Informal survey of how much a 2004 HCH CVT with 35k miles on it in mint condition is worth.

While I love my HCH, I may end up letting it go if I no longer have to make my long commute. Any folks out there trade in or bought/sold one recently? I am wondering what it's really worth. KBB and NADA price it between 17k and 20k depending on trade-in vs retail price. Trade in prices are also a bit deceptive because they are often inflated to hide what would otherwise have been a discount on the new car. Still wondering what you all have experienced.

well, it just depends on the market. if you are in cali or the north east then it would go for more than it would in the mid west. i have heard stories of people trading in their HCH and getting close to what they paid for it new. so, it is luck of the draw i would say. but, look at what the auctions on ebay are closing for for a model like yours. that would help.

Well, in general you'll get a lot more if you sell it, rather than trade-in. Trade-in is one of the biggest rip-offs out there. Dealers pay you less and then turn around and resell your car for more.

I would recommend checking the autotrader.com listings for your area for comparable cars. That should tell you what they are going for.

Odd how none of the responses actually gave a figure. IMHO, the vehicle is worth approx 15-16k... dealer wholesale could even be a little less, and the right buyer may even pay a little more for it... YMMV!

On cars.com in the LA area, the cars with mileage similar to yours are all going from 19K - 22K being sold by dealers. But the one for 19K seemed to be an exception to the rule. So as an independent seller you could expect 18K - 21K probably. I would start the listing at 21K and reduce the price in $200 increments if it does not sell.

But remember that in CA you get carpool privileges which inflate the price a bit.

I would probably do the same if I were you. The HCH does not get great mileage in a short, city commute anyway. Since you have the rare opportunity of cashing out for not-too-much-less than you paid for it, sounds like a great idea to me.

Thanks for the responses so far. I have bought and sold many cars so I am well aware of how trade-ins, selling it yourself, and dealer retail prices are different animals. I do watch the autotrader but they give you a listing price not an actual sale price.

These hybrids seem to break the normal resale rules in a number of ways so I am trying to collect as much data as possible. I am hoping some more folks out there have actually sold theirs or traded it in for an 06 or something. I need some real data, so I can compare your locality with mine. Thanks.

I really would hate to sell it, but we don't drive much in town, we live 4 blocks from my wife's work and I am considering an electric or small gas scooter for mine.

Kelly Blue Book www.kbb.com will tell you three prices.

Trade in (Lowest price)
Private party (Middle price)
Retail (what a dealer would sell it for - Highest price)

Also you enter your zip code so it already takes into account supply and demand in your area when calculating a price.

I bought a 2004 HCH CVT in California for $2000 under MSRP, or $19,300.
I sold it recently, with 22,000 miles on it, to a private party for exactly what KBB said it was worth in my Southern Califoria zip code, $21,000.

So I made $1,700 profit and got a free car for two years, that averaged 60.1 MPG.
Then I bought my 2006 HCH2 for $1000 below list and get $2,100 back with the tax deduction.
So this new car was better than free.

I love this.

BTW dealers are not charities.
They are businesses.
Of course they resell your trade in for more than they gave you for it.
Nothing wrong with that.

Need fewer troops to support.
Drive a hybrid.
Best tank 71.65 MPG.

Before this car I spent two years learning hypermiling on my 2004 HCH1.

Depends how you look at it. I never said there was anything wrong with the practice itself, but they really push it, giving you a rock bottom price for your car. It's not a little bit less, it's substantially less, and thus the reality is you are getting ripped off. The effort involved in putting your car up for sale yourself is well worth the extra couple thousand dollars you'll get for it.

Maybe you have a more positive view of car dealerships than I do. My experience is that they are bloodsuckers who just try to rip you off as much as they possibly can. They are perfectly willing to try to take advantage of you if you don't know what you are doing (or even if you do, they'll still try just fail).

As businesses go, I'd put car dealerships down toward the bottom.

Agreed on both accounts. Dealers do need to make money, I can respect that they need to make a profit and I can accomodate that. However, when they do business in such a sly way, questionably ethical at best, it's harder to respect their point of view because the way they do it feels like (and often is) a scam.

Every house, car, piano, and oriental rug is sold for as *much* as the seller can get for it.
Every house, car, piano, and oriental rug is bought for a *little* as the buyer can get it for.

It is your responsibility to negotiate.
Good negotiators pay less.
Bad negotiators pay more.

It's just business.

I don't "support" car dealers.
I just understand that this is pricing structure of large-ticket goods.
It is unfortunate, I don't like it, but it will never change.

I'm a good negotiator so I don't buy unless I get a great deal.
So the system doesn't bother me too much.

I think most people would rather get a root canal than negotiate a sale.

Need fewer troops to support.
Drive a hybrid.
Best tank 71.65 MPG.

Before this car I spent two years learning hypermiling on my 2004 HCH1.