Nice Looking 2011 Prius Needs Expensive Repair, What to do?

RESOLUTION:

On Tuesday, I spoke with the service manager at Eric's Wrench, a small business specializing in Toyota and Lexus. I had a fair amount of work done there on a beloved green '99 4Runner and my current '11 Prius (CatShield put on, catyltic converter protection).

He researched rebuilt and new engines and concluded the cost would be prohibitive and the operation wasn't without risk. Added to that, my Dr. Prius app says I have 45% life left in the lithium battery. "That could be three to four grand right there, and if you have a brake actuator failure, which happens on this model, that's another $3,000."

He said '11 to '15 models were known for head gasket issues. His advice was to sell it for salvage and "spend good money on a good car." Just for grins, I asked his thoughts on buying my neighbor's 2005 Cadillac Deville for $2,500. He held up his hands. "A V8 put in sideways? Good luck. I wouldn't touch a Northstar engine if someone gave me a Cadillac. I'd just get rid of it."

I called Salvage Guy who said he would come by in the afternoon. He didn't have much of a personality but $2 000 via Zelle seemed like my best option. In a "why not?" moment, I dashed off an ad on Facebook Marketplace listing the car for sale. I'm a writer and creative director for advertising agencies. That's my game. The ad was crystal clear and had every pertinent piece of info a prospective buyer needed. Price was $3,000.

I posted the ad and an hour later, Salvage Guy rolled up and said he'd buy it for $2,000, but would "really appreciate" if I could let it go for less. I did a last-ditch check of Facebook and saw half a dozen replies already, the last offering $2,700 cash and same day pickup. I declined the salvage offer and monitored Facebook.

It's Wednesday morning now, not even 24 hours since I posted the ad, and I had two dozen replies and half a dozen solid offers. Facebook Marketplace sells. A mechanic from Ukraine living up in St. Petersburg really wanted to repair it and keep it as his family car. He offered the full amount and said he'd rent a trailer to tow and be here this afternoon with cash. I accepted. When he asked if I could give him a little break on the price, I knocked it down to $2,800.

This morning I have an appointment at my bank to get an auto loan, 5.54% APR with a quarter percent knocked off because I'm some sort of gold preferred customer. I'll borrow $7500 for four years, which is $171 a month payments, and add $7,500 cash to my car buying pot. That way, I minimize the amount of personal cash I'm taking out of the bank.

My car buying strategy is simple. I will walk in to a dealer and say, "I have $15,000 cash. I will spend it at the dealer who gives me the most car for the money." It's that simple. If they don't produce a car I agree is a great deal, I will move on to the next dealer. This frees me from all their whining and mumbo jumbo about "how much we have into the car." I don't care! I don't need to hear it. I will keep things focused on the car they propose to sell me for my money.

If it's a nickel more, I won't buy it. I used this formula and actually rejected a dealer proposal that came in at $10,005.00. Once adjusted, I bought a dark blue 2013 Prius with 49,000 miles in 2016 for $10,000. I have three cars to start the conversation with at the first dealer I will visit, a burgundy '23 Corolla with 38k miles listed for $18,000; a light green '21 Prius with 49k miles for $21,000 and a black 2021 RAV4 for $20,000. Should be fun.

 

I don't understand your point -- or point of difference. Of course I take a look at a car. Of course I drive it. Of course my offer is in good faith.

My goal is to be firm about what I want, and not deviate. Because I firmly believe most dealers are interested in extracting the maximum amount of money from customers. And they are relentless about doing that. Identifying MY terms and sticking to them with near-religious fervor keeps me on track to get the deal I know is good for me.

Example: I was just at a Honda dealership. Almost all the used cars were high mileage. I told a sales guy my spiel and he immediately fetched his sales manager ... "$15,000 out the door, not a penny more, 2018 or newer, no more than 50k miles." He reacted to 50k miles by saying, "well, those are hard to find. You need to be open to --."

I interrupted him. "No, I don't need to be open to high mileage. I'm not. I want 30 to 40k and I'll find it, and I'll find it for what I'm going to spend." He wanted me to have "an open mind" because he only had high mileage vehicles for sale.

I have ZERO interest in a person who wants to sell me what THEY want to sell, and nothing but grins and green money for the person who wants to give me a good deal on what I'm shopping for.

 

Gotcha. Yeah, Facebook Marketplace is a great place to sell, but lots of flakes, scams and lowball offers -- sight unseen, although I did have twenty pics in the ad. Salvage looks to be a world all its own.