car is much more about appearing to save the planet than actually saving it. And their owners and proponents seem to be awfully defensive when the facts are pointed out.
If you really want to save the planet buy a Deux Cheveux. At least you won't look like a dweeb in a Prius with some stupid political statement on the back.
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