New owner with an interesting tale...

New member here...this is a repost from my first post elsewhere on Priuschat.com.

This tale starts with a dad (me) who sold his soon-to-be 17 year old step-daughter her first, very own car....a 2004 Chevy Malibu Maxx for pennies on the dollar. It has been a good car, but gas prices demanded change! My hunch told me I wanted a Prius. My research on Consumer Reports confirmed that. The Prius met my safety, reliability, fuel savings criteria....and had the cargo space to keep the family dog. The hunt was on!

I had been looking at Prii for a few weeks and after test driving a 2008 and 2011, I decided I wanted a used 2010 Prius. Last night I went to look at a 2010 Prius II with 13,700 miles being sold by a private seller. The ad had just been posted online earlier that afternoon. When I had asked the seller on the phone, he said the car was in excellent condition. Having spent two weeks pricing new and used Prii here in the Utah area, I could not believe the low selling price being offered by this particular seller. (Price revealed later in the post) .

I left work early and hurried my way to look and hopefully buy the car before anyone else. When we arrived to look at the car, I saw minor blemishes on the exterior, but nothing of concern. The seller did reveal upon inquiry that the car had some body damage repaired on the front, right side. He made it sound like no big deal. We asked if we could take the car for a spin and be back real soon...which turned out to be 2 hours.

During the test drive, I found some paperwork in the glove box indicating the car had been wrecked and auctioned. Even though I saw no physical damage, the low asking price now made sense. Without contacting the seller, I immediately took the car to the nearest Toyota dealership to get a thorough inspection. I emphasized that the car apparently had been wrecked and needed a thorough check.

While the car was being inspected, I asked for and received a Car Fax from the dealership. Making the most of our wait, my wife and I opted to look at used cars sitting on the lot. There was one Prius that was same year and package as ours but with twice as many miles...but it was certified, meaning it still had same warranties as new cars. Thinking I had negotiating leverage, I revealed to the salesman that we were having another prospective car inspected because it apparently had been wrecked, "totaled", and auctioned. He responded with how the warranty would be void and really talked up the expense behind the electrical components should they fail. After crunching the numbers, the dealership gave me a quote on their certified car...bottom line, approximately $27,500! The car had 27,000 miles on it. I felt insulted.

A few minutes later the inspection was completed. The mechanic told me almost word for word, "it's the same inspection we give to used cars that the dealership want to certify...except for the paperwork." He also had taken care of the the TSB recall on the brakes. The mechanic passed the car off with flying colors...it had been hit in the right front panel, which I already knew and which he found for himself based on missing VIN tags. The mechanic said the rebuild workmanship was very good. THE MECHANIC ALSO TOLD ME THAT ITEMS NOT AFFECTED BY THE LOCATION OF THE COLLISION ARE STILL VALID UNDER WARRANTY! He proceeded to tell me that the most important/expensive components were not near the collision area and thus, will still be covered under the normal warranty. I realize the mechanic may be incorrect, but I still had the assurance I was looking for.

Cost for the TSB fix...free of course, the Car Fax...free, the dealership inspection...$100, the confidence I now had....priceless! With (1) Car Fax in hand, (2) evidence of a recent inspection from the seller, (3) my own inspection from the dealership, and (4) the knowledge of Toyota's reliability, and to some extent the mechanic's claim that much of the warranty will still be valid, and also the fact that they fixed the TSB issue, oh yeah, and (5) the dealer's over-priced quote....it was a no-brainer decision for me.

Within an hour, we had bought the car from the private seller. Mere minutes later we got a text from the salesman asking what it would take for us to buy their certified used car...yes, a text. Little did he know I already bought and was actually driving MY NEW CAR...I paid the asking price of $18,200. May not seem like a steal to others, but considering it is nine grand cheaper than a certified dealership car with twice as many miles, frankly, I feel like I just stole cookies from the cookie jar! Gas prices are forecasted to reach $5 soon and with the Prius factory in Tsunami turmoil, I feel relieved to know I found the right car before the supply and demand crisis takes place.

Picture of my new car attached. Looking forward to learning from others on this forum! Howdy all!

 

NoMo, not looking to sell anytime soon. Plan to get at least 150k miles out of it. We have a Honda Ridgeline that will need replacing before then.

I was told the other day by a Toyota salesman that a few years back during the outrageous gas prices that used Prii were selling for more than the MSRP listed cars at the dealership and that people were buying cars while they were in shipment. Now thats a tale!

 

Yes, it has a branded title. "Rebuilt" is stated at the top of the title. A roll of the dice, but overall, I feel very comfortable about it.

 

Yeah, mmcdonal threw me off as well...but HAS to be referring to the dealer's quoted price. Personally, I think the price was so high because of the dealer...earlier in the week we test drove an '11 Prius III and the quote on that car was between 28K and 29K out the door.

I do indeed love, love, love my new car. It seems efficient in every way imaginable...from the .25 drag coefficient to the shifting from reverse to drive with a push of a finger.