Gas prices, used car prices, covid prices. Is there any hope for a good price on a used Toyota Prius any time soon?
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As the Hybrid Guy, I am constantly looking for projects to do videos on. With all the craziness of the used car market, it has been nothing short of super hard to find a used Prius for a good deal.
I know the market is horribly out of whack for two reasons. The first is when I was bidding on a 2010 Prius with engine trouble and over 200,000 miles on it. The car was honestly worth $500 tops. The paint was faded; there were "other issues" stated in the description—the car sold for $2500 before any work or assessment needed to be done.
I found another 2013 Prius with a blown engine. Rod through the block. $2500 later, it sold with 190,000 on it, with a blown engine. My thoughts quickly turned to, is this the new market we are dealing with? If so, how long can we expect this to last?
Why The Used Car Market Is In Need Of Correction
When a car that used to be worth $500 is selling for $2500, this sends up a huge red flag. If you are a consumer, your dollar is incredibly weak against the capitalist society of the used car market.
A correction is needed but will not likely happen for a while longer. The correction needs to happen because it makes it harder to buy a broken car, do the repair work, then sell it for a decent profit. It also hurts consumers that are needed an affordable used car.
Not only that, but think of how the price hikes are causing those selling the cars to cut corners to keep their profit margins high. It is defiantly time for correction, but when will it happen?
When Could We See Market Correction?
Ford Motor Company and other large vehicle manufacturers have acres of new vehicles sitting waiting for semiconductor chips. Ford is keeping people employed and working but at a huge cost.
While minimal amounts of chips are being produced and released, the car market still has quite some time before it will recover. Thousands of vehicles are stilling waiting for scraps, with not much hope in sight.
Conclusion
The market needs a correction, but it could take months even if we were to produce all the chips required to get new vehicles out on dealer lots. Chips need to be installed, cars need to be transported, and so on.
In the meantime, buying a used Prius (or pretty much any car), broken or not, will continue to sell for outrageous prices. Hopefully, we can see some reprieve here soon.
That is all for today. Thank you for reading, and remember Today's Adventure Is Tomorrow's Story.
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Peter Neilson is an automotive consultant specializing in electric cars and hybrid battery technologies. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Automotive Service Technology from Weber State University. Peter can be reached on Linkedin and you can tweet him at The_hybrid_guy on Twitter. Find his page on Facebook at Certified Auto Consulting. Read more of Peter's stories at Toyota news coverage on Torque News. Search Toyota Prius Torque News for more in depth Prius coverage from our reporter.
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