We recently moved to a lovely town in CO from a lovely town in NJ. We have a 2010 Prius with 45k miles in CO and don’t need two cars. I had to come back to NJ (thinking we might not be able to move back to our CO house due to the Sept flooding) for several months and bought a 2014 Camry Hybrid and really like both cars. We are moving back to CO end of the month and need to sell one. The Camry has just 3500 miles. It cost us a little over $1000 to ship the Prius and we paid about $250 to register it.
We could sell the Prius (it’s paid for) and ship the Camry (or get my brother-in-law to drive it cross country) but then we’d have to register the Camry in CO (which would probably cost a bit more to register in CO). The Camry has about $18k on the loan (at $318/month at 0% interest).
Our annual mileage is probably 10-12,000. The Prius gets about 55mpg out there and the Camry is getting 45mpg so the low mileage and gas difference is not very much. We could transport the Camry (either $1000 or have my brother-in-law drive it and who knows how much beer and motels we would have to pay for) and sell the Prius, or sell the Camry (it’s only five months old but we know that the resale value drops after you buy the car).
We really like both cars but one has to go. It’s not like selling one of your kids, but any suggestions would be appreciated.
I would run a Kbb.com and edmunds pricing on the Camry and see how much it is worth in a private party sale. I have sold two relatively new cars without much of a loss (equal to monthly lease payment). I had purchased both well bellow MSRP and that is why the damage was not bad. Still less than ideal.
If you like the price for the Camry, then get a few good pics and put an ad in craigslist. You also have to call the financing party and see what is involved in the transaction-this could be the messy part.
You’ll lose a lot on the Camry. If you like it better than the Prius, I’d sell the Prius and pay off as much of the Camry as I could. Then pay off the rest and start saving for its replacement 10 years off…
Make mine another vote to keep the Camry. They seem to maintain their resale value better in the long run because of perceptions in the general buying public about the expense of replacing Prius battery packs.
All things equal, I’d keep the Prius for versa rility and better mileage. However, things are not equal. The Camry is newer and worth a lot more. It’s also more powerful, a useful quality at altitude. Not that a Camry Hybrid is going to be quick, just quicker than the Prius. I’d keep the Camry.
I’m assuming the Prius is paid off. If you sell the Camry, you might not be able to sell it for more than the amount still owing on the loan. That means you’d have to use some cash to pay off the loan. Still if you do that you get out from a $300+ monthly payment. Selling the Prius gives you more cash. So, how important is “cash” in your financial scheme?
The value of the Camry will drop more since you purchased it recently, The 1st year depreciation rate on a new car is the highest over the life of the car, likely 20+% the first year. You have already depreciated the Prius to about 50% of its original value. Selling the Camry will mean you will lose more money.
I think the Prius is a more popular car and a 4 year old Prius with under 50K miles really should be an easy sell in CO. The Camry might be a tougher sale because it will costs more, and will be competing against other new Camrys from a dealer.
I’d sell the Prius and put the money toward the Camry loan so that you don’t take the depreciation hit on the Camry. Maybe I’m misunderstanding your situation, but wouldn’t you have to try to sell the Camry at the very last minute so that you have a car until you move? If so, that means you might have to take an offer that’s less than ideal, which probably balances out the shipping cost.
Thanks for the feedback and advice. To respond to some of the questions, I really don’t need two cars. My wife and I retired last year, bought a house by a creek on the Front Range (absolutely gorgeous out there), spent 10 wonderful weeks until we got flooded out in the Sept floods and are still in the process of getting septic so we can have water and gas.
That said, we would have to transport the Camry from NJ to CO for about $1000 or have my brother-in-law drive it. It’s not the cost of insurance but one car would suffice for our needs. I will explore with the dealer whether they would make a decent offer or try Craig’s list but the consensus here seems to be to keep the Camry and sell the Prius when we get the Camry.
They are both hybrids and what I have read about the batteries in Toyotas is that they are good for 100,000. If that’s true, at the rate we’re driving, we’ll be ready for a Google driverless car when it’s time to trade in the Camry. (It’s probably better now that CO legalized marijuana so we won’t need a designated driver.)
Still looking for answers until we leave in a few weeks, so keep 'em coming.
My vote is to keep the Camry for all of the reasons db4690 mentioned.
I’d stay on top of the weather there especially in regards to heavy rainfall. Some people I know own a cabin along the Big Thompson near Estes Park and they were lucky enough to be gone when the flood ripped through there and killed about a 150 people.