See The USA In A Hybrid?

I had my first ride (ever) in a 2005 Toyota Prius a few nights back. The ride was a strange experience because the vehicle runs so quietly. Another amazing thing about this hybrid is the computerized switching back and forth from the electric motor to the conventional engine that enables the owner to get 45-50 miles on a gallon of gas. Now, the Austin fishwrap proclaims that suckers are willing to pay new car prices and beyond for used hybrids. If this is (fair & balanced) automania, so be it.

[x Austin Fishwrap]
Used hybrids fetch premium prices
From Staff & Wire Reports

Jonathan Colwell loved driving his 2004 Toyota Prius around Austin. He bought the fully loaded car a year ago for $27,300, plus tax, title and an extended warranty.

But the heavy monthly payments got to the 29-year-old, so he decided to sell the car and buy something less expensive.

"I put it on Autotrader.com about two months ago," Colwell said. "I got $26,000."

Colwell lost a bit on the sale, but still only got $40 less than the suggested retail price for a fully loaded 2005 Prius.

An old adage says that the value of a new car drops by thousands of dollars the second you drive it off the lot.

But with demand for the gas-electric Prius far outstripping supply, some buyers are plunking down a premium for cars that are thousands of miles old. The tradeoff: They can skip the wait at dealers, which can be months long.

Sheila Catoira wanted a Prius hybrid so badly that she found a used model online and paid $1,000 more than the car would have cost new.

"I figured that if I can get it right away, it was well worth it," said Catoira, 31, a teacher in San Diego.

Other desperate buyers offered more than the $27,000 Catoira paid, but seller Sev MacPete said he refused to fully exploit the frenzy.

"I could have sold it for a lot over list, but I didn't feel like I can do it in good conscience," said MacPete, who is president of the Prius Club of San Diego. He wanted to sell the 2004 model after only 5,000 miles because he had just paid sticker price for his second Prius, this one fully loaded with options.

Far from sticker shocked, buyers in the past year have paid private sellers and used-car dealers $1,000 to $3,000 above the advertised price of a new 2004 or 2005 model, according to the Kelley Blue Book, which tracks used car prices.

"There are some people who want to be the first one on the block to own a Prius and to them, it's worth paying a couple of thousand dollars over sticker," said Jack Nerad, Kelley Blue Book's editorial director.

Terry Davison Auto Import in far Northwest Austin has a 2005 Prius with only 850 miles listed for $29,500.

"We've received a few offers on it but haven't taken one yet," said Jeremy Davison, a salesman at the dealership.

Rarely do second-hand cars sell for more than their new counterparts because cars typically lose value almost immediately after they're purchased. The only other instances automotive experts cite are luxury vehicles such as Ferraris and hot new releases. The Mazda Miata and Mini Cooper, for example, were so popular when they first came out that buyers paid a premium for used models.

The Prius, which lists for between $20,975 and $26,040, is the first economy car with a higher resale value, according to automotive experts.

When the Prius first rolled out in the United States in 2000, buyers had to wait six months on average because Toyota underestimated demand. As Toyota increases its production schedule — the automaker plans to double to 100,000 the number of Prius cars for North America this year — the wait has dropped to an average of two months, depending on where a buyer lives.

Hybrids combine an electric motor with a gasoline engine to produce less pollution and better mileage. Volatile gas prices are a major impetus behind the rush to buy high-mileage hybrids. A survey of owners of hybrid-powered automobiles conducted by Carnegie Mellon University shows that, on the average, each is saving about 408 gallons of fuel a year. At recent gas prices, that means $800 to $900 a year.

Although hybrids represented less than 1 percent of the 17 million new vehicles sold last year, the U.S. hybrid market has grown by more than 960 percent since 2000, according to data released from R.L. Polk & Co.

Toyota is the first automaker to commercially mass-produce and sell hybrid cars. Its Prius dominated nearly 65 percent of the U.S. hybrid vehicle market last year, with 53,761 new cars registered.

In Central Texas, the Prius has been a hot seller. Last year, 262 Priuses were registered in the five-county area, according to Cross-Sell Inc. In the first three months of this year, 87 more were registered.

Demand is highest for the newer-model used Priuses, especially those after the 2004 model year, when Toyota enlarged the car and added a hatchback.

Covert Hippoplex, a Ford and Chevy dealership in Hutto, had a 2001 Prius sit on its lot for 71 days. The sedan with 37,185 miles was listed for $16,988. The car finally sold last week.

"It might have something to do with us being out here in the country," said Ray Shannon, a salesman at the dealership. "We used to joke that every time gas went up a nickel, the price of the car should go up as well."

Copyright © 2005 Austin American-Statesman