The red paint started peeling off a few years back. Toyota dealer said they could only give me $521 for trade-in since they estimated it would cost $1000 to repaint. I started creating an art car with car paint from car parts store. Would love to sell to an art student or artist who would like to complete this artwork on wheels!
While the art is beautiful and of great value, only a Toyota Stealership would use paint quality to low ball you on the value of your car... The #1 thing that defines a car's value is how many miles it has on it. And more Prius specific, has the hybrid batter been replaced yet? Has the catallytic converter ever been stolen and replaced with new OEM? Also do you want to sell it yourself or take the hit of up to $1K of its value and have someone else to sell it? What condition is the interior in? Is the engine compartment clean? How much oil does it burn between oil changes? What kind of tires and how much tread left? When was 12v battery last changed? Without answering the questions above no responsible buyer or seller can determine the car's value....
12 V battery replaced last month Catalytic converter shield was installed a few years ago Oil consumption seems normal, engine & battery fine so far I usually took car in for the recommended interval maintenance
You'll be suprised how much its worth on the west coast... Start looking at craig's list prices of similar mileage Prius... I bet you could easily get $6K for it if you met the person who's buying it at their bank, which is the safest place to sell for a private seller. Probably could get $7K or more if you found a new front hood, which would allow you to hold on to your lovely art.
As with any custom paint job, you may find that it reduces your potential pool of buyers as some will "get it" but most probably won't. A vinyl wrap on the affected areas (hood? roof?) could probably be matched to the existing color pretty cheaply. Probably worth 4-6k as a private sale depending on miles?
Thanks, will do the research and look at local listings to compare. Will keep you posted on how it goes.
OK cleaned out my car, took photos and this morning listed car on Nextdoor for $4000. I would rather sell it before I do the smog check to get the registration renewed(due in April). I will see if anyone is interested in it...I think it would be good for a student to own.
Yes, I agree with that. Buyer who does not like the art could buy a wrap as you suggest. Or if buyer appreciates art cars they could finish up the art project however they would like.
Yes. Didn't want to have to get the smog test done for registration renewal. Didn't want to continue paying car insurance on it as well. I know I could have asked for more but I wanted to sell it fast. Was surprised the guy wanted to buy immediately.
I also went to Calif. DMV website and printed out all the registration transfer fees and local and state taxes. Buyer will need to pay around $500 for that. I hope his little sister likes the car!!
I was outbidding the dealer at the time. Unfortunately I wasn't allowed to finish the bidding . . . and I live a couple states away which probably hurt my chances. LOL I'm currently looking locally. There aren't many Prius' available but there are two and one is asking $5500 and the other thinks his car is made of gold. The $5500 seller started out at $6000 a couple weeks ago and recently dropped his price $500. I'm waiting for one more drop.
