With stickers, how much more is my Prius worth?

Question

I live in CA and have a 2005 Prius. I have a sticker that lets me drive in the carpool lane no matter how many passengers I have in my car. I heard recently that this increases how much my car is worth. How much does that increase the value of my car?

Answer 1

Not by too much, and the sticker probably has a limit on it.  

Not to mention they are ugly as h**l.

They expire in 2011 so that isn't that bad.

You maight be able to sell it for another thousand or so because they are not issuing any more stickers currently.

Answer 2

To travel in the CA HOV lanes, you either need the required number of passengers, or have a Clean Air Vehicle sticker (set of 4). 2004 or later hybrids with at least 45mpg EPA highway ratings could qualify for the stickers. However, the limit of 85,000 stickers was reached in Feb. 2007, so the only way to get a hybrid with these stickers is to purchase a used one (a 2004-2007 model year). (The stickers stay with the vehicle. If a sticker is damaged, an owner can get replacement stickers, though.) The stickers are valid until Jan. 1, 2011.

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/vr/decal.htm

http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/carpool/car...

a used hybrid (Toyota Prius or Honda Civic Hybrid) with the CA HOV lane stickers, that the stickers add about a $4000 premium to the used selling price.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2007...

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story...

Considering that ANY used Prius right now, because of the high demand and short supply, is selling for near or over new MSRP. Add in the HOV sticker premium, and that used Prius with HOV stickers will easily be more expensive than a new Prius. (However, a new Prius will not get you the reduced commute time as a single-occupant traveler that you are probably looking for...)

To be certain, check the main sites for selling a used car,:

http://geo.craigslist.org/iso/us/ca

http://www.autotrader.com/

http://www.cars.com/go/index.jsp

(outdated pricing can usually be found on kbb.com)

You may also want to check into some Prius owner's lists that allow for-sale listings to see if anyone is offering, or knows of someone who may be offering theirs for sale, such as:

http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/toyo...

http://www.priusonline.com/

http://www.priuschat.com/

Answer 3

You should be able to get a couple of thousand more for it. The demand is in the ones with the sticker more than anything else. Just look at what they're going for on autotrader.com,craigslist, or your local newspaper. If it's not worth more at least it will sell faster than one without it. Still, I'm banking that 3 years in the carpool lane is worth a few thousand extra.