Should I pull the trigger? $13,000+Tax - 60,000 miles - Clean Title - Every 5k maintenance record from dealer. - CarFax report good - 1 owner - EXCEPT it mentions car was bought at an Auction (not sure what to make of this?) Thanks,
welcome! why would a newer, lower mileage car go to auction? i'm not sure either, but it does seem odd. that is the perfect car for a dealer to resell if there aren't any problems. could they be shipping harvey cars to az to fool people?
Option 2: 2014 Prius 2 $15,000+tax - 50,000 miles - Clean Title - Every 5k maintenance record from dealer. - CarFax good, no mention of auction on this one.
If possible, the OP should check to see how long the car has been unused. Hybrids don't like to sit around. To be safe, check to see the history of where the car was owned. If it was purchased at an auction, it could be from anywhere- from being driven on salt road during winters, to surviving hurricanes.
Maybe it's just he OP's market, but both of those prices sound very high to me. Like each in the neighborhood of $2k high, even if purchased from a dealer. Of course this is based on my local market, and I just purchased a 2014 three in January.
Just out of curiosity, I used KBB to price the car in Phoenix- listed here. $13k is on the high end of the car in very good condition. But it's within KBB's broad pricing parameters.
It seems the car has been unused since December 2017, last maintenance record is from October 2017 at the dealer. The car was owned and service for its entire history in Phoenix, per carfax + toyota service check. Here's the kicker - the CarFax lists the vehicle as Personal, however it also notes that in January 2018 "Listed as dealer vehicle. Vehicle sold at auction." Seems like it has been on sale since early January... Drives fine. It is a 3rd party dealer - offers 3 months warranty. Dealer is okay with me getting an independent mechanic to check as well. Please advise.
It may have been a ~3 year lease and afterward, was returned to the dealer. After that the dealer, sold it at auction and it's been sitting in a sales lot since. Or it could have been a trade in for a new Toyota, which ended up at auction. To me, a car sitting around for that long could mean that it was overpriced or just not that desirable compared to what else was out there. There are some nice Prii to choose from in Phoenix- not sure which town you live in. Toss in private sales and the choices are increased. Is there something about this particular Prius that you really like?
Dealerships usually only send "in-demand" vehicles to auction if 1) they are over 100,000 miles, 2) there are problems or disclosures they don't want to deal with. Buyer beware
I see. Thanks for the heads up. Since I am having second doubts, I'll pass on this one and keep my search going. Thanks all.
