Hello all. Military family planning to sell <sniff sniff> our Prius and purchase a German vehicle upon arrival. Our question is whether the resale value for a 2005 Prius will be higher in Germany, or whether we should sell the vehicle here in the Washington DC area prior to our PCS in July. I have seen the threads on value of keeping the Prius in Germany, but nothing on its resale value in Europe. Thoughts? Thanks.
My guess is that a NA Prius is not going to be popular in Germany for the following reasons: 1. Fuel tank bladder 2. Coolant heat recovery system 3. Lack of dealer service personnel trained to deal with #1 and #2 above, and lack of parts if needed to service those systems 4. Instrumentation in mph and miles per US gallon instead of km/h and L/100 km (although you can push the button to get the speedometer readout in km/h) 5. FM broadcast band probably incompatible with radio 6. Nav system may be incompatible with European disc You'd also need to research German law regarding the import of a vehicle that is not certified to meet German auto standards. It is almost impossible to import a late-model vehicle into the US that is not certified to meet US DOT standards - maybe the reverse is also true.
As reported on this site the US radio will only receive half the stations because the tuner is set to .2 intervals instead of Germany's .1. You'll at least have to add side marker lights (like on the VW). I suspect you'd be better off selling it here.
Thanks guys! Note that I would have a military exemption and would thus not be required to comply with German vehicle requirements. Since I intend to get rid of the car regardless, I'm wondering whether any Germans would be interested if the care were available for sale. Any thoughts? (Thanks)
Wow I have never seen someone go from Prius to German car. Usually they buy another Prius. Or 2. Or 3.
Your exemption is most likely only to apply if you sell to someone else in the US Military/Government, not to a German civilian. In fact, you're likely to get a lower price compared to an equivalent German Prius because of the spec differences, insurance issues (always difficult for a personal import, especially when it doesn't match domestic spec), resale problems etc. With the limit to the Prius top speed, it really can't cut it on the Autobahn. I can see why you're going for a German car. If the tax exemptions are the same as for HM Forces then you'll get a fantastic deal. Most British personnel buy a nice, fast powerful tax free car with a UK spec, drive it for a year, then exchange it at no cost as the dealers can sell it back in the UK for the original tax free price. When they eventually go back to the UK they trade in for a smaller engined car as many are concerned they'll end up with a string of speeding tickets back home!
