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The story
TV Asahi-affiliated news reported that used-car prices for the Toyota Alphard are falling even as inventory has swollen to more than five times last year’s level. The report’s central question is why used prices would drop in a market where new-car sales are said to be strong. On 5ch, this sparked concrete discussion of how residual-value loans (“zan-kure”) work and the conditions under which extra fees kick in when the car is returned. Opinions also split on the Alphard’s design, its reputation as an “image-driven car,” and just who actually drives one.
Used Alphard prices fall, inventory more than quintuples — why, in a booming market?
9/4 (Fri) 12:18 JST
TV Asahi Network (ANN)
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / original article here
What people said
What are you even gonna do with a flood car that can't drive?
Imagine buying it and it turns out to be a flood-damaged one, that'd be a bad laugh
Prius
Alphard
Cars swept away by their own image
In the countryside it's the Crown
The "Prius rocket"
The residual-loan Alphard
They're all Toyotas lol
They'll probably find some excuse to squeeze even more money out of you
The Z is nice, I'd want one as a second car
They're not selling it — they're giving up and returning it
No — the residual-loan contract guarantees the trade-in price upfront. So even if the market price after 3 years is lower than agreed, it's the dealer who eats the loss, not you
Just take out a loan
They take your car and now I gotta open a "Lawson" too? (pun on rōn/"loan" and the Lawson convenience-store chain) That's the worst
Only the NISMO trim has dropped, the other grades haven't budged. The price gap with the lower grade used to be over 3 million yen and now it's down to about 500,000 — so is the NISMO… trash?
With the minor update, the NISMO finally got a manual transmission, and the front brakes now match the GT-R's. Guess rich guys will trade up for it?
Alphard
Prius
N-BOX
I see a lot of Lapins too for some reason
They'll point out scratches, dirt, whatever, and lowball you on the price
They don't pull sketchy rental-car-company moves, it's a proper dealer. And honestly, small scratches only knock off about 10,000 yen per spot — the rule of thumb is basically "deep enough to catch your fingernail on"
Automatic transmission
Manual transmission
They're both "transmissions," you know
6-speed transmission
Happy now?
The ownership rate among "yankees" (delinquent/biker-gang subculture types) is oddly high
They're heavily used as executive cars in banking and finance. When you're waiting around at meeting venues, including chartered hire cars, it's roughly 60% Alphard, 40% Crown. Very occasionally you'll spot a Vellfire too
I'd rather have a Hiace or a Delica.
Are you dissing Nissan?
Can't help it, the Caravan is trash
Not the "space police" one — the one that came out recently. Forgot the name
You'd get it if you actually drove one — for that body size, it drives so normally it makes the first-gen Odyssey look outdated by comparison. The suspension isn't floaty and bouncy like a Cedric/Gloria or Crown. The fact that it drives like a completely ordinary car is honestly impressive in its own way
It's less about tacky-or-not and more that it was a genuinely fresh design built around "sheer convenience." Minivans were already popular with families, but a big van is also extremely handy for corporate use (including for presidents and executives). Because that format is so practical, other automakers kept rolling out similar designs, so the Alphard's rarity value has eroded relative to the rest of the field
Background and key points of this discussion
A residual-value loan (“zan-kure”) is structured so that when the car is returned after, say, three years, the dealer — not the customer — generally absorbs the difference if the market price has fallen below the pre-agreed residual value. The thread includes a correcting reply noting that “it’s the dealer who takes the loss, not the customer,” so the assumption that falling prices automatically mean the user gets hit with extra charges isn’t quite accurate. That said, it’s worth noting as fact that reduced valuations for scratches or dirt are a separate matter and can genuinely occur. As for why used inventory has swollen fivefold, possible factors include a batch of residual-loan contracts from a few years back reaching their return date, or the model’s initial rarity fading after a redesign — but the article itself doesn’t state this explicitly, so it remains speculation from the thread. The debate over the Alphard’s design and who actually drives one is likewise just impression and opinion, not backed by any statistics.
*This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Breaking News Plus) thread “[Automobiles] Used Alphard prices fall, inventory more than quintuples — why, in a booming market?“
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