I have 2 cars, a 2010 Camry in good condition with 123k miles on it and a 2015 Prius C in good condition with 41k miles on it.
I plan to sell both later next year.
In the meantime, I alternate driving both to keep them in running order. Drive a total of about 12,000 miles a year.
My question is: which one should I put more driving miles on in order to maximize the value of both cars for when I go to sell them in about a year? Is the answer as simple as: the car with less miles or is the value of the car which already has many more miles so low already that a few more miles won’t make a big difference?
There is no way to predict used vehicle prices a year from now. Have a few floods or forest fires that destroy vehicles and used prices will rise. None of those and the market may have a surplus of vehicles.
Now if you want to kill time and just confuse yourself put your vehicles in the Kelly Blue Book with current mileage than do it with 6000 more miles .
Prius batteries tend to stay healthier with regular use so I would tend to drive the Prius a little more often than the Camry. Also the better fuel economy of the Prius will benefit your wallet in a predictable fashion now, rather than gambling on used car values a year from now.
If you have to alternate, why not sell one of the cars now rather than let it continue to depreciate until next year? Unless you have a compelling reason to keep both cars until next year, I’d sell the Prius now.
If I had to choose one to put more miles on, it would be the one that is farther down the depreciation curve based on both age and mileage, which would be the Camry.
Notice how steep the mileage depreciation curve is between 40,000 miles and 50,000 miles, but the curve levels out past 90,000 miles. Every mile you put on the Prius will cost more than every mile you put on the Camry, particularly if fuel is cheap where you live.
Also notice how steep the age depreciation curve is between four and five years, and compare that to the slope of the curve between nine and ten years.
Unless the price you pay for fuel is well above the national average, I’d drive the Prius just enough to maintain the battery, and no more.
my thoughts exactly. From your original post, @RedRex00, it doesn’t appear that you NEED both cars. So why pay the extra years of insurance, licensing, and maintenance on a vehicle you do not need?
I was going to say the same thing one person doesn’t need 2 cars to drive not nice cars one nice and one beater for a backup witch it should probably be a good truck u never know when u need one except me I always need one. Or just a good running beater
