To sell my Prius -- what about this: 1) Place ad on Craigslist 2) Say I will be in the parking lot of a local regional park from 1- 3 p.m. some Saturday or Sunday. Miss those hours and miss the deal. 3) Come see, look, buy. Over the past few years have sold cars of relatives whom died. Each time was a real pain. Had the Craigslist ads, got lots of scammer action, lots of will be by but never came. And those that showed were late, sometimes as much as four hours. Just wondering if my idea might streamline things?
What I did was write a good ad, cleaned it up well for the pics, hold firm on a decent price and sold it in two days for cash. Most buyers know little about the car so spell it out. Ad copy: Without question a like new beautiful Silver 2008 Prius with almost all options including high-end JBL with XM radio, full tint and seat covers since new for a flawless interior. This car was garaged and has used Mobil 1 full synthetic oil since new. Now has 108k miles. These cars are reliable, quiet and comfortable. Some are used as taxis and often go 300k or more without major repairs. This car does not burn oil or leak fluids. The mid-size (not compact) Prius is roomy, very reliable, has power everything (except seats), cold ac, push button start and a large usable hatch area. Plenty of options like a Homelink Garage door and gate opener built into the auto dimming rear view mirror. The first set of new tires were recently installed (it does not go through tires). Easily achieves 48-50 mpg. New 12v battery installed after 100k miles (another money saver). All these cars routinely need are oil changes every 5-10k miles. Regenerative braking almost eliminates wear on the brakes; the hybrid system only requires the engine running part of the time because of captured battery energy when slowing or going downhill, along with auto start stop at lights and downhills. This means the engine probably has run for less than 70k of the car's 108k miles. The AC compressor and Power Steering run off their own electric motors to ensure comfort at all times. This car cost $27k when new and would cost about $7.5k to buy off a dealer's used car lot. I would sell this car to family if they needed it because it is a really good car. Call Rxxxxxx at 2xx-yyy-zzzz. I can send a pdf with all options and the Kelly Blue Books Private Party value. Most credit unions will still finance this car if desired. Toyota Prius 4dr Hatchback Engine Size: 1.5 L (1497.0) Cylinders: 4 Inline Compression Ratio: 13.0 Valves: 16 valves, variable valve timing Horsepower: 110 hp @ 5000 Torque: 82 ft-lbs @ 4200 Fuel Type: Hybrid, regular unleaded EPA MPG: 48/45 (city/highway) Transmission: continuously variable-speed continuously variable Drive Train: Front wheel drive Options Rubber Rear Bumper Applique at Hatch protects the paint Pinstripe Emergency Assistance Kit Cargo Net and Cargo Cover Security System JBL High Power Stereo and Satellite Radio (XM) Auto Rear View Mirror with Homelink Garage and Gate Openers Carpet Floor/Cargo Mats (5-pc. Set): Includes front, rear, and cargo carpeted floor mats.
WOW Thanks for the reply!!! I was planning on milking most of a saturday afternoon "creating" an ad. Now, guess I WILL have time to renovate the lawn....
I'm an hour south of you in Olympia... Old Prius are super hard to find right now and prices have near doubled for low mileage used Prius. So you have a great opportunity to get a great price if car has been worked on to maximize its value! I recently saw a local guy entering a retirement home with a mint condition 2008 Prius with less than 100K miles and he posted a huge amount of I think near $10K and said he'd only accept offers $500 over that amount and set a deadline for when whoever has highest offer wins. That listing lasted till deadline and car was sold. I'd also suggest doing the transaction for the car at the bank of the person buying it. That way there's plenty of security cameras around and you can be certain that money in whatever form you prefer to receive it in is legit.
