Autos >
Hybrids
Get a Widget for this title
RSS FeedDo hybrid cars have a higher resale value?
Results so far:
| Yes | 47% | 14 votes | Total: 30 votes | |
| No | 53% | 16 votes |
Yes
Write now
Print
Invite a writer™
Add to FavoritesHybrid vehicles, on the whole, demand a higher resale value than their similarly equipped counterparts. This is due to the ever-increasing demand for the most fuel efficient vehicles possible. It should be noted, however, that not all hybrids are cut from the same cloth; some are "mild" hybrids or electric assisted gas engines, while Toyota continues to produce a full hybrid system in their Prius, Camry, and Highlander models.
The resale value of hybrid vehicles are, as every type of commodity, directly proportional to demand and inversely proportional to the supply. In our post "Cash for Clunkers" market there is a heightened awareness toward "green" vehicles. There were many hybrids sold during the Cash for Clunkers campaign, which reduced supplies, while the demand continues to be high.
Hybrid vehicles are technologically advanced, which, in and of itself, trends toward more value and therefore, a higher price. The ever fluctuating price of gasoline keeps the market continuously stimulated. At this point, even a reduction in the price of gasoline is almost a harbinger of higher future prices, as was the case in 2007 and 2008. The apprehension associated with the perception of painful prices at the pump fuel the demand for hybrid vehicles.
Additionally, hybrid vehicles have only been available in the United States for the past ten years. Thus, the available pool of vehicles to meet the demand is smaller than that of conventional vehicles.
Hybrid vehicles, when sold new are seldom, if ever, discounted and never have rebates or incentives applied to them. The lack of incentives on new vehicles all but guarantees a higher resale value.
As we begin to recover from the latest recession, hybrid vehicles will continue to be a high demand item. Those who are enjoying their hybrids now, barring potential and actual problems with American brand hybrid vehicles, will also enjoy a higher resale value. Those manufacturers whose quality has suffered through the years, bankrupting their companies, will have a tougher time with their resale values, but overall they only account for a small percent of hybrid vehicles available.
The leaders in hybrid technology continue to be Toyota and Honda. Their hybrid vehicles have proven themselves, like their other high quality vehicles, over the years since being introduced in the United States. Their conventional vehicles demand a higher resale value than their competitors and the hybrids are higher still. The magazine Consumer Reports has included the Toyota Prius in its top ten vehicles for the bettter part of the past ten years. It also lists the Prius, the other Toyota hybrids, and the Honda hybrids, on its list of best buy used vehicles.
Supply and demand, influenced by real and artificial stimulus virtually assure that hybrid vehicles will continue to have higher resale values in the future.
Learn more about this author, Peter Lampros.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.
No
Although many have commented on how hybrid vehicles will come to have a higher resale value, there is little evidence to either defend or refute this assertion, the reason being that hybrid cars are too new to have accurate information on how much they have sold for used. Proponents of this assertion are relying on the belief that as gas prices continue to rise and more and more people try to tighten their wallets hybrid cars will continue to grow more attractive. Since the main reason many of those who would benefit the most from saving on gas do not already have hybrid cars is the expense, say proponents, there will be a larger market for used hybrids in five to ten years than for other cars. Opponents argue that maintenance costs will be higher on hybrid cars, particularly in reference to battery life, and that there is little reason to suspect that hybrids will have higher resale value. The nay sayers are, in this case, probably right.
The battery life issue is a questionable one. If a battery does go out, the car is practically worthless since most used cars sell for less than the battery would cost to replace. That is, after all, one of the main reasons hybrids cost more. The question then is, are battery lives really that short? Probably not, but statistically people evaluate risks as more likely to occur than they really are, and so may be wary of buying an old hybrid. Speaking of cost, to make a fair comparison we would have to look at hybrid cars in relation to other cars of the same price. Surely, if you have two cars of the same model with the same features the hybrid would have a higher resale value, but it would also cost more. What if you were comparing a hybrid car to a more luxurious model that cost the same? Status symbols are highly valued in American society, but then again people buying used cars usually aren't looking for status symbols. Likely the determining factor will be the cost of gas when it comes time to sell your car.
Speaking of gas prices, the real killer comes down to this: will hybrid cars be in when it comes time to sell your car? With all the talk of hydrogen fuel cells, gasoline made from corn, biodiesel, and pure electric cars, will hybrids turn out to be anything but a fad? Many people are trying to save gas by using other forms of transportation, and there are several initiatives towards creating improved public transportation, so there is really no reason to suggest that in even just a few years hybrid cars will still retain their value, much less than in, say, ten years. In the end, there is little reason to suspect that hybrid cars will have either a higher or lower resale value than standard models, but is that the only reason you are buying it? Cars have low resale in general compared to other products of similar cost, but the hybrid will save you on gas and help the environment. You have to ask yourself, is that alone worth it? If not, resale probably doesn't matter that much.
Learn more about this author, Tyler House.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
Difference of opinion? Debate now.
