sell or ?? .... Great '01 in CA, new HV/Aux, but bad MG2 (transaxle)

I love my 2001 Prius, but unfortunately it is time to sell the car -- or trade in, sell for parts??

I am the sole owner of this 2001 Prius, ~183K, and it is in great shape overall, but I am not the right person to do a transaxle repair.

And I don't think I could get as a trade-in anything like what it's worth, even for parts:

• HV battery replaced with OEM 2.2 years ago
• Aux battery and brake pads replaced last week.
• 4 new Michelin tires last year
• New paint on large parts (e.g. tree had fallen; roof was repaired / repainted this winter)
• in California, San Francisco Bay area, with almost no salt exposure
• (its only other significant problem is a small AC leak)

It is now in a shop in San Jose, CA; they're asking for $5,700 to repair it. But the KBB value is ridiculously low.

So what would you recommend I do with it?

Lucy

 

Hi Bob (and others)

Thanks for the advice. I spoke with Luscious when my HV battery had gone out, and I agree that they are great. However, now I'm driving a rental 2014 Prius, reading about the HOV stickers, and I want one before they're gone.

My new goal is to sell my 2001 Prius to someone with the skills / tools -- who can deal with the MG2 cost-effectively. With the newish HOV, new tires, no exposure to salt, etc. it really deserves a new lease on life; ethically it would be wrong to junk it. I hope somebody can get another 100K+ miles with her, as a taxi or not. But who? But I don't think there's an active SF Bay Area Prius club.

And of course I would like to get the best price I can for her. A 2014 Plug-in Prius is not cheap.


So how do I find an appreciative buyer for a well-maintained car that needs a new MG2?

Thanks!

Lucy

 

In N. Calif there are STILL a few dealers -- 1-3 hrs away from San Francisco/San Jose who have multiple cars with pre-allocated DMV stickers. Almost the Base model, except for two Sea Glass Green PiP-Advanced.

Given the $4,000 incentive going on till 5/5, I wanted to close a sale before that. So I have spent most of my free time this last week on: (a) checking PiP inventory in N. Calif and (c) calling dealerships w PiP-A in stock to see who has them w/ DMV stickers. Eventually learning to insert step (b), getting TrueCar quotes for dealerships w/ inventory. For a day I had decided on one of the PiP-A in LA (w/ DMV stickers, but not AT, and in Green).

BREAKING NEWS on HOV sticker Limit:
Friday evening one helpful salesperson pointed out that Muratsuchi's AB 2013 bill (increasing the HOV sticker cap to 85K) was voted again on 5/1/14 and passed the lower house, and was read in the state Senate.

That changed my equation, so I went back to my local dealership to look at colors, the Nav and the seat covers, then did the "heads / tails" coin-toss test to see what I really wanted. Answers:

1. I really do want the PiP-A, but with the AT option (PiP-AT), if I can afford it
2. Except in good sunlight I do not like the Green; I want the Clearwater Blue (or the White).
3. I have had 3 cars since 1973, so I don't want to spend 14 years thinking "It's OK, I guess, but I wish I had held out for the Blue or White".

So guess how I spent Saturday (it wasn't on figuring out a fair price for my 2001 Prius). It was looking at our family savings and expenses, and re-doing the search process I'd honed (find inventory -> TrueCar -> phone the dealer).

Results:
No PiP-AT with HOV stickers, not in any light colors. None in Blue -- I could order and wait,
Typical TrueCar quotes had been $32 - 33.5K, including the CA $4,000 incentive for March/April)

What I'll be paying for a Blizzard Pearl PiP-AT, but no HOV:

~ $29,750, depending on which options I agree to. (mats? rear bumper? clear paint protective sheet?)
or ~$33,300 including delivery, mats, DMV, and sales tax. ​

Is that as good as I think?

Lucy

PS. Next up: Plane reservations; reading PriusChat folks' wisdom re: driving during the break-in period; and requesting advice on a fair price for my 2001 Prius (you can PM me).

PPS. I like TRUECar.com a lot -- except that I inadvertently requested multiple offers from a few dealerships: I had searched from different Zip codes, but had hte results map to the same dealership. Sometimes with different results. Interesting!