I didn't realize how valuable some used cars are.  They are bringing a premium price.

For the last decade I had been leasing a Toyota Prius.  Every three years I would turn it in and lease a new one.  Not this year though.

I have been driving a top of the line Prius for the past three years.  The lease is up this month.  And a comparable new Prius is not available.  There is a shortage of them.  So, I decided to pay off the residual and buy the one have been leasing for the past three years.

I checked the Kelly Blue Book and discovered the price of paying off the residual of the one I have been driving is about 10,000 dollars less than the book value.  So, in essence I made a10K profit by investing in the one I have been driving instead of turning it in.

Also, due to conditions over the past couple of years I have only been driving to the supermarket and doctor appointments.  It's only got 2,200 miles on it.  It's still practically a new car.

Check out the Kelly Blue Book price of the car you are now driving.  You might find it's worth a lot more than you think it is.

Noel

My best friend bought a 2020 Honda Accord and was making payments on it.  He was thinking of selling it and, by chance, his Honda dealership sent him an email offering him way more than he paid for the car.  Needless to say, he took the offer and now has more money than he knows what to do with!

It's not like that in ripoff Britain. 🙁

Martin, if there is a shortage of cars people want the price will go up.  And if you own one of them it's worth will inflate.  It's a simple case of supply and demand.

Noel

It`s swings and roundabout`s in the UK drivers of older cars are going to get wacked in the pocket with new tax`s to ween them off old cars.

2 hours ago, birdguy said:

For the last decade I had been leasing a Toyota Prius.  Every three years I would turn it in and lease a new one.

Have you done the math on this? Sigh.......

I bought a new vehicle a couple years ago and have been getting offers from the dealership to buy it back. Not sure why they think it's a good deal though as it would leave me without a vehicle since they can't get new ones in. Not to mention I will pay it off this summer and plan on keeping it for at least ten years (had my last one for fifteen).

Yes, I've done the math.  It's more expensive to lease than to buy but I liked to change cars every three years. 

There was always some new innovation I liked.  Like the car I have now has a HUD for the speedometer and if I am driving to a destination I have set on the GPS the HUD alerts me ahead of time when turns I have to make are coming up.

But this year was different.  I did the math and kept the car.

Noel

3 hours ago, charliearon said:

My best friend bought a 2020 Honda Accord and was making payments on it.  He was thinking of selling it and, by chance, his Honda dealership sent him an email offering him way more than he paid for the car.  Needless to say, he took the offer and now has more money than he knows what to do with!

Honda's are notorious for holding value and I have had this happen twice for me now. I bought my very first new car a 1991 Honda Civic and that was the last year of that model type, and the sale price was $8888 at that time. A year and a half later the dealership offered me $8500 to buy it because they didn't make that model type anymore and it was still popular.

Next one was a 2000 model Honda Civic the last year of the Hatch Back on Civics as they were replacing them with Sedans, Can't remember the numbers on that one but it was similar, very close to what I paid for it new after about 2 years of driving. I remember that dealer said they were going to ship it to Quebec because the Hatchback was still popular there. Eventually the Honda Fit replaced the Civic Hatch Backs

Now I just buy 10 year old Honda's and just drive them for another 10 years and maintain them myself, for me that concept has the best value

Edited March 3, 20224 yr by Matthew Kane

I've been driving my car for 40 yrs.  Bought it new in 82.  My one and only new car.  Insurance is cheap too.

 

1 hour ago, TuFun said:

Insurance is cheap too.

My insurance used to be pretty cheap.  But now it is sky high.  My wife had two reportable accidents in less than a year.  The last one she totalled the car.

Noel

On 3/3/2022 at 4:48 PM, martin-w said:

It's not like that in ripoff Britain. 🙁

I think that it is.
Out of interest, I have searched for the same make and model of used car and with the same mileage
that my daughter bought last year for £5000.
I found an exact match and the asking price was just over £7000. I make that a 40% increase.
It seems that for many things, it is a seller's market and that the best policy is to buy as little as possible and hope that at
some point in the near future, the world recovers from the madness that has taken it over.

11 minutes ago, Reader said:

I think that it is.
Out of interest, I have searched for the same make and model of used car and with the same mileage
that my daughter bought last year for £5000.
I found an exact match and the asking price was just over £7000. I make that a 40% increase.
It seems that for many things, it is a seller's market and that the best policy is to buy as little as possible and hope that at
some point in the near future, the world recovers from the madness that has taken it over.

 

Fair enough. I haven't had a car for a few years now, and last time I did it was new.  Out of touch with what's going on.

I envy you not having to own a car Martin.  In a small city like mine public transportation is marginal and the nearest stop to visit a doctor is a three or four block walk with my cane or a walker and inconvenient schedules.

A car is a necessity here.  And I imagine it is in most places that lack public transportation and a dearth of taxicabs.  We only have one that I know of.

Noel

 

On 3/3/2022 at 2:30 PM, W2DR said:

Have you done the math on this? Sigh.......

My thoughts exactly. When i sold cars, i would steer people away from leasing. No pun intended.