Hybrid Madness: Used Prius Averaging Higher Prices Than New Models

These are booming times for small car makers and sky-high fuel prices are causing some pretty interesting situations for the sale of high mpg vehicles.

Toyota can’t make copies of its Prius hybrid fast enough for the swelling demand, that’s bad news for Joe Consumer who’s just trying to cut down on his commuting costs every week, but great news for the dealers who are handing out the keys. J.D. Power has calculated that so far this summer (through the first three weeks of July) the average new Prius has spent only five days on dealer lots, while used 2007 model cars last only a bit longer at 20 days.

That super-quick turnaround time is impressive, but what’s even more startling is the premium at which buyers are willing to purchase used Prius.
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sector - 8/1/2008 10:52:29 AM

+3 Boost

Man, the Prius will soon be harder to acquire than a GT-R!

KZ258 - 8/1/2008 1:20:12 PM

-1 Boost

good news for me than ;)

Auto_expert - 8/1/2008 9:08:42 PM

+1 Boost

Too bad it didn't help Toyota's/Lexus's bottom line as they tumbled in July.

jeffy210 - 8/1/2008 11:17:23 AM

+2 Boost

But, but, but, they're trying to be green. Stop trying to introduce logic into this </sarcasm>

silver1 - 8/1/2008 11:27:06 AM

0 Boost

I drive 30,000 miles per year so how much money will I be saving if I were to get the Prius? What will be the money savings difference from a economy car vs a Prius?

ghosthunter - 8/1/2008 2:11:31 PM

+2 Boost

many people drive more than 12000 per year.

Threepoint1415926 - 8/1/2008 3:38:31 PM

+2 Boost

If you're driving 30K miles a year than those are a lot of high speed miles. I know because I do the same. No one drives from street light to street light 30K miles a year. And in such a case, you're actually getting worse mileage in the Prius than city driving. The equation only gets worse, not better.

michal1980 - 8/1/2008 11:25:39 AM

+2 Boost

stupdity caused people to buy SUV's as a commuter car.

why would we think with higer gas prices people would get smarter?

silver1 - 8/1/2008 11:31:03 AM

0 Boost

A used Lexus IS 250 is selling more than a brand new one also or neck2neck . I'm not understanding why...

There is no reason why a used lexus IS 250 should be selling for $34,000 when you can buy a brand new for $33,500

t_bone - 8/1/2008 2:17:29 PM

+2 Boost

I'll never forget my luck in selling an '04 MINI Cooper S, after 2 years, for $300 less than MSRP (which is what I paid).

But...I actually wish I'd kept it now! :)