The problem is that you cannot get a reliable "average price" for cars when a smaller percentage sell for far under KBB, very few sell AT KBB, and a larger number sell above KBB because of bidding wars. That SKEWS the price average in an unreliable way.

Using Edmunds TMV is far more realistic because you know about ZERO people are getting "far" above KBB from the dealers, and many more of them are getting KBB because they negotiate that, then you have a smaller number who get completely hosed by the dealer.

If you chart the sale prices of Priuses on a pair of charts, the E-Bay price model chart will have huge spikes and valleys, while the Edmunds TMV will be pretty solidly a much straighter line across the board, with a vastly higher number of inputs. This makes it more statistically valid.

 

I got my 05 off ebay with 8,000 for $17,600 Added, tint, wheels, hid lights. Im sure As is with 12,000 miles right now I could get $18,500 to $20,000 for the car.

 

Not a good way to BUY a car, but you indeed might make some money SELLING a car on E-Bay.

 

If you use KBB as the standard:
1) As a buyer, you will get ripped off if you follow the pricing guidelines and make a purchase based soley on the values listed.
2) As a seller, you won't get the price UNLESS the buyer is lazy, stupid, etc. better deals can be had for any highly-available mass market vehicle.
3) If you total your car, you might "make out" from your insurance company

Lars: Regarding eBay and Averages: People who are looking for a one-off sale or purchase need to have a barometer as to what the market will bear at a specific point in time, not over a time average. There is NOTHING wrong with looking at recent sale prices, especially with a high amount of bids, because its really likely that those people bidding and losing are still looking for the thing, at ABOUT the same price. It tells you what you MIGHT be able to expect from selling your car, or what people are going to bid if you are competing on a purchase.

I've sold a vehicle on ebay (a motorcycle) and I waited until there was low inventory on the model to get a better shot at a higher price. I got $200 under KBB. It worked. I was willing to wait.

I've also purchased a motorcycle on eBay and did the opposite, waited until there was a glut of the model up for sale and got relatively lucky with a conservative bid.

All it took was patience and letting supply and demand do the work. As a consumer, the best bet is to look at ALL the resources that are out there and make a smart decision.

 

no doubt, E-bay might make an interesting additional piece of information.

But my original point is that you cannot use E-Bay prices as a "stand alone" guide for calculating an educated sale price of a vehicle you are trying to sell.

 

I've run into several people that were disappointing. It's too easy to hide stuff on the internet. At some point you have to see it.

 

Just for fun I looked it up on www.carsoup.com

Not a single hybrid posted there. Not too long ago I saw several hybrids on there. This tells me that they are selling really fast. People are so nervous about gas prices.

On craigslist, someone was asking 17500 for their 2003 HCH with 50K miles on it, FIRM.

Now, the problem with all of those listings is that you don't know what the car actually sold for.

I think in CA the HOV privilege is HUGE. You can literally save 1 hour of driving a day with it. So they command a huge premium.

I would love to have the new one but as has been said I cannot get the sales tax back that I paid. And were I to break even, it would basically be because I found a sucker... and I would have to live with the fact that I took advantage of someone.

Besides my 2004 has been good to me, and what kind of payback would it be to just get rid of it?

 

I would like to know how the 'average' owner finds the resale value of their hybrid compared to other cars they have owned or know about. Perhaps there are not enough of you to come to a scientific conclusion? I'm primarily a 'used' car buyer, but catch myself saying that if I were purchasing a hybrid that it would be new ... not used? Am I an odd ball or does this personal observation translate into weaker used car prices going forward?

 

There is Edmunds TMV, Kelly Blue Book, cars.com, autotrader.com, E-Bay, major newspaper classified ads, word of mouth.

Nothing different than any other car, there are just fewer samples.

And it will only translate into "lower used car prices going forward" if the cars start having reliability problems or if gas prices go back to 99 cents a gallon.

So far, hybrids have held their own and more.

 

I have a 2005 HCH 5sp with 2500 miles for sale and the KBB prices are $22,875 Retail, $21,565 private party, and $20,275 for trade-in. I have my car listed on autotrader.com and had it listed on craigslist. I have had 5 offers to buy it at $19,000 and one offer at $19,500 that I have tentatively accepted if they can get financing. It would appear that the actual market value for a like new 2005 HCH with the california HOV decals and only 2,500 miles is not anywhere near what KBB says it is. I would be thrilled if I could find someone actually willing to pay me what KBB says the trade-in value is, but the reality is that the actual buyers in the market for a 2005 HCH are not willing to pay the KBB prices.