There are several debates about the financial sense of these kits, and the price differential if Toyota comes out with a PEV, but it seems everybody is overlooking the obvious. So I was wondering, just from installing a kit, what value is added to any Prius immediately? And what value would people expect several years later? I am most interested in the Hymotion kit, but it would be interesting to hear about the other kits too. I think people are writing off a key component of the financial viability of these kits by focusing only on money and gasoline saved, and overlooking residual value, and I was wondering what others thought.
If you get a HyMotion kit, have an ideal commute and a lot of patience, you can get records like http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...prius-ii-plug-in-hybrid-electric-vehicle.html. In all seriousness, it may never payback for itself. I have no interest in plug-in kits for various reasons, but do things have to always have financial sense or a payback? As we sometimes ask others who question the "payback period" of a Prius, ask them what's the payback period on a BMW, a sunroof or a V8 engine. You can just look at it as another feature but one that also reduces your use of oil, 60% of which we import and it sends less of our money abroad, some of which ends up funding terrorists or regimes and people who don't like us much. In the event of a spike in gas prices or a shortage, well, you might be glad you have a PHEV kit.
This is similar to the thread I started the other day, about justifying the cost of a PHEV. But your point I think has more to do with resale value. I've actually be asking myself the same question. I just put my 2002 Prius up for sale because I upgraded to a 2008 model. I thought long and hard about the Enginer kit in there. In the end, I decided to remove it. Primarily because it was the 1st generation kit and it had a lot of issues, for example having to babysit it while charging to avoid overcharge. I just didn't feel comfortable selling that to "joe anyone" being that they wouldn't understand it. Also it took up room in the trunk and the spare tire was unaccessible. So I decided the car would be easier to sell as a plain Prius. However, with a better kit that doesn't require any special knowledge (hopefully the case with the new generation of Enginer kits, but that remains to be seen) I'd say it would offer some value to the right customer.
