NADA Guide predicts year-old Leaf will retain 95% of value

 

"The NADA Official Used Car Guide has added average trade-in values for 1-year-old Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf sedans to its used-vehicle value listings. Both cars plug in.

In its June edition, the NADA Guide will project the average trade-in value for a typically equipped 2011 Leaf SV electric car at $23,975 -- 95 percent of its sticker price of $25,280, after the $7,500 federal tax credit available to buyers who purchase the vehicle new.

The projected trade-in value of the 2011 Volt, which runs on electricity and gasoline, was said to be $29,325, or 90 percent of its $32,780 sticker price for June, after the $7,500 federal tax credit.

For comparison, a typically equipped 2011 Honda Civic Hybrid has a projected trade-in value of 76 percent of its sticker price, and a 2011 Toyota Prius has a projected trade-in value of 88 percent of its sticker price.

Maynard Brown, an NADA Guide analyst, says the company treats the tax credit similar to a rebate because buyers of used Volts and Leafs are aware of the discount and are not willing to pay more for those vehicles than the new-car buyer paid." [Read more]