Used cars usually sell a lot cheaper – but it’s not the case for the Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf sedan plug-ins. According to NADA Official Used Car Guide, their trade-in values increased by 1 year each and any second owner of such a car will have to pay almost the entire sum of the original price.
To be more specific, in case you’re interested in buying a standard 2011 Leaf SV electric car at this time of the year, you’ll have to dispense of $23,975 – only 5% less than its sticker price, considering that initial buyers received a $7,500 federal tax credit to help them meet the offer. Likewise, the 2011 Volt hybrid goes on sale for $29,325, as much as 90% of the initial June price of $32,780.
If you take a step back to look at how the 2011 Toyota Prius dropped its sticker price at 88% and the 2011 Honda Civic Hybrid at 76%, then you can only judge this trend as a good sign. It means people recognize their value, especially with gas prices remaining high and the supply low.
On top of that, they are conscious of the first buyers benefiting from the tax credit and, obviously, don’t want to pay extra. So all the trade-in values have been calculated leaving the tax credit aside: a percentage of how much the car was worth at the moment of selling without the $7,500.
However, since every trend is temporary, with more Leafs and Volts to fill in the stocks starting the end of the year and gas prices remaining stable, values will probably decrease.
[via AutoNews]
